Prospective Students

• Undergraduate Studies
• Postgraduate Taught Degrees
  • Introduction
  • Masters in Legal Science
  • LLM in Human Rights Law
    • Activities for LLM Human Rights Students
  • LLM in Human Rights and Criminal Justice
  • LLM in Law and Governance
  • LLM in Corporate Governance
  • MSSc/Postgraduate Diploma in Criminal Justice
  • MSSc/Postgraduate Diploma in Criminology
  • LLM in Human Rights | Cross Border
  • LLM in Human Rights and Criminal Justice | Cross Border
  • LLM in Law and International Commerce
  • LLM in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development
  • Comments from Graduates
  • Registration Information
• Postgraduate Research Programme - PhD / MPhil
• Scholarships
• Prospective Student Links
• Key Contacts
• International Students

Aims
This Masters programme is designed for those with an academic and / or professional interest in postgraduate studies in all areas of Human Rights law, equality, and conflict. Within the School of Law, human rights research and teaching on the LLM degree has been carried out under the auspices of the Human Rights Centre since 1990. 

The School’s LLM programmes in human rights are exciting and rewarding degree programmes which attract a diverse student body, including international students, students who are qualified legal practitioners and students with extensive experience in the statutory, community or voluntary sectors. The teachers on the programme have experience of working for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the United Nations Working Group on Minorities; Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young Persons, the Inter American Court of Human Rights, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Council of Europe and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Women in Politics programme and the Geneva based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, amongst others. This diversity among both staff and students allows the students and teachers on the course to learn from each other and makes for a vibrant academic experience.

Duration  
1 year full-time / 2 years part-time

Activities
A number of activities are organised for postgraduate Human Rights Students, see further details of Activities for LLM Human Rights Students

Entrance Requirements
Applicants should normally have a primary degree (2.1 or above, or equivalent) in Law or a cognate discipline from the Social Sciences or Humanities. 

Graduate Comments
"I had always been interested in human rights campaigning and activism, but studying human rights law provided me with intellectual and professional skills which were necessary to pick up interesting jobs. Queen’s University was a great place to study; the facilities, lecturers, internship opportunities, general learning environment, financial and academic support were excellent. I have recommended the course to several colleagues and friends."   Louise Dear, Scotland

Organisation of the LLM Programmes
The LLM programmes are offered on a modular basis.  To complete a degree students must have successfully passed modules amounting to 180 credits.

Compulsory module

• Human Rights: Concepts and Institutions (30 credits)

 Students must also take 30 credits from the following modules:

• Equality: the foundations (15 credits)
• Human Rights in Modern Europe (15 credits)
• Critical Approaches to Rights (15 credits)

 In addition, students must take optional modules to a total of 60 credits from the following: 

• The Rights of the Child (15 credits)
• Economic and Social Rights (15 credits)
• Religion and Law (15 credits)
• Human Rights and Democratic Governance (15 credits)
• Human Rights in the Americas (15 credits)
• Human Rights in Time of Conflict (15 credits)
• International Protection of Refugees (15 credits)
• The Rights of Women (15 credits)
• Advanced British and Irish Human Rights Law (15 credits)
• Discrimination and Disadvantage (15 credits)
• Exploitation and Human Rights (15 credits)
• Public Interest Law (30 credits)

 Please note that not all optional modules are available every year .

For further information on module content please see the course handbook.

Students must also complete a dissertation (60 credits) of between 15,000 and 20,000 words on an approved topic. 

Assessment
All modules are primarily assessed by way of an essay. For 30 credit modules this will normally be an essay of up to 6000 words, for 15 credit modules this will be generally an essay of up to 3000 words. The dissertation should be between 15,000 and 20,000 words in length and must normally be submitted by mid-September of the student's final year.

Closing Date for Applications
Applications, via the online portal, will be accepted up to end August 2012.  After this date, please contact the School Postgraduate Secretary pglawenquiries@qub.ac.uk  

Programme coordinator: Dr Hakeem Yusuf

Some funding opportunities exist for our Taught Masters programmes