Legal and Constitutional Studies

Entry requirements

Minimum of an Upper Second Class (UK 2.1) Honours Degree or equivalent.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The MLitt in Legal and Constitutional Studies is an interdisciplinary programme in which students can construct an individually tailored degree with a primary focus in legal history or international law, or they can pursue an integrated, interdisciplinary, degree.

Course highlights

• Students have the opportunity to work on an individual and small-group basis with internationally leading scholars in the fields of legal, constitutional and historical research.
• The flexible nature of the programme makes it suitable both for those wishing to go on to doctoral research and for those wishing only to take a year’s specialist study.
• The compulsory modules equip students with knowledge of different theoretical approaches to law, legal history and constitutionalism, using the past to interrogate and investigate current issues and controversies.

Teaching format

The MLitt in Legal and Constitutional Studies is an interdisciplinary programme run jointly by the Schools of History and International Relations.

Over two semesters, students take five modules taught through a range of group seminars, workshops, one-to-one discussion and supervised independent research projects. The specialist modules are designed to be flexible enough to enable students to choose their own areas of in-depth study and include individually tailored research training and guidance. Module assessment comprises coursework; there are no final exams for this programme.

Throughout the year, but with particular focus during the last three months of the course, students will research and write a 15,000-word dissertation as their final assessment piece.

Combining historical and contemporary approaches within one unique, cross-disciplinary, degree, the MLitt in Legal and Constitutional Studies introduces students to a dynamic and expanding field of research. This degree enables students to pursue an exciting programme of study, through a combination of research-led taught classes and directed individual study.

The core modules are taught by faculty from across the Schools of History, International Relations and beyond. They equip students with knowledge of different theoretical approaches to law, legal history and constitutionalism, using the past to interrogate and investigate current issues and controversies. The core modules also provide students with the practical skills and approaches to undertake comparative study of aspects of law, legal history and constitutionalism.

The specialist modules are designed to be flexible enough to enable students to choose their own areas of in-depth study and include individually tailored research training and guidance. Students will be taught through a range of group seminars, workshops, one-to-one discussion and supervised independent research projects. The University of St Andrews also offers additional language teaching that is open to students at all levels of ability, including courses in Arabic and Mandarin.

The degree caters for students from different academic backgrounds and with diverse career plans. It is designed to prepare students for work beyond the MLitt: doctoral research within the field; study for a Law degree; and employment in areas more broadly related to law, legal history, global constitutionalism and international relations.

The MLitt draws on the long established, internationally recognised, teaching and research strengths of the Schools of History and International Relations. Both Schools received top-rankings within the 2014 Research Excellence Framework and within national student surveys.

The research interests of faculty teaching on the MLitt range from late antiquity to the present, with expertise that encompasses innovative global and cosmopolitan approaches, alongside more traditional legal and jurisprudential methodologies. All teaching is undertaken by experts who are actively engaged in legal, constitutional and historical studies.

Information for international students

Students whose first language is not English will be required to sit an appropriate test and achieve IELTS 7.0 or equivalent. http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/elt/entry/

Fees and funding

School scholarships may be available. http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/pg/fees-and-funding/

Qualification and course duration

PGDip

MLitt

Course contact details