6th in the UK for Research Impact (REF2021), 88% rated "outstanding"
Purpose built Mock Court Room
Your gateway to a wide range of rewarding careers
Ready to advance in your career? Or start your journey into the legal profession? Whether you’re new to the field or want to take your career trajectory to the next level, with our LLM you’ll work with our leading academics to gain essential legal skills and in-depth technical knowledge. You’ll have the flexibility to choose from modules that match your interests and ambitions, as you prepare for your next career move.
Why Lancaster?
Learn from our leading academics and their up-to-the-minute research into matters of national and international importance in the field of law
Be inspired by innovative teaching delivered by award-winning educators
Prepare for a legal role – gain core knowledge along with insight into specialist areas
Follow your interests and tailor the course with your choice of modules and areas of focus
Benefit professionally from our strong links to chambers and law firms across the UK, including Magic Circle firms in London
Prepare for your future
On our LLM Law you will explore how Law shapes society and vice versa. You will develop your legal skills and proficiency in law and legal studies, and you’ll acquire the expertise you need to access a wide range of career options.
The course is suitable for you if you are:
Aiming to work in the legal sector and need a wider, critical appreciation of the law
Already working in the legal system and want a higher-level qualification
Looking for in-depth knowledge in technical legal areas
Needing to enhance your Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Wishing to progress to a PhD in law or a related subject
Expert legal team
You’ll be taught by leading academics who carry out research in a variety of areas including international law and human rights, corporate and commercial law, law and society, and more. They have expert, detailed knowledge of the legal landscape and technicalities, and are abreast of current developments around the world. This ensures that what we teach you about legal, jurisprudential, and socio-legal issues is always informed by the latest practice. You'll find your tutors are accessible to you. They are committed to delivering innovative, inspiring teaching and focussed on providing excellent student support.
A tailored approach
From human rights breaches to commercial disputes and breaches of regulations, law permeates all spheres and sectors. On this course you will have the flexibility and freedom to choose modules that match your interests and ambitions, without necessarily committing to a particular area or cluster of laws.
In your dissertation, you will carry out your own investigation and analysis to bring fresh insight into a key legal question or issue that fascinates you. To do this you’ll use your knowledge of theoretical approaches to the study of law, and you’ll receive guidance on research design and ethics from your academic supervisor.
Previous students have chosen topics such as terrorism, breaches of human rights in the garments industry, and legal issues in VR and the metaverse.
Boost your career
You will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with the public in our Legal Advice Clinic. And we’ll ensure you have the opportunity to build your professional network via our strong links to chambers and law firms across the UK, including Magic Circle firms in London.
Whether you wish to advance your existing career or start a new journey into a law-focused career, or even follow the path of advanced academic study, the LLM Law programme will prepare you through developing your skills and expertise in law and legal studies.
On the LLM Law you’ll build a network of academics, peers and alumni. These connections will help broaden your perspective, boost your expertise, and prepare for whatever you decide to do next.
You can choose to take the next step in your career, contribute to important legal research or enhance your existing role. The skills of critical thinking, research evaluation and effective communication are in demand in both public and private sectors and within and outside of the legal profession.
Our graduates work in a range of organisations including:
Law Firms
NGOs
Charities
Judicial services
Academia
Consultancy services
International corporations
To show our commitment to your success, we work with two Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) training providers – Barbri and BPP. These organisations provide out students with discounts, free training modules, masterclasses and events, and careers advice.
This course is also the ideal stepping stone to PhD study, where you can carry out in-depth research into an area of law that interests you.
Careers and employability support
Our degrees open up an extremely wide array of career pathways in businesses and organisations, large and small, in the UK and overseas. Our specialist Employability team is ready to support you, whether you are starting out your career after leaving higher education or returning to university to open up new career options.
We provide individual employability advice, application support, career events, development opportunities and resources to help you plan and achieve your career goals. We also run a paid internship scheme specifically for arts, humanities and social sciences students.
