MA Legal Studies (General Programme)
London, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2024
TUITION FEES
GBP 25,740 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas student fees | home student fees: GBP 15,130 per year
Introduction
Our MA in Legal Studies programme allows students to study at our vibrant School of Law with its unique focus on the legal systems and legal challenges of the Global South generally and Asia, Africa and the Middle East in particular.
The programme allows students to create their programme structure, choosing modules from a range covering comparative regional law, trade law, law and development, commercial law (including copyright and patent law), human rights, environmental law, Islamic law, dispute resolution, and international law.
All SOAS modules are designed not only to introduce students to the general fields of law but also to provide an understanding of how generic legal structures and processes may operate in non-Western social and cultural settings.
In addition, students may be able to undertake modules outside of the School of Law, opening up SOAS’ array of world-leading options in languages, cultures, arts, humanities, politics, economics and finance, and beyond. Students complete the MA in Legal Studies by undertaking a dissertation and developing an extended research project on a topic of their own choice.
The MA may be taken full-time over one year, or part-time throughout two, three or four years.
Why study MA Legal Studies (General Programme) at SOAS?
- We are ranked in the UK top 20 (QS World University Rankings 2023)
- SOAS is 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
- Our MA in law teaching reflects our research strengths in the laws of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and in Islamic, international, human rights, commercial and trade, comparative, and environmental law. Much of our teaching concerns the critical study of law and the ways that law can be used to marginalise or empower individuals and communities
- In today’s globalised environment, our teaching also explores the study of the society in which the law operates, and the relationship of law to other structuring forces such as gender, sexuality, race, and economic status
- All teachers on modules offered at SOAS are experts in their designated field, and many have years of experience advising governments, international and non-governmental organisations, or in professional practice
- Undertaking the MA in law at SOAS brings you into the heart of a world-leading, one-of-a-kind law school to study the world’s most pressing legal issues.
Gallery
Ideal Students
Why you?
The MA in Legal Studies programme is ideal for those who wish to study law at a post-graduate level but do not already possess an undergraduate law degree. It is designed for those who wish to enhance their knowledge of law-related subjects to benefit their careers(e.g., journalists, NGO/INGO workers), and to expand their knowledge of, and critical engagement with, law, particularly as it relates to the Global South.
You will join international alumni of LLM/ MA in law graduates at SOAS, many of whom are now working at the UN, in NGOs, in government, in private practice, in policy work or in academia. Since the MA in Legal Studies may be taken full-time or part-time, many students have been able to successfully combine their studies at SOAS with their existing careers.
Admissions
Curriculum
To facilitate their study of law, all MA students are required to attend a two-week Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods in September before they begin their MA. Students must take modules to a total value of 180, consisting of a dissertation (60 credits) and 120 credits of taught modules. Taught modules are worth either 15 or 30 credits.
Please note that not all modules will be available every year.
Compulsory
- Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods
- MA Dissertation in Law
- Law, Rights & Social Change
Guided options List B
Maximum 60 credits from List B, of which 30 credits can be selected from Open Options
- Gender and the Law of War
- Human Rights of Women
- Law and Natural Resources
- Human Rights and Islamic Law
- International Commercial Arbitration
- Intellectual Property Law (PG)
- International laws on the use of force
- Foundations of International Law
- The Law of Armed Conflict
- Colonialism, Empire and International Law
- Water Justice: Rights, Access and Movements
- Comparative Constitutional Law
- International Criminal Law
- Gender, Sexuality and Law: Selected Topics
- Gender, Sexuality and Law: Theories and Methodologies
- International Investment Law
- Law, Environment and Social Justice
- International Migration Law
- International Refugee Law
- Law, Environment, and the Global Commons: Ice, Sea, Space and Beyond
- International Environmental Law
- Law and the Biodiversity Crisis
- The Prohibition of Torture in International Law
- Water and Development: Commodification, Ecology and Globalisation
- Multinational Enterprises and the Law I
- Multinational Enterprises and the Law II
- Business and Human Rights in the Global Economy
- Comparative Company Law
- Israel, Palestine, and International Law
- Palestine, Resistance, and the Law
- Alternative Dispute Resolution I
- Law and the Climate Crisis
- International Protection of Human Rights
- Islamic Family Law
- Islamic Legal Theory
- Transnational Law, Finance and Technology
- Colonial Geographies of International Law
Guided options List A
Minimum 45 credits from List A
- Law, Religion, and the State in South Asia
- Law and Development in Africa
- Law and Society in Southeast Asia
- Law and Postcolonial Theory
- Law and Society in The Middle East and North Africa
Program Outcome
Knowledge and Understanding
Students will acquire knowledge and understanding through:
- Attendance in all classes, independent and group study, and class preparation.
- Participation in both non-assessed and assessed coursework in some subjects.
- In-course lectures, seminars, and coursework.
- A compulsory but non-assessed pre-sessional course on law and legal methods.
Intellectual (Thinking) Skills
Students will develop these skills through:
- Courses that introduce information and ideas require critical assessment and contextual analysis. Students are encouraged not merely to summarise evidence and arguments but also to develop their assessments of the relative value of different strategies, arguments, and evidence.
- Independent dissertation and coursework that involve selecting, designing, and refining topics (with advice and assistance from tutors) and formulating precise research questions and hypotheses.
- Courses with interdisciplinary content and structure.
Subject-Based Practical Skills
These skills will be developed through:
- Writing long essays and dissertations.
- Regular seminar presentations.
- Seminar discussions.
- Independent work for essays and dissertations.
- Independent work supported by departmental dissertation guidance notes and meetings with supervisors.
- Required regular readings for weekly seminar discussions.
- Participation in moots and debates during law and legal method seminars and some taught courses.
Transferable Skills
Students will develop these skills through:
- Preparation for seminars, writing long essays and other coursework, dissertations, and examinations.
- Individual and/or joint seminar presentations and class participation.
- Preparation for seminars, discussion in seminars, correction of coursework by tutors, and preparation of answers to exam questions.
- Formation of study groups.
Assessment
- Through unseen examinations. Long essays, course work and dissertations may also be used/ required.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
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.
Recent graduates have been hired by organisations including:
- PwC LLP
- BLM Law
- BloombergNEF
- British Medical Association
- Clifford Chance
- DAC Beachcroft LLP
- Department for Work and Pensions
- EY
- HM Treasury
- Latham & Watkins
- Legal Cheek
- Simpson Millar Solicitors
- The Economist
- Travers Smith
- Vodafone
- World Cancer Research Fund
Program Leaders
Program delivery
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.