LLM Law

Entry requirements

Applicants will normally have a degree in Law, a related social science discipline (such as Criminology, Politics and International Relations, Sociology, Anthropology, Media & Communications, Economics or Psychology) or a humanities degree (such as English, History, Philosophy or Art).

We also accept applications from people with professional, transferrable experience working in:

• NGOs
• Charities
• Criminal justice and human rights organisations
• Journalism
• The civil service or other governmental positions

Students will normally be expected to have an upper second-class honours degree or its equivalent. There is some flexibility where applicants demonstrate exceptional commitment or abilities to study for the degree because of their possession of other qualifications, or because they have relevant experiences that would qualify them for the programme.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The LLM (Master of Law) equips you with advanced knowledge and expertise in specialist areas of law, empowering you to pursue a diverse range of legal careers, or PhD study, in the UK and internationally.

Why study LLM Law at Goldsmiths

• The LLM at Goldsmiths is unique, giving you access to Work Placement and Law Clinic modules (for credit).
• We’re focussed on employability, and the programme has been developed with feedback from employers and legal practices. Our central Careers Service is here to support you every step of the way.
• You’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with renowned legal scholars, eminent legal practitioners and NGOs who co-teach or lead in our modules embedding advanced legal theory and professional practice.
• You’ll learn from important legal thinkers, internationally leading barristers and politicians. Our Law Faculty and Visiting Professors are some of the greatest legal minds of our generation.
• The LLM Law has a rich programme of activities. You’ll have the chance to learn from workshops and visits to many of the UK’s leading institutions such as the Royal Courts of Justice, UK Supreme Court and Houses of Parliament, and gain practical experience through taking placements and law clinic modules (for credit).
• You’ll gain a holistic understanding of Law. Visits to law-related exhibitions, film screenings and theatre productions will demonstrate how present Law is in our society.

Pathways

In addition to LLM Law, we offer the following three specialist LLM pathways:

• LLM International Human Rights
• LLM Criminal Justice and Human Rights
• LLM Criminal Justice

Study 21st century Law, and Law in context

You’ll have the opportunity to choose from the full range of innovative LLM modules delivered by the Department of Law (full module details below). To diversify your studies, you’ll also be able to choose relevant optional modules from the Department of Politics and International Relations.

An LLM from Goldsmiths puts you in the driving seat, enabling you to study Law from a multidimensional perspective.

Our curriculum has been built for the 21st-century landscape of Law, including subjects from Feminist Approaches to Law to NGO Advocacy in a polarised world, AI and Disruptive Technologies, Environmental Challenges, Social Justice and Human Rights. You can find our full module list below.

Active learning

Our students learn the law in action while helping local communities and developing crucial professional skills. Through our placement modules focussing on human rights and criminal justice, or by participating in Law Clinics.

Students currently have the opportunity to learn invaluable practical skills by taking part in the University of London Refugee Law Clinic or the Law and Policy Clinics covering a wide range of topics.

Our leading researchers

You'll have unique access to influential legal thinkers who have undertaken high-level legal and policy work in government departments, international courts, prestigious research centres, boutique law firms and some of the top NGOs and human rights organisations in the UK. Find out more about our leading researchers.

Harvard Law School course

We’re the first department outside the United States to offer free access to Harvard Law School’s pioneering Zero-L course.

Taught by 18 leading Harvard Law faculty members, it has hours of video lectures, vocabulary, and periodic comprehension checks that you can take at your own pace. The course modules cover a range of topics, including an introduction to the legal profession, History of the American Constitution, separation of powers and federalism, stages of litigation and citizenship rights.

Materials developed by Goldsmiths Law academics to support the delivery of Zero-L direct you to key areas of interest in the programme and give you support to understand how Zero-L strengthens your understanding of English law and helps you to develop legal skills.

Study abroad, international court visit and our Athens Summer School

We take our students on an annual international court visit. Read our blog to learn more about our visit to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on February 2023, where students attended a Grand Chamber hearing and participated in a workshop with the UK Judge at the Court, Tim Eicke KC.

We organise an annual summer school in Athens, in collaboration with leading Universities there. The week-long intensive programme provides a range of courses (in e.g. refugee law and migration studies, EU law, criminal law, law and technology), connects our students with high-profile institutions and authorities there, such as the British Ambassador and British Council in Greece, as well as giving them unprecedented access to cultural visits and experiences.

In recent years, our students have also attended summer schools at the University of Geneva and Amsterdam Law school.

Students are supported through substantial Department of Law scholarships to participate in our summer school and international court visit. Funding is reviewed on a yearly basis. To find out more about funding and other global opportunities at Goldsmiths, visit our Study Abroad pages.

Student life and student support

You'll belong to a close-knit community, and will be supported by a network which includes academic personal tutors, career advisers, disability officers and other student support staff. We work in small groups in lectures and research seminars, and immerse in legal London as a group on a regular basis. The legal, institutional and cultural experiences you will gain in the LLM Law will stay with you forever.

Find out more about student life and studying in London, explore 'a day in the life' in the Law department, and visit the Department of Law Instagram page for a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to study Law at Goldsmiths.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos.

Information for international students

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2023/2024 academic year.

• Home - full-time: £13260
• International - full-time: £19210

If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.