The Lancaster Award is available to all postgraduate taught students and recognises work experience, volunteering and personal development alongside your studies. Developed with employers, it helps you reflect on key skills, boost your CV and articulate your strengths with confidence.
Whether you have a clear idea of your potential career path or need some help considering the options, our friendly team is on hand.
Find out more about Lancaster’s careers events, extensive resources and personal support for Careers and Employability
Entry requirements
Academic requirements
2:2 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in Law or any other subject.
We will also consider applications on an individual basis if you have a qualification that is not included on our list of international qualifications, or experience in professional legal practice.
English language requirements
We require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 6.0 in each element of the test.
If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, complete our enquiry form and one of the team will get back to you.
Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored pre-master's pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University master's degrees. Visit INTO Lancaster University for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.
Course structure
We continually review and enhance our curriculum to ensure we are delivering the best possible learning experience, and to make sure that the subject knowledge and transferable skills you develop will prepare you for your future. The University will make every reasonable effort to offer programmes and modules as advertised. In some cases, changes may be necessary and may result in new modules or some modules and combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
Core
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The dissertation is your opportunity to design and deliver an original research project on a legal topic you’re passionate about. With the freedom to choose your own area of focus, you’ll develop in-depth expertise while showcasing your critical thinking, methodological precision and academic writing skills.
You’ll be supported and supervised throughout by a dedicated academic from the Law School whose own research aligns with your chosen topic. Your supervisor will provide you with tailored guidance, intellectual mentorship and feedback grounded in cutting-edge legal scholarship.
Whether you aspire to pursue doctoral study, enter a specialist legal field or influence policy and practice, the dissertation will demonstrate your ability to produce independent, rigorous legal research.
We view the dissertation as more than an academic exercise: it’s a personalised opportunity to shape your future in law.
This module will help you develop the skills required for the postgraduate study of law and leads up to your dissertation.
You will gain insights into:
How to carry out good academic work
What characterises ethical research
How to be conscientious about research methods
How choices of method impact on research and outcomes
You will learn how to, design research projects, approach research and writing in an analytical and critical manner and reference correctly.
Whilst also engaging in sessions on critical writing, you will learn how to express your unique voice through text.
Optional
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The relationship between human rights enjoyment/violations and the behaviour of business enterprises has been a topic of discussion for several decades. Challenges posed by business behaviour have led to the development and implementation of many initiatives by international institutions, such as the UN.
In this module, you will study the rationale for considering human rights in the context of business activities, as well as the challenges faced by traditional international law to try to accommodate these concepts.
The module addresses voluntary guidelines, more legally binding provisions, and following the UN process of drafting an international treaty on business and human rights.
Corporate governance lies at the intersection of business, law and public accountability, making it a vital and evolving area of legal study. This module offers a critical examination of the legal frameworks that regulate how companies are governed and controlled. The primary focus is on the UK and EU law regulating corporate governance, with comparative insights drawn from jurisdictions such as the USA.
You’ll explore key topics including:
Corporate purpose
Board structure and diversity
Executive remuneration
Shareholder rights and stewardship
Stakeholder engagement
Corporate social responsibility
Through in-depth analysis of governance practices and regulatory models, you’ll engage with real-world case studies and contemporary debates on corporate ethics, accountability and reform.
This module stands out for its integration of theory, practical application and international comparison—equipping you with a global and critical perspective on corporate law. It deepens your understanding of how legal systems shape, support and challenge corporate power and responsibility.
Questions surrounding the ways that regulation of business by the law will contribute to facilitating and promoting sustainable development now dominate newspaper headlines, policymakers’ agendas, and academic research. This module provides an insight into the concepts and legal issues related to facilitating and promoting sustainable development, with a focus on the law regulating corporate governance and capital markets.
In addition to established concepts regarding the integration of wider environmental and social considerations in business and finance, this module explores the theories, legal concepts and efforts to promote sustainable development and the legal issues and challenges they generate.
The module provides an account of the legal regulation of corporate governance and capital markets in the UK and the EU that seeks to promote sustainable development, but comparisons will be made with relevant parts of the law from other jurisdictions as well.
