School of Law, Gender and Media & Law, Environment and Development Centre

LLM Environmental Law and Sustainable Development

Key information

Duration
One year (full-time), two or three years (part-time)
Start of programme
September
Attendance mode
Full-time or part-time
Location
Campus
Fees

Home: £15,740
International: £26,770

Course code
M3U1
Entry requirements

A 2:1 degree in a relevant undergraduate degree.  

If you have a lower degree classification, your application may be considered if you can present a strong case, either through relevant work experience, other legal qualifications, or a strong supporting statement. References are not required, but can help build a stronger application if you fall below the 2:1 requirement or have non-traditional qualifications. 

See international entry requirements and English language requirements.

Course overview

The LLM in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development provides a unique specialisation in a rapidly evolving area of law that covers a range of issues at the heart of major contemporary developments and debates.

At SOAS, we understand environmental law as deeply connected with human and social issues. This is why our introductory course is a course on Law Environment and Social Justice. This also explains why human rights dimensions find repeated place in our courses.

We offer a wide range of distinctive modules that combine a focus on core subjects in the field alongside a critical inquiry into the theory and practice of environmental law, particularly as they relate to the Global South.

Why study LLM Environmental Law and Sustainable Development at SOAS?

  • We are ranked in the UK top 20 (QS World University Rankings 2023) 
  • We are ranked 6th in the UK for employability (QS World University Rankings 2023)
  • Our research publications have been rated first in the UK - and our School of Law rated sixth in the UK - in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021

We also offer courses focusing more specifically on the resource dimension of environmental law. At SOAS, we take a broad view of the subject matter and our Law and Natural Resources course addresses a broad variety of natural resources beyond the traditional focus on oil and gas, and does so in particular in terms of the livelihoods and human rights consequences of natural resource use.

  • Our international environmental law focused courses (International Environmental Law Law and the Climate Crisis, and Law, Environment and the Global Commons: Ice, Sea, Space and Beyond) will offer you a strong bases in some of the main challenges arising at the international and global level and provide you particular insights in the global South-global North aspects of relevant regimes that are on the whole structured around a North-South dichotomy
  • In addition, we offer cutting-edge courses, such as Water Justice: Rights, Access and Movements and Alternatives to Sustainable Development: Rights of Nature and Harmony with Nature that address topical issues in environmental policy and law 
  • Students are also encouraged to participate in the SOAS Environmental Law & Policy Clinic

SOAS Law, Environment and Development Centre (LEDC)

The programme is anchored in the research carried out at SOAS on environmental law whose institutional home is the Law, Environment and Development Centre (LEDC). The LEDC is the focal point for environment-related research activities in the School of Law, including a vibrant PhD cohort, an annual seminar series, the publication of the Law, Environment and Development Journal (LEAD Journal), and other activities linked to ongoing research.

As students on the LLM in environmental law, you will be invited to become student members of the SOAS Law, Environment and Development Centre (LEDC), providing you an opportunity to become involved and engage with the SOAS research community and actors in the field, which includes many scholars in different departments and inter-disciplinary centres, such as the Centre for Development, Environment and Policy and the Centre for Water and Development.

Why you?

The programme is ideal for LLB or other graduates with a related degree or legal or other professionals with an interest in the theory and practice of environmental law and related fields, particularly as they relate to the Global South. 

You will join graduates from the LLM at SOAS, many of whom are now working in environmental law in NGOs and consultancies, in government, in policy work at the national or international level (UN or other) or in academia (please also see the ‘employment’ tab on this page). 

Please note that the LLM is open to applicants from different disciplines and is not restricted to applicants who hold an UK law degree or international equivalent.  

Global Partnerships

This programme can be offered as part of a dual LLM degree with a number of our partnering Universities. For further information about our LLM Dual degree partnerships, please visit Global Partnerships.

Structure

Students must take modules to a total value of 180 credits, consisting of a dissertation (60 credits) and 120 credits of taught modules. Taught modules are worth either 15 or 30 credits. Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM are required to take at least 60 credits associated with his or her specialised LLM, and the dissertation topic will be undertaken within the LLM specialisation.

Please note that not all modules listed will be available every year.

Important notice

The information on the website reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. The modules are indicative options of the content students can expect and are/have been previously taught as part of these programmes. 

However, this information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change. 

Compulsory module

Specialist pathway options

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development are required to take at least 60 credits from the following list. 

General Law Options

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development are required to take at least 30 credits from the following list.

Open options

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development must take an additional 30 credits from either the specialist pathway list, the general law option list or SOAS open options.  

Teaching and learning

Contact hours

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on.

It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

We recommend that part-time students have between two-and-a-half and three days a week free to pursue their course of study. 

Knowledge and understanding

  • Students will acquire specialist knowledge of environmental law in an international and comparative perspective.
  • This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, knowledge and understanding of the following:
    • theoretical and practical underpinnings of environmental law internationally
    • context in which law is made, interpreted, adjudicated, and amended
    • role played by law, particularly environmental law in different situations internationally, particularly its role in promoting sustainable development in the global South
    • role and function of legal institutions in managing the environment and natural resources
    • weight and significance of different sources and methodologies
  • Students will develop knowledge of how to locate relevant materials and assess their relevance and/or importance

Intellectual (thinking) skills

  • Students should develop rigor in analysis and assessment of legal arguments.
  • Students should develop the ability to understand, summarise and critically assess differing perspectives on theoretical debates.
  • Students should develop independence of thought and the confidence to challenge the accepted wisdom.
  • Students should learn to identify issues and formulate questions for further research through independent work.
  • Students will be encouraged to bring to bear their own previous experience and knowledge in addressing legal issues in an interdisciplinary manner.

Subject-based practical skills

The programme will help students develop the ability to:

  • Write clear research essays and dissertations.
  • Research in a variety of specialized research libraries and institutes and online, and retrieve, sift and select information from a variety of sources.
  • Present seminar papers and defend the arguments therein.
  • Discuss ideas introduced during seminars.
  • Develop essay and dissertation research questions.
  • Read legal source materials rapidly and critically.
  • Present legal arguments in moots and debates.

Transferable skills

The programme will enable students to:

  • Communicate effectively in writing.
  • Structure and communicate ideas and arguments effectively both orally and in writing.
  • Read and comprehend significant quantities of reading rapidly and effectively and develop critical faculties.
  • Find and use a variety of written and digital materials, especially legal materials, in libraries and research institutes.
  • Present (non – assessed) material orally.
  • Develop teamwork skills.

SOAS Library

SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Scholarships

Title Deadline date
Tibawi Trust Award
Felix Non-Indian Scholarship
Felix Scholarships
Sasakawa Studentships
SOAS Master's Scholarships

Employment

SOAS Law graduates leave SOAS as civic minded and critically engaged individuals who can effectively contribute to their communities and societies. With a thorough understanding of the legal dimensions underlying many of our global challenges today, our Law students are valued by employers due to their analytical skills, specialist knowledge, and global perspective.

Graduates of the LLM Environmental Law and Sustainable Development degree have gone on to take up a variety of exciting opportunities.

Recent graduates have been hired by:

  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
  • Milieu
  • ClientEarth
  • Climate Law and Policy

Find out about our Careers Service.