School of Law

LLM Law and Gender (2022 entry)

Select year of entry: 2022 2021

Overview

Overview and entry requirements

The SOAS LLM in Law and Gender offers an interdisciplinary, intellectually and politically rewarding and collegiate space, designed for critical and impactful engagements with law and gender, with a particular focus on the Global South and both historical and contemporary legal and alegal pursuits of gender, sexual, racial, Indigenous, class, caste, disability, post-conflict, post-colonial and environmental justice.

Our students and teaching staff are particularly versed in feminist, queer and critical race theoretical approaches to intersectionality and are deeply engaged in cutting-edge projects across the ‘SOAS regions’ and beyond.

See School of Law

Why study LLM Law and Gender at SOAS

We are UK Top 20 and World Top 200 for Law (QS World University Rankings 2021).

The LLM programme on Law and Gender is not just your go-to place for exploring interdisciplinary and critical approaches to law and gender in society; it rests upon a unique mission to support you, from the very beginning of this adventure, as both a learner and a teacher, making sure that your past and present personal, activist, academic and professional experiences and future aspirations are acknowledged and nurtured in a way that can equip you with firm and substantial critical directions.

You will learn and, whilst doing so, teach and help others, too, in a highly diverse and friendly environment.

You will approach both law and gender as your critical objects proper, to be explored in a pedagogical world that seeks to creatively and meaningfully overcome the distinction between the academic and the activist, the theoretical and the practical, relying on a praxis that each of you will have a chance to tailor to suit your personal and career needs as well as your unique research impulses and sensitivities.

You will, in other words, become a member of a vibrant, exploratory community amidst a buzzling metropolis and the wider SOAS contexts.

We will work together on making this experience truly life-changing and memorable, which will not only equip you with critical approaches to law and gender, well beyond the confines of more ‘traditional’ institutions, but also ensure that you encounter and benefit from our unique, inter- and post-disciplinary, non-hierarchical and deeply collaborative approach to learning-in-the-world.

SOAS Centre for Gender Studies

This programme proudly lays at the intersection of the SOAS School of Law and the SOAS Centre for Gender Studies which, in their own ways, house some of the most innovative, critical and world-renown research on gender and law you will encounter in London, the United Kingdom and the world.

Whether you wish to explore, or have experience with, global, transnational, local or specifically Global Southern approaches to law and gender, we have committed and uniquely knowledgeable teaching staff and students you can engage and work with.

Some of our particular areas of expertise include postcolonial feminist and queer approaches to international and domestic law, diaspora studies and African and Asian feminisms, critical studies of sexual and gender diversity in the Global South, and the intersections of migration, post-conflict, environmental, anti-racist and anti-capitalist studies of law and gender.

Why you

This programme is perfect for LLB graduates or legal professionals and theorists seeking a deeper, both practice and theory-oriented, engagement with gender studies in law and gender in legal studies — a meeting place for those ready to challenge their accustomed ways of being-in-the-world in community with other, critically-minded teachers and learners.

You will not only join the current explorers along this inter and post-disciplinary path, but also numerous alumni and alumnae around the globe who still cherish this experience as a turning point in their careers and life-paths.

Please note that the LLM is restricted to applicants who hold an UK law degree or international equivalent. If you do not hold a law degree but are interested in pursuing a master’s degree in law at SOAS, please see details of the MA here.

Explore

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Entry requirements

We will consider all applications with 2:ii (or international equivalent) or higher. In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application including supporting statement and references.

Featured events

duration:: One calendar year (full-time)
Two, three of fours years (part-time, daytime only)
We recommend that part-time students have between two-and-a-half and three days a week free to pursue their course of study.

Fees 2021/22

UK fees:

£16,400

Overseas fees:: £23,680

Fees for 2021/22 entrants. This is a Band 7 fee. The fees are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. Further details can be found in the Fees and Funding tab on this page or in the Registry Postgraduate Tuition Fees page

Convenors

Professor Gina Heathcote Convenor

Structure

Students take 180 credits composed of a dissertation (60 credits) as well as Core, Compulsory and Optional modules.

Core modules: These are mandatory and must be passed in the year they are taken before the student can progress to the next year.

Compulsory modules: These are mandatory but in the case of a failure, students may carry this into their next year provided that they retake and pass the failed element or exam.

Optional modules: These are designed to help students design their own intellectual journey while maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals.

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM are required to take at least 60 credits associated with his or her specialised LLM, a further 30 credits within the School of Law (General Law Postgraduate Taught Module List), and a final 30 unit which can either be taken within the School of Law or from the Language Open Options or Non-Language Open Options pages with the LLM Programme Convenor’s permission. The dissertation topic will be undertaken within the LLM specialisation.

Please note: Not all modules listed will be available every year. Please see the individual module page for information.