This module will help you develop a coherent international perspective on business law as it relates to and affects corporations. The module will use our globalised economy as the context for an in-depth study of corporate law.
You will be asked to consider the view that a national corporate is merely a service which international business can access if it suits their needs and will critically assess and discuss the pros and cons of this perspective.
As you continue to interrogate this line of thought, you will have the opportunity to examine the strengths and weaknesses of UK corporate law - taking a comparative view when measuring UK corporate law against international standards. Strong links to practitioners will inform insights.
Our world is facing an ever-increasing number of global environmental challenges. This engaging module examines the international legal response to those challenges. It delves into the socio-economic, political and scientific implications of environmental problems and, in doing so, invites you to assess their impact on law and policy-making.
The module focuses on contemporary environmental problems such as:
Climate change
Marine pollution
The protection of international watercourses, fisheries and biodiversity
The relationship between trade and the environment
You will assess the law’s strengths and weaknesses in regulating each of these issues.
This module will enable you to develop your independent research skills in preparation for your dissertation module. It also provides you with the opportunity to study an area of law that is currently unavailable within our optional modules.
This module will enable you to develop their independent research skills in preparation for your dissertation module. It also provides you with the opportunity to study an area of law that is currently unavailable within our optional modules.
This module offers a rare opportunity to explore the growing legal, commercial and social significance of insolvency. You’ll examine the core principles of UK insolvency law, including corporate, personal and cross-border insolvency.
A key focus is the critical appraisal of UK insolvency institutions and the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks. You’ll learn to see insolvency as a pervasive feature of business life—shaping decisions from a company’s incorporation to its trading practices and ultimately to its financial collapse.
The module also explores the EU Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings, offering comparative insight into European insolvency regimes and their policy objectives.
By understanding the deep links between business failure, legal systems and economic sustainability, you’ll be well positioned to analyse and recommend much-needed legal reforms in insolvency law.
This module is a highly relevant look at Intellectual Property Law. It provides you with the opportunity to undertake an in-depth evaluation of the UK’s intellectual property framework and its interaction with international law.
The module will introduce you to the key legal principles and political issues underpinning intellectual property protection. At the heart of the evaluation of the law is a strong focus on technological developments such as:
Film
Television
Software
The Internet
Cloud storage
Stem cell research
In an increasingly globalised economy, understanding how international law shapes business is essential. This module explores the legal and institutional frameworks that govern cross-border commerce and investment. You’ll examine how national laws, international treaties, regulatory bodies and global institutions influence the rules of international business.
Key areas of study include:
International investment regulation
Bilateral and multilateral trade agreements
Soft law instruments such as codes of conduct
Decisions of global organisations
The structure and role of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
The basic principles of GATT
The WTO’s interaction with other areas of global regulation, including health and environmental protection
Offering a critical, practice-relevant perspective, the module examines how international legal systems facilitate, constrain and reshape business across borders.
By combining doctrinal analysis with current global challenges, it equips you with a nuanced understanding of transnational legal governance in a complex and evolving world.
Three central questions arise when civil and commercial disputes before the English courts involve an international element:
How do we decide which court can legitimately claim jurisdiction in relation to the dispute?
Which system of law will the court claiming jurisdiction apply to the dispute?
Once a decision has been reached by the courts in one country, under what circumstances will that decision be recognized or enforced in the other country or countries?
These are the key issues you will explore in this intellectually engaging and practically relevant module. Alongside litigation-focused analysis, the course provides a foundational understanding of cross-border commercial arbitration.
You’ll study topics such as arbitral jurisdiction, the legal status of arbitration agreements, international arbitral procedures, and the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards under international frameworks.
This module equips you with essential knowledge of international dispute resolution mechanisms and prepares you to engage with complex legal challenges in global commercial practice.
During this module you will explore each international crime, deepening your understanding of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It will also focus on the role of international courts and tribunals, mixed and hybrid courts and tribunals and national courts.
