MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development
Duration: One year (full-time); Two or three years (part-time, daytime only).
Overview
Minimum Entry Requirements: Upper second class honours preferably in a related discipline
Start of programme: September intake only
The MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development provides a unique specialisation in one of the most rapidly developing areas of law. Environmental law is one of the most challenging fields that has grown very rapidly over the past four decades and is now one of the key areas of both domestic and international law. At SOAS, we understand the environment in a broad sense which includes not only environmental issues strictly speaking but also all the links that they have with other areas such as natural resources, human rights, economic development trade or intellectual property rights.
The SOAS degree offers a distinct mix of courses that covers all the main areas of environmental law in their international and national dimensions. The international and global nature of many environmental issues makes the international law component a key part of the MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development. We offer all the general topics that make up the core of international environmental law. Additionally, we focus specifically on the North-South dimension of international environmental issues given the key role this plays in most international environmental negotiations.
The MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development specifically seeks to put international environmental law in its national context and examines the broad legal frameworks negotiated at the international level in the context of their implementation in selected countries of the South. It thus provides a much more grounded context to the study of environmental law.
Further, we also study the legal regimes of individual countries of the South to provide much more specific analysis of the discipline at the level of its implementation in specific contexts. The MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development gives specific emphasis to different regions of the South, including South Asia, China and sub-Saharan Africa.
For further information about the general structure of the MA in Law programme at SOAS, please visit the General MA in Law (MA in International and Comparative Legal Studies) page.
Structure
Programme Specification
MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development programme specification.
Programme Structure
Please note that all MA students need to take a two week Law and Legal Methods Preparatory course before the teaching term begins.
Students are required to take three taught courses** and a dissertation. The courses run from the start of term in September, and examinations take place at the end of May/ beginning of June. The final date for the submission of the dissertation is 15 September in the final year of registration.
**Students may be permitted to select one full course, or one half course, or two half courses in place of the equivalent number of Law course(s) as follows:
(a) a complementary non-Law SOAS Masters level course, if the MA Law Convenor is satisfied that the complementary course is academically appropriate and is closely related to the specialism of the MA Law programme;
OR
(b) a complementary SOAS postgraduate language acquisition course at the appropriate level, if the MA Law Convenor is satisfied that the complementary language is closely related to either to the specialism of the MA Law programme or to the regional focus of the student's other courses.
In all cases, the choice of course is subject to approval by the MA Law Convenor, the course convenor for the complementary course, a language level test if prescribed, and availability of places.
Students choosing a complementary non-Law course must complete Law courses to the minimum value of 90 credits and must complete a dissertation in Law.
Core Courses
Students must take courses to a total value of 135 credits and a dissertation. Full unit course (1 unit) = 45 credits Half unit course (0.5 unit) = 22.5 credits. Students must take courses to a value of 90 credits from the list below:
- Climate change law and policy - 15PLAC154 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Development, environment and the law in the South - 15PLAC158 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
- Intellectual property rights and development - 15PLAC113 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- International environmental law - 15PLAC118 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Law and natural resources - 15PLAC126 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Water Law and Governance in Asia - 15PLAC171 (1 unit Unit)
Optional Courses
Students must also take one further course or two half courses, to a total value of 45 credits, either from the list above or the optional list below**
Dissertation
Students must also take a Dissertation in Law, which should be on a topic relating to environmental law and sustainable development.
- Dissertation in Law - 15PLAC999 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Optional Course list - MA Environmental Law and Sustainable Development
- Access to justice & dispute resolution: special applications - 15PLAC157 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Affirmative action law - 15PLAH024 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Alternative dispute resolution - 15PLAC104 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- International Economic Law - 15PLAH033 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Banking law - 15PLAC105 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Chinese commercial law - 15PLAC106 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Colonialism, empire and international law - 15PLAH025 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2013/2014
- Commercial Law - 15PLAC166 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Comparative constitutional law - 15PLAC152 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Feminist legal theory - 15PLAC155 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Foundations of Chinese law - 15PLAC110 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Foundations of Comparative Law - 15PLAH031 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Foundations of international law - 15PLAH021 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Human rights and Islamic law - 15PLAC150 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Human rights in the developing world - 15PLAC111 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Human rights of women - 15PLAC112 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Company Law - 15PLAC167 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- International and comparative copyright law: copyright in the global village - 15PLAC115 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- International and comparative corporate law - 15PLAC116 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- International Criminal Law in Practice - 15PLAC168 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
- International human rights clinic - 15PLAC145 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- The law of armed conflict - 15PLAH022 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- International Labour Law and Equality Rights - 15PLAC169 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- International law and global orders - 15PLAH019 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
- International laws on the use of force - 15PLAH020 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- International protection of human rights - 15PLAC119 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Islamic law (MA/LLM) - 15PLAC121 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Islamic law 2: succession - 15PLAC122 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Justice, reconciliation and reconstruction in post conflict societies - 15PLAC123 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Law and development in Africa - 15PLAC160 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Law & governance in the developing world - 15PLAC125 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Law and international inequality:critical legal analysis of political economy from colonialism to globalisation - 15PLAC131 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Law and policy of international courts and tribunals - 15PLAH026 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
- Law and society in the Middle East and North Africa - 15PLAC130 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Law, human rights and peace building: the Israeli-Palestinian case - 15PLAC133 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Law, institutions and political economy of transition - 15PLAC134 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Economic approaches to law - 15PLAH030 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Law, Multiculturalism and Intercultural Human Rights (MA/LLM) - 15PLAC109 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
- Law of the Creative Cultural Industries in the Middle East and North Africa - 15PLAC161 (1 Unit)
- Law of international finance - 15PLAC135 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Law of Islamic finance - 15PLAC159 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Migration, gender and the law in South East Asia and beyond - 15PLAH023 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Modern Chinese law and human rights - 15PLAC139 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Multinational enterprises and the law - 15PLAC140 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Procedural principles and ethical standards - 15PLAC141 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Sociological Approaches to Law - 15PLAH032 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
Teaching & Learning
How to apply
How to apply
- How to Apply
- Online Application
- Funding options
- English language requirements
- Tuition Fees
- Admissions Contacts
Scholarships
For further information visit the Scholarships section
D.G.E. Hall Scholarship
Application Deadline: 2013-03-22 00:00
Felix Scholarships
Application Deadline: 2013-01-31 00:00
SOAS Master's Scholarships - Faculty of Law and Social Sciences
Application Deadline: 2013-03-22 00:00
A Student's Perspective
Alexis Berko, Wesleyan UniversityOne of my fondest memories of SOAS is the International Students Welcome ceremony where I met a few of my friends. Freshers’ Week overall was pretty fun and my classes are incredibly involving and interesting.
