3-Term Pathway - Pre-Master's in Social Sciences and Law - Continue to Master of Laws - International Human Rights Law

This program will prepare students for entry to a postgraduate degree in a wide range of subjects at Lancaster University, including law, design and a world top 10 linguistics program (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023).

The LLM International Human Rights Law is an opportunity to explore the way that international law is used to protect human rights and enables students to gain expertise in a distinct yet relatively broad specialism. Students will combine core and elective modules to gain an international perspective on this field of law. The degree is taught by many research-active academics based in the Law School and offers students the opportunity to engage with teaching staff who are working in the field of International Human Rights research.

The Law School is home to the Centre for International Law and Human Rights, Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, the Centre for Law and Society, and the Centre for Child and Family Justice; these influential centres underpin the postgraduate teaching, which is often research-led and research-informed.

For their degree, students will study 6 taught modules plus writing a dissertation of 15, 000 words. Some of these modules are compulsory (core), while students can choose the rest from a list of optional modules.

The core modules are International Law, International Human Rights Law, Research Methods in Law and the LLM Dissertation. The modules in International Law and International Human Rights Law will address key questions such as how international laws protect, govern and define human rights and inter-state relationships. Students will evaluate the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights protected through international instruments and explore the way that international law is used to shape the world.

The Research Methods in the Law module will provide an insight into various theoretical approaches to the study of law, as well as give practical guidance on research design and ethics.

The dissertation is an independent, in-depth inquiry into a research topic of students choosing. The topic will link to a key legal question or issue and may also directly relate to professional/career interests. This is an opportunity to make a contribution to the legal and academic community with new, original research and writing. A dissertation supervisor can provide students with support and introduce them to relevant legal material and research; their personal research interests will closely align with students chosen topic wherever possible.

Lancaster prides themselves on the choice and breadth of elective modules available, offering students access to expertise in growing fields such as The Rights of Peoples, International Terrorism and the Law, and International Environmental Law.

The teaching approach is international in scope and comparative by nature, and students are actively encouraged to build a beneficial network of academics, peers and alumni during their time at Lancaster. All of this will help them to broaden their experience, deepen their understanding, and prepare for their next step.

The postgraduate LLM degree can open doors to a wide range of careers. Students will have the opportunity to develop the skills required to critically evaluate research relating to international human rights law; skills which can be highly prized by employers both here in the UK and overseas. Whilst on the degree students will also have the chance to develop their analytical and communication skills which can help to build on their employability in any sector. The LLM is also an ideal stepping stone to PhD study and academia.