You will be given stimulating examples of prosecution and punishment to engage with. These are informed by the convenor’s own cutting-edge research in transitional criminal justice and retrospective justice.
This module provides an overview of the rights protected by international instruments. This includes civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.
You will be introduced to the regional and universal systems protecting and promoting human rights. The main focus will be on the UN human rights system, but regional systems will also be compared.
You will learn about the substance and procedure of human rights and engage with key debates in the development of rights and the obligations of non-state actors.
Diverse and fascinating: the rules, laws and customs that govern inter-state relationships come into sharp focus in this module. It provides you with a base from which you can further your study of specific areas of international law.
The module explores the essential elements of international law and the way that they are used to shape the world in which we live. You will gain an in-depth understanding of both theory and practice, working with real examples of international law to critically assess, allowing you to identify its shortcomings and challenges.
The United Nations is the only truly global international organisation and forms the essential framework in which international law develops.
This module explores the UN’s structure and membership, how it makes international law and its personality, immunities and responsibility, especially for UN peacekeepers.
It will also focus on International Court of Justice, the UN’s judicial organ and how it exercises jurisdiction, evaluates evidence, makes judgments and delivers advisory opinions.
The Clinical Legal Education module will allow you to provide legal advice in real-life cases. You will take instructions from a client, identify the relevant issues at hand, conduct research on an appropriate strategy to resolve this dispute legally and communicate advice to the client.
By doing this, you will develop your legal skills, particularly research, fact-analysis and legal analysis. It will provide an insight into how law operates in practice and how those providing legal advice are bound by codes of ethics. During this module, you will be under the supervision of a professionally qualified solicitor or barrister.
You must hold an English Qualifying Law Degree and successfully complete the application process to take this module. You must also be available for face-to-face training.
The Clinical Legal Education module will allow you to provide legal advice in real-life cases. You will take instructions from a client, identify the relevant issues at hand, conduct research on an appropriate strategy to resolve this dispute legally and communicate advice to the client.
By doing this, you will develop their legal skills, particularly research, fact-analysis and legal analysis. It will provide an insight into how law operates in practice and how those providing legal advice are bound by codes of ethics. During this module, you will be under the supervision of a professionally qualified solicitor or barrister.
You must hold an English Qualifying Law Degree and successfully complete the application process to take this module. You must also be available for face-to-face training.
Street Law is an international network that promotes the teaching of law to schools and community groups. It allows you to put together a presentation on topical issues of the law that will be of interest to a selected audience.
These audiences may include:
Primary school children
Secondary school children
College students
University students
SureStart
Other community groups including domestic violence refuges, homeless shelters etc.
You will identify a relevant topic and research the practical aspects of that law, before putting together a presentation that is accessible to the audience, setting out the key issues they need to know about.
You must successfully complete the application process to take this module. You must also be available for face-to-face training.
The rights of peoples and nations define states and international borders, drive the break-up of states and formation of new ones and underpin conflict between states and within them.
This module looks at nationhood, national self-determination, rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples, and how these relate to borders, the control of resources and the environment.
Fees and funding
We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27
entry fees have not yet been set.
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There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.
Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.
College fees
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small College Membership Fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.
For students starting in 2025, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses.
Computer equipment and internet access
To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.
The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.
Application fees for 2025
For most taught postgraduate programmes starting in 2025 you must pay a non-refundable application fee of £40. We cannot consider applications until this fee has been paid, as advised on our online secure payment system. There is no application fee for postgraduate research applications.
Application fees for 2026
There is no application fee if you are applying for postgraduate study starting in 2026.
Paying a deposit
For some of our courses you will need to pay a deposit to accept your offer and secure your place. We will let you know in your offer letter if a deposit is required and you will be given a deadline date when this is due to be paid.
The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status.
If you are studying on a programme of more than one year’s duration, tuition fees are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
Details of our scholarships and bursaries for 2026-entry study are not yet available, but you can use our opportunities for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.
The information on this site relates primarily to the stated entry year and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.
The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.
More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.
Our Students’ Charter
We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. Find out more about our Charter and student policies.
