Business Law and Sustainable Development

Entry requirements

Normally, a 2.2 honours degree (or equivalent) in Law will be required to be accepted onto this programme. Relevant practical experience in a related field will also be beneficial.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

Equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to become a leading lawyer, barrister or civil servant to build commercial structures and enterprises and enable sustainable development. This highly popular LLM provides an education combining Business Law with acumen in Sustainable Development, Ecological Protection, and Corporate Social Responsibility, and has been carefully designed by our first-class teaching staff to ensure that you receive high quality training that will enhance your employability.

As sustainable policies and their corresponding regulatory and compliance requirements are increasingly adopted at international, EU, and domestic levels of governance, the need for lawyers and policy makers capable of coordinating these two important areas of legal practice is rapidly expanding. Simultaneously, investors and shareholders are calling for enhanced levels of corporate social responsibility from their boards.

This programme is designed to provide you with the knowledge required to meet these challenges, and, from a corporate perspective, to adapt to a changing world. It may also appeal to practitioners who wish to acquire or update their legal knowledge to position themselves for employment in this burgeoning field. A challenging and rewarding subject to study, you will be immersed in the grounding concepts of commercial law designed to support the development of business both locally and globally, together with the regulatory requirements to do so sustainably.

Our teaching promotes the kind of contextual thinking that enables you to gain a deeper, more forward-thinking understanding about the issues at stake within these areas. The programme will provide you with advanced and specialist knowledge in key areas of Energy Law and Environmental Law, together with a detailed understanding of Commercial Law at an international level. You will explore the many different viewpoints and needs of energy and commerce at a global level within an environmental context.

Through the preparation of a dissertation on a topic of your choosing, you will develop the skills of critical analysis and independent research in law which are relevant to the needs of the legal profession and other areas of employment such as policy development. Upon completion, you will be equipped with the intellectual, critical and practical skills that are fundamental to practicing as a trained professional in this developing field.

With full- or part-time study options available, and start dates in September or January, you can tailor your studies to fit your lifestyle.

Information for international students

English Language Requirements

To study for a Postgraduate Taught degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:

IELTS Academic:

OVERALL - 6.5 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 6.0; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0

TOEFL iBT:

OVERALL - 90 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 21; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21

PTE Academic:

OVERALL - 62 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59

Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency:

OVERALL - 176 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 169; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169

Fees and funding

Please visit the university website for more information on fees for this programme.