Welcome to our taught LLM and MSc Law and Finance programmes

Welcome! Durham is different:

• A Top 10 Law School: Durham Law School is consistently ranked among the top 10 Law Schools in the UK by such guides as the Complete University Guide, the Times or the Guardian. According to the QS World Ranking for Law and Legal Studies 2025, Durham is a top 60 law school.
• On campus visits by leading law firms offering more than 1,000 training contracts: our October 2024 Durham Law Careers Week was an outstanding success with on campus visits by law firms offering more than 1,000 training contracts.
• Outstanding alumni: the Durham Law School Alumni Association’s joint Presidents are two former UK Supreme Court Justices who are part of a distinguished group of Founder Members. Those Founder Members are but a small number of Durham alumni who have gone on to successful legal and other careers. On graduation, you will be eligible to join our alumni association.
• The Durham Collegiate System: each Durham Law student is a member of a College. As a member of a College, you will enjoy all the opportunities and benefits of college life.
• A wide range of law related student societies which you will be eligible to join: they include the Bar Society, the European Law Students’ Association, Durham, the Law Society, the International Law Society, the Negotiation Society, and the Mooting Society. Some society events have included:
  • mooting competitions where our students have achieved considerable success.
  • mock trials judged by High Court judges.
• Access to Employability Course resources: you will have access to the resources of the Law School’s unique Employability Course.
• Outstanding student life: at the Law School you are within a few minutes’ walk of a World Heritage Site – Durham Cathedral – which featured in the Harry Potter film franchise . And, on a more law related theme, did you know that Durham Cathedral holds the only 1216 surviving Magna Carta?

Our taught programmes

Durham Law School offers top-ranked global law programmes to an excellent and diverse student population from across the world. It aims to deliver a cutting-edge, research-led curriculum.

Our ten 2025/2026 taught postgraduate programmes are:

• Corporate Law
• European Trade and Commercial Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• International Dispute Resolution
• International Environmental Law
• International Law and Governance
• International Trade and Commercial Law
• Medical Law and Ethics
• MSc Law and Finance
• Master of Laws

A detailed description of programmes and modules approved for the 2024/25 academic year can be found in the Programme and Module Handbook.

Note that (1) modules approved for running for the first time in 2025/26 are not yet listed in the handbook; (2) not all approved modules running in 2024/25 will run in 2025/26; and (3) some approved modules listed as not running in 2024/25 will run in 2025/26.

Specialist teaching

Durham Law School’s research specialities are at the heart of our LLM programmes.

Our module convenors include leaders in the fields of international, commercial and European law. They are drawn from our Academic Staff and our Honorary Staff.

To see what kind of research takes place in Durham, why not check out our Research Groups?

They include:

• the Institute of Commercial and Corporate Law,
• the Durham European Law Institute,
• the Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences,
• Law and Global Justice,
• the Centre for Sustainable Development,
• the Durham International Dispute Resolution Institute, and
• the Human Rights and Public Law Centre.

How many credits do I need to graduate?

Each LLM programme requires you to achieve 180 credits made up from:

• certain compulsory modules specified for each programme; and
• your choice of a dissertation worth 60 credits (7,500-10,000 words) or 75 credits (12,500-15,000 words); and
• your choice of modules from the lists of modules specified as options for that programme.

Modules, in general, carry 15 or 30 credits.

Details about credits for the MSc Law and Finance modules can be found on the MSc Law and Finance webpage.

How do I choose my modules for my programme?

Each LLM programme requires students to choose specific modules.

Students normally start to choose modules in early August. They can normally change modules until the third week of Michaelmas term.

To help students decide, module convenors introduce individual modules to students during induction week at the start of Michaelmas term.

Details about modules and associated credits that are available to MSc Law and Finance students can be found on the MSc Law and Finance webpage.

Learn More

Note: Since the brochure and flyers were last updated, the maximum dissertation length has been reduced to 15,000 words and the number of programmes being run has increased. 

Notes:

1. Although reasonable steps are taken by the University to provide the advertised programmes and services, the University does not guarantee the provision of such programmes and services. Any programme may be altered or withdrawn owing to circumstances beyond the University of Durham’s reasonable control. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in Government policy, withdrawal or reduction of funding, and change of law.
2. The University will take such steps as are available to minimise the effect or alteration or withdrawal of the programme. Such steps may include the offer of a place on an alternative programme.
3. References to the University include Durham Law School, which is part of the University of Durham.