Dissertation

Dissertation (12,000 words), on a topic related to the specialism of the degree

Module	Code	Credits	Term
LLM Dissertation in Law	15PLAD178	60	Full Year

Taught Component

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Gender, Sexuality and Law: Selected Topics	15PLAH061	15	Term 2
Gender, Sexuality and Law: Theories and Methodologies	15PLAH062	15	Term 1

AND

Guided Option

Choose a module(s) from the List A or General Law Options below to the value of 30 credits

AND

Choose a module(s) from the List of General Law PGT Options below or from Postgraduate Open Options to the value of 60 credits

List of Modules (subject to availability)

List A

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Human Rights of Women	15PLAC112	30	Full Year
International Protection of Human Rights	15PLAC119	15	Term 1
Gender, Law and Society in the Middle East and North Africa	15PLAH056, Not running 2021/22	15
Law and Postcolonial Theory	15PLAH050	15	Term 2

General Law Options

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Gender, Law and Society in the Middle East and North Africa	15PLAH056, Not running 2021/22	15
Alternative Dispute Resolution	15PLAC104
Gender, Sexuality and Law: Selected Topics	15PLAH061	15	Term 2
Gender, Sexuality and Law: Theories and Methodologies	15PLAH062	15	Term 1
Human Rights and Islamic Law	15PLAC150	30	Full Year
International Commercial Arbitration	15PLAC153	30	Full Year
International Human Rights Clinic	15PLAC145	30	Full Year
International Investment Law	15PLAH063	15	Term 1
Islamic Law (MA/LLM)	15PLAC121	30	Full Year
Law and Development in Africa	15PLAC160	30	Full Year
Law and Society in Southeast Asia	15PLAH049	15	Term 2
Law and Society in The Middle East and North Africa	15PLAC130	30	Full Year
Law, Rights & Social Change	15PLAH064	15	Term 1
Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods	15PLAC162	0	Term 1
International Migration Law	15PLAH068	15	Term 2
International Refugee Law	15PLAH069	15	Term 1
Law and Society in South Asia	15PLAC129	30	Full Year
Mapping International Law in London - International Legal Geography in the Capital of Empire	15PLAH072	15
Law, Environment and Social Justice	15PLAH067	15	Term 1
Law and Justice in Contemporary China	15PLAH071	15
Climate Change Law and Policy	15PLAC154	15	Term 2
Colonialism, Empire and International Law	15PLAH025	15	Term 2
Comparative Constitutional Law	15PLAH046	15	Term 2
Foundations of International Law	15PLAH021	15	Term 1
Human Rights of Women	15PLAC112	30	Full Year
International Criminal Law	15PLAH055	15	Term 1
International Protection of Human Rights	15PLAC119	15	Term 1
Justice, Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Post Conflict Societies	15PLAC123	30	Full Year
Law and Natural Resources	15PLAC126	30	Full Year
Law and Policy of International Courts and Tribunal	15PLAH026
Law and Postcolonial Theory	15PLAH050	15	Term 2
Islamic Law in Global Financial Markets	15PLAC159	30	Full Year
Israel, Palestine, and International Law (30Cr)	15PLAC133	30	Full Year
Multinational Enterprises and the Law	15PLAC140
The Law of Armed Conflict	15PLAH022	15	Term 2
World Trade Organisation Law	15PLAH038
Water Justice: Rights, Access and Movements (Law)	15PLAH044	15	Term 1
Intellectual Property Law (PG)	15PLAC182	30	Full Year
Human Rights of Women	15PLAH065	15	Term 1
Law and Global Commons	15PLAH070	15	Term 2
International Environmental Law I: Principles, Institutions & Enforcement	15PLAH073	15	Term 1
International Environmental Law II: Biodiversity, Wildlife & Habitats	15PLAH074	15	Term 2
Water and Development: Commodification, Ecology and Globalisation (Law)	15PLAH076	15	Term 2
Multinational Enterprises and the Law I	15PLAH077	15	Term 1
Multinational Enterprises and the Law II	15PLAH078	15	Term 2
Business and Human Rights in the Global Economy	15PLAH079	15	Term 1
Comparative Company Law	15PLAH080	15	Term 2
Israel, Palestine, and International Law (15Cr)	15PLAH081	15	Term 2
Palestine, Resistance, and the Law	15PLAH082	15	Term 2
Alternative Dispute Resolution I	15PLAH083	15	Term 1
Alternative Dispute Resolution II	15PLAH084	15	Term 2
International laws on the use of force	15PLAH020	15	Term 1
Gender and the Law of War	15PGNH005	15	Term 1

Open Options Note

Open options will need approval of deputy PG programme convenor (LLM or MA)

Other non-law options might also be available, for example:

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Gender and the Law of War	15PGNH005	15	Term 1

Programme Specification

LLM Law and Gender Programme Specification (pdf; 174kb)

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching & Learning

Students will acquire specialist knowledge of the chosen subject areas of law. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, knowledge and understanding of the following:

the theoretical and practical underpinnings of law
the context in which law is made, interpreted, adjudicated, and amended
the role played by law in different social and economic environments
the role and function of legal institutions
the 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

Contact hours

In the Department of Law, most modules have a one or two hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week. Lectures and seminars are often taken by different teachers to provide a variety of angles on the subject. The majority of the student’s time will be through their own independent study. Students become more active in class through their reading and essay-writing and should greatly enhance their participation in discussion groups.

Dissertation

Its aim is to provide an opportunity for students to conduct original historical, socio-legal and legal-anthropological research on their own initiative, to engage in empirical, intersectional and in-depth analysis of particular subjects and to use a range of primary historical sources, fieldwork data and the like. It is assessed by a single 12,000-word dissertation (including notes but excluding bibliography).

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.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Fees for 2021/22 entrants, per academic year (Band 7 tuition fee)

Full-time		Part-time 2 Years		Part-time 3 Years		LLM only 4 Years
UK Students	Overseas Students	UK Students	Overseas Students	UK Students	Overseas Students	UK Students	Overseas Students
£16,400	£23,680	£8,200	£11,840	£5,460	£7,890	£4,100	£5,640

Fees go up each year, therefore, your tuition fee in your second and subsequent years of study will be higher.

Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.

Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page.

Scholarships

Anthony Dicks Memorial Scholarship

Application Deadline: 2021-03-05 00:00

Felix Non- Indian Scholarship

Application Deadline: 2021-01-29 00:00