LLM Law
Course Overview
The LLM in Law offered by the University of Bolton's School of Law is suitable for law graduates, non-law graduates, and practicing lawyers.Our challenging but supportive environment gives you the chance to acquire postgraduate legal skills from a team of tutors with specialist knowledge and close links to the legal profession.
You'll have the opportunity to explore the law's key themes and focus your studies on personal and professional interest areas, ranging from corporate and finance law to employment law, intellectual property law, European law, and international law.
This LLM offers intellectually-stimulating course content underpinned by internationally recognised research. By the end of the course, you'll have had the opportunity to develop key transferable skills that are in demand in both legal and non-legal careers worldwide.
This course is not designed for people looking to become a solicitor or barrister. If you wish to practice law, please consider our LLB (Hons) Law or Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) courses.
Highlights
- Our mission to develop innovative, rewarding and career-focused training has led to our rating as second in the UK for student experience and teaching quality by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021.
- At the institution level, the Guardian University Guide 2022 ranks the University of Bolton as one of the UK's top 50 institutions for the second year running.
- You can join our vibrant, focused and supportive community of legal scholars gaining advanced knowledge and skills directly relevant to international and corporate law sectors.
- The School of Law’s dedicated and well-qualified team deliver teaching and supervision, drawing on their professional experience as qualified solicitors, barristers and solicitor advocates, as well as their doctoral and research expertise.
- You’ll benefit from the opportunity to critically analyse and understand the complexities arising in your chosen specialist field.
- We'll support you in developing originality in applying your knowledge, along with a practical understanding of how to use established research and enquiry techniques to best effect.
- You'll have the chance to develop strengths in critical analysis, creative thinking, formulating, and solving complex legal problems.
- The University of Bolton’s excellent libraries, 24/7 IT facilities, WiFi and learning areas are freely available for your use.
- By developing your interpersonal skills to interact effectively with a range of specialists, you could also enhance your professional prospects.
Key Features
- This course focuses on establishing your knowledge and understanding of the doctrines and principles that underpin the law of England and Wales.
- Our expert team will support you as you learn about the sources of the law, how it is made and developed, the institutions that administer it, and the personnel who practice it.
- You'll have the opportunity to explore a wide range of legal concepts, values, principles and rules of English law.
- We'll support you in developing your understanding of the relationship between legal concepts, values, principles and rules in several areas.
- You'll be able to practice your skills in the University's dedicated courtroom, which provides a cutting-edge learning environment and an excellent venue for guest speakers.
- Our well-qualified and research-active teaching team offers specialist knowledge of the legal sector, underpinned by their first-hand experience working in legal practice.
- Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work in advance and ensuring that in-class learning is highly interactive.
- At the School of Law, we regularly review our courses to ensure we offer our students the best possible education and opportunities. An industry advisory board that brings together representatives from legal practice, the judiciary and the legal sector supports this process, ensuring our courses reflect the needs of employers and the wider legal industry.
- By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.
Entry Requirements
- You should have at least a lower second class honours degree (2:2) in a relevant subject (or a comparable qualification from a UK or overseas institution).
- If you don’t possess the above qualifications but have substantial managerial or employment experience, we’ll be happy to consider your application.
- Your application form must be accompanied by a reflective overview of the managerial responsibilities you have undertaken to date.
- Your application must include a reference on headed paper from your current or most recent employer. The reference must clearly state the length of employment and give a breakdown of your and roles and responsibilities.
- We'll consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
- You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 7.0 with normally no less than 6.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
The LLM is an advanced academic degree that allows you to explore a selection of legal issues in more depth. It can assist you in developing the associated research and reasoning skills that employers highly value. It's open to both law and non-law graduates.
Upon successfully completing this course, you'll be able to demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems and be confident in planning and implementing your projects. Your greater understanding of specific legal disciplines will support you in demonstrating the strategic planning and thinking skills needed in today's global economy.
By studying this course, you can also develop a range of transferable skills such as legal research and writing, analysis, critical evaluation and logical thinking, teamwork, leadership, and written and verbal communication.
What can I do with this qualification?
The LLM is not a route to qualification as a solicitor or barrister. If your goal is to become a solicitor, please consider our Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) courses. Alternatively, please consider our LLB (Hons) Law degree if you wish to train as a barrister.
This LLM can also be a stepping-stone to a PhD.
Alternative career options
Graduates can use this qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. They include:
- Insurance
- IT
- Teaching and education
- Immigration
- Police services
- Trading standards
- Investment banking
- Tax advice/inspection
- International aid/development
- Human resources
- Health and safety
- Probation/social work
- Accountancy
- Political research
- Charity and advice work
- Recruitment
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £8,496 for the academic year 2024/25.
International Fees
Overseas students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Overseas fee of £15,950 for the academic year 2024/25.
Bursaries
Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2024-25 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:
You should have to hand:
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Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
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Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
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Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
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Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
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Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference
Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.
Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.
If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk
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Apply online: University of Bolton LLM - 27 January 2025
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Apply online: University of Bolton LLM in Law - 22 September 2025
International Applicants
Thank you for your interest
In order to determine your suitability for this course as an international student and also to confirm you meet any initial eligibility criteria, we need you to answer a few short questions.
Teaching & Assessment
We use various teaching and learning methods to help you acquire and develop the appropriate skills, concepts and knowledge needed to succeed in your studies. Our blended learning and teaching style includes online delivery and engagement where appropriate.
You'll be expected to attend formally-timetabled classes with tutors, such as lectures, seminars, tutorials, discussions groups, guest speakers and masterclasses. We'll use a combination of live sessions and online and practical work as appropriate. You'll also need to undertake a significant amount of personal study, including activities such as background reading, preparing for seminar activities, working on assignments, and revising for exams.
The assessment strategy aims to help you achieve the overall aims of the programme and the learning outcomes for individual modules. As well as being a way to assess your achievement, the assessments also help you organise and develop your learning. Assessment feedback can help you build skills and understand your strengths and weaknesses.
There are two types of assessment: formative and summative. Formative assessments help you learn and develop your knowledge and skills, while the results of your summative assessments provide your grades. Formative feedback is given face-to-face, online or in written form. Summative assessments tasks are linked to each module's learning outcomes, and you'll need to complete these before the end of the module. Module assessments typically involve written coursework, project work, oral assessments and portfolios. You'll also receive feedback for summative assessment, usually in writing, with the opportunity to receive a more detailed verbal explanation.
If your first degree is not in law or your first language is not English, we strongly encourage you to take International Business Law as your first option. This module will provide you with an overview/foundation in the principles of legal systems.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Fundamental Academic Legal Skills and the English Legal System
- Corporate Governance
- International Business Law
- International Human Rights Law
- Individual Employment Law
- Public International Law
- Independent Legal Research Project
- Financial and Economic Crime
- Legal Tech/Fin Tech
- International Dispute Resolution
- Islamic Insurance (Takaful)
- Islamic Business Transaction Law
- International Marketing Management
- Corporate and Social Responsibility
- Corporate Reporting
- Strategic Management and Leadership
- Dissertation
- Research Skills and Methods in Law
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 65% Practical exams 27% Written exams 8% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 80% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 20% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.
