Postgraduate LLM, PDip
Law (Law and Society)
The Kent LLM (and associated Diploma programme) allows you to broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of law by specialising in one or more different areas.
The Kent LLM (and associated Diploma programme) allows you to broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of law by specialising in one or more different areas.
This pathway is specifically concerned with how law operates in practice. It will provide students with theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives on law and society and encourage students to question how the law facilitates (or undermines) social justice at the local, national and international level.
It enables you to select from a range of modules offered by Kent Law School and the School of Social Policy, Sociology, and Social Research (SSPSSR) at the University of Kent, giving you the opportunity to critically analyse the role of law in contemporary global society, to study and understand key issues in legal and social policy, and to develop research and data analysis skills used in contemporary socio-legal research. It is suited to anyone who is interested in a career in a field which requires a sophisticated understanding of the operation of law in society, with skills in legal and social research, including students from non-legal backgrounds who would like to develop their research skills. It also provides an excellent foundation for students interested in progressing to PhD study.
In addition to learning the detail of the law, students at Kent Law School are taught to think about the law with regard to its history, development and relationship with wider society. The modules associated with this pathway enable you to study areas of contemporary relevance, to understand and interrogate their legal, ethical, and societal dimensions, and to learn skills for the creation of new knowledge about the operation and impact of law. Although the modules associated with the pathway can vary, this can include topics such an human rights law, migration, health law, law and science, law and economy, law and development, and social research methods.
Kent Law School (KLS) is the UK's leading critical law school. A cosmopolitan centre of world-class critical legal research, it offers a supportive and intellectually stimulating place to study postgraduate taught and research degrees.
You study within a close-knit, supportive and intellectually stimulating environment, working closely with academic staff. KLS uses critical research-led teaching throughout our programmes to ensure that you benefit from the Law School’s world-class research.
The fees for the Canterbury-only delivery of this programme are the same as those for the standard LLM programme.
We require a first class or upper second class honours degree in law or a relevant subject, or an equivalent international degree and we also welcome applications based on a lower second class honours degree which we will consider on a case-by-case basis alongside your relevant professional experience and other qualifications.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
This course requires a Very Good level of English language, equivalent to a high B2 on CEFR.
Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.
Examples:
IELTS 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component
PTE Academic 67 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test
A degree from the UK
A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country
Students who enter the Kent LLM have an open choice of modules from all LLM pathways. There are modules associated with each LLM Pathway which enable you to specialise in that area of law, and to meet the requirements to graduate with an LLM in a specific pathway.
Further information about the wide range of modules across all LLM pathways can be found on the main Kent LLM course page, and a list of modules associated with each LLM Pathway can be found under the Postgraduate Subject Requirements for Law.
Please note, the module listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time (September start); 15 months full-time, 28 months part-time (January start)
The Kent LLM (and associated Diploma programme) allows you to broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of law by specialising in one or more different areas. You can tailor your studies to your particular needs and interests to obtain an LLM or Diploma in a single pathway, in two pathways jointly, or by choosing a broad range of modules in different areas of law to obtain a general LLM or Diploma in Law.
As a student on the LLM at Canterbury, your choice of pathway will be shaped by the modules you take and your dissertation topic. To be awarded an LLM in a single pathway, at least three of your six modules must be chosen from those associated with that pathway with your dissertation also focusing on that area of law. The other three modules can be chosen from any offered in the Law School. All students are also required to take the Legal Research and Writing Skills module. To be awarded a major/minor pathway you will need to choose three modules associated with one pathway, and three from another pathway, with the dissertation determining which is your 'major' pathway.
For example, a student who completes at least three modules in International Commercial Law and completes a dissertation in this area would graduate with an LLM in International Commercial Law; a student who completes three Criminal Justice modules and three International Environmental Law modules and then undertakes a dissertation which engages with Criminal Justice would graduate with an LLM in Criminal Justice and International Environmental Law.
Students who begin the Kent LLM on a full-time basis in January study over a period of 15 months. You study three taught modules in the first spring term and three taught modules in the autumn term. In your second spring term, you write your dissertation. Dissertation submission will be on the final day of the second spring term (usually in early April).
During the summer vacation, you are:
The postgraduate programmes offered within the Law School are usually taught in seminar format. Students on the Diploma and LLM programmes study three modules in each of the autumn and spring terms. The modules normally are assessed by a 4-5,000-word essay. Students undertaking an LLM degree must write a dissertation of 15,000 words.
For course aims and learning outcomes please see the programme specification.
Kent Law School has a lively and active postgraduate community, bought about in part by our strong research culture and by the close interaction between our staff and students. Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books and embed their research in their teaching. Taught students have regular contact with their programme and module conveners with staff on hand to answer any questions and to provide helpful and constructive feedback on submitted work. The Law School has an active and inclusive extra-curricular academic and social scene with regular guest lectures, talks and workshops organised by our research centres (which include the Centre for Critical International Law and the Centre for Sexuality, Race and Gender Justice.
Our Law Library has long been a leader in the development of electronic resources for legal teaching and research. The extensive and up-to-date law collection in the University’s Templeman Library is particularly strong on electronic material, and the Electronic Law Library includes numerous legal databases, which are increasingly invaluable tools for research. In addition, you can access the text of thousands of law journals online. Our law librarian is available to train you to use these resources and runs regular legal research classes with postgraduate students.
We have a dedicated postgraduate office, offering support from application to graduation. Postgraduate students at Kent Law School have access to a postgraduate computing room, study area and common room with wireless internet access.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
Kent Law School is widely recognised as a world leader in critical and interdisciplinary scholarship including socio-legal studies, law and humanities, critical legal studies and feminist theory.
We place law in its wider social, political and historical contexts, and attend to a wide range of thematic and geographical areas, and are renowned in particular for our attention to the role of law in creating, challenging and perpetuating social and global inequalities.
Read more about our Research and Research Centres, and about the Staff who teach at Kent.
Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website.
Employability is a key focus throughout the University and at Kent Law School you have the dedicated support together with a range of employability events and careers talks. Details of graduate internship schemes with NGOs, charities and other professional organisations are made available to postgraduate students.
Law graduates have gone on to careers in finance, international commerce, government and law or have joined, or started, an NGO or charity.
The fees for the Canterbury-only delivery of this programme are the same as those for the standard LLM programme.
The annual tuition fees for students starting this course in January 2025 can be found on the Student Finance page.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
You'll need regular access to a desktop computer/laptop with an internet connection to use the University of Kent’s online resources and systems. We've listed some guidelines for the technology and software you'll need for your studies.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, as well as general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Next steps
All applicants considering a pathway in Law should apply for the standard Law PDip or LLM programme. You will then select your pathway when you arrive at Kent.
Supporting your success
Kent ranked top 40 in The Times Good University Guide 2025.
Fees and funding
Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
Accommodation
