Guide to LLMs: traditional and specialised

Home

News and events
News Events

LLM advice
Master of Laws degree: an introduction What can an LLM degree do for you? Choosing an LLM Traditional and
specialised LLMs Ways of studying
an LLM LLM subject areas Applying for an LLM programme Fees and costs Sources of funding LLM scholarships
and bursaries Preparing for your LLM degree Studying for an LLM in English International LLMs LLM glossary: a guide to LLM terms LLM rankings Legal careers
in the UK Further information

Study destinations
LLMs in the UK LLMs in Continental
Europe LLMs in the US LLMs in Australia and
New Zealand

LLM discussion
Forums

Student offers
Student offers Postgrad Solutions LLM Study Bursaries Win a guide to publishing your research

Types of LLM: traditional and specialised
LLMs are an extremely flexible qualification in terms of subjects you can study. As many students have already discovered, you should be able to find something that’s right for you

Traditional LLMs

Find the perfect LLM

Search for the perfect LLM for you using the international course search. You can search the comprehensive database of LLM programmes by country, subject area and study mode.

You can also find out more about the featured schools using the A–Z law school listing.

Traditional LLM programmes involved nine to twelve months of full-time study, made up of either two or three terms. During each term, students took three to five courses, except in the last term, when they might substitute an intensive writing effort (thesis) for several courses. Most such programmes were designed for foreign students to learn a new legal system. Students took a generalist curriculum that was meant to provide a watered-down view of the host country’s way of doing things.

Many such traditional programmes are still in existence. In fact, two of the major providers of LLM programmes, Germany and the US, continue to offer dozens of LLM programmes in this vein. But the LLM market has exploded to the point where these traditional programmes represent no more than a small proportion of what is on offer. Thus, in the US, there are now many dozens of specialities on offer, ranging from environmental law to international taxation, just as there are in Europe. Yet, it is not just the opportunity to specialise that has changed: there are now multiple modes of study on offer.

Specialised LLMs
LLM programmes offer the opportunity to study ever more specialised subjects. Thus, it is no longer necessary to take a year-long introduction to European Union law if you want to study just EU competition law and policy. Similarly, you can still take a generalist introduction to American law if you wish, but you can also earn a degree in oil and gas law if you prefer.

The dramatic increase in specialist programmes is to be seen in all of the leading providers of LLM programmes – from Germany to the UK, from the US to Australia – as well as many of the lesser providers. It is true that more specialised degrees are offered on a full-time rather than a part-time basis, but both study modes have seen dramatic increases in the range of programmes on offer.

Richard Montauk

Course search