Overview and entry requirements

The MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development provides a unique specialisation in a rapidly evolving area of law that covers a range of issues at the heart of major contemporary developments and debates. This programme offers a wide range of distinctive modules that combine a focus on core subjects in the field alongside a critical inquiry into the theory and practice of environmental law, particularly as they relate to the global South.

See School of Law

Why study MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development at SOAS

• we are UK Top 20 and World Top 200 for Law (QS World University Rankings 2021)
• SOAS degree offers a distinct and unique mix of modules that covers the main areas of environmental law in their international and national dimensions, with a focus on the global South.
• SOAS, we understand environmental law as deeply connected with human and social issues. This is why our compulsory introductory course is a course on Law Environment and Social Justice. This also explains why human rights dimensions find repeated place in our courses
• our international environmental law focused courses (International Environmental Law, Climate Change Law and Policy, and Law and Global Commons) will offer you a strong bases in some of the main challenges arising at the international and global level and provide you particular insights in the global South-global North aspects of relevant regimes that are on the whole structured around a North-South dichotomy

We also offer courses focusing more specifically on the resource dimension of environmental law. At SOAS, we take a broad view of the subject matter and our Law and Natural Resources course addresses a broad variety of natural resources beyond the traditional focus on oil and gas and does so in particular in terms of the livelihoods and human rights consequences of natural resource use.

Our water courses (Water Justice: Rights, Access and Movements and Water and Development: Commodification, Ecology and Globalisation) address the increasingly crucial and under-studied field of water and do so from an inter-disciplinary perspective in collaboration with the department of Development Studies.

SOAS Law, Environment and Development Centre (LEDC)

The programme is anchored in the research carried out at SOAS on environmental law whose institutional home is the Law, Environment and Development Centre (LEDC). The LEDC is the focal point for environment-related research activities in the School of Law, including a vibrant PhD cohort, an annual seminar series, the publication of the Law, Environment and Development Journal (LEAD Journal), and other activities linked to ongoing research.

As students on the LLM in environmental law, you will be invited to become student members of the LEDC, providing you an opportunity to become involved and engage with the SOAS research community and actors in the field, which includes many scholars in different departments and inter-disciplinary centres, such as the Centre for Development, Environment and Policy and the Centre for Water and Development.

Why you

This programme is ideal for graduates or professionals with no law background but an interest in the theory and practice of environmental law and related fields, particularly as they relate to the global South.

After you graduate, you will join alumni from the MA at SOAS, many of whom are now working in environmental NGOs and consultancies, in government, in policy work at the national or international level (UN or other) or in academia  (please also see the ‘employment’ tab on this page).

Please note that the MA is tailored to applicants who do not hold a LLB. If you do hold a LLB and are interested in pursuing a master’s degree in environmental law at SOAS see details of the LLM here.

A Student Perspective

In the last year, I have worked as an Environmental Officer for a local environment consulting firm on a range of activities including Environmental Impact Assessments and Management Plans.  More recently, I have worked as a consultant for the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, the Australia Institute (an independent Australian think tank) and Greenpeace Pacific. (Melino Bain, MA Environmental Law and Sustainable Development)

Explore 

• From LLB Student at SOAS to Family Solicitor at a top 40 UK Law Firm
• SOAS School of Law Research

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Introducing Postgraduate Studies in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development

Professor of International and Environmental Law, Philippe Cullet, outlines the features of the SOAS programme in this rapidly expanding area of both domestic and international law.

What does the course involve?

Environmental challenges abound and are increasingly shaping our lives and our future. These include the ubiquitous issue of climate change, and the ongoing sixth mass extinction of species and pollution, caused by items of everyday use such as plastics. MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development explores all the most important environmental issues of our time at the international level, with a particular focus on North-South issues, particularly looking at countries of the Global South. The study of environmental law at SOAS goes far beyond the traditional aspects of environmental law. Indeed, we focus as much on environmental conservation as on the use of environmental or natural resources. This reflects the broader notion of sustainable development that reflects the links between the environment, social equity and economic growth. The courses we offer reflect these broad categories and include overviews of international environmental law, climate change, natural resources, and water.

What kind of students will the course appeal to?

This course will appeal to anyone who wants to better understand the implications of the anthropocene (referring to the current geological age during which human activity has been the dominant influence on the planet) for the environment; students interested in the human rights dimensions of environmental protection; students interested in understanding the links between conservation and the use of natural resources; and anyone concerned by our future survival as a species, as well as our individual place on the planet.

What facilities are available?

SOAS offers strong support for environmental law in the School of Law through the Law, Environment and Development Centre (LEDC), which brings together the different law-related activities in the department, including seminars, PhD scholars and the Law, Environment and Development Journal (LEAD Journal) co-published by the LEDC. SOAS also offers a strong interdisciplinary framework for environmental studies with a number of lecturers in departments as varied as development studies, economics, and politics.

What is special about the programme at SOAS?

SOAS offers a unique programme that combines a strong focus on traditional environmental law issues, a combination of courses interrogating international and national law and policy with a distinct focus on the North-South dimension of environmental law, unparalleled expertise in jurisdictions of the Global South, and courses that are novel in their approach, such as natural resources law that address cutting-edge policy areas, such as water.

Can you recommend a good book to read on Environmental Law?

As an entry point to some of the main strands of study we undertake at SOAS, Louis Kotzé ed., Environmental Law and Governance for the Anthropocene (Hart Publishing, 2017) provides a good introduction to the broader challenges faced by the planet, and Elena Blanco and Jona Razzaque, Globalisation and Natural Resources Law: Challenges, Key Issues and Perspectives (Edward Elgar, 2011) is relevant on issues related to natural resources.

What do students do after graduating?

Students have gone on to take up a variety of exciting opportunities. Some graduates have decided to carry on with further academic studies and have undertaken a PhD in environmental law; some have gone on to practice environmental law in their own countries; some have worked for environmental consultancies, such as Milieu in Brussels or specific environmental law advisory organisations, such as ClientEarth and Climate Law and Policy; some have gone on to work on environmental issues in international organisations; and some have gone on to work more broadly on sustainable development in international NGOs and inter-governmental organisations. A postgraduate degree in environmental law and sustainable development thus opens up many doors, reflecting the broad scope of the course and the multiplicity of ways in which it can be applied in the workplace.

Structure

To facilitate the study of law, all MA students are required to attend a two-week Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods in the September before beginning the MA programme.

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.

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised MA are required to take at least 60 credits associated with his or her specialised MA, 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 MA Programme Convenor’s permission. The dissertation topic will be undertaken within the MA specialisation.

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

Dissertation

Students must complete a Dissertation (12,000 words) in Law, which should be on a topic relating to their chosen MA specialism.

Taught Component

Students will take the core module Environmental Law and Social Justice (see below). In addition, students will take the pre-sessional module Prelminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods

AND

Choose modules from the List A below to the value of 45 credits

AND

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

AND

Choose a module(s) from the General Law PGT Options list below or from Postgraduate Open Options to the value of 30 credits

List of Modules (subject to availability)

List A

General Law Options

Non-Law Options

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

Open Options Note

Open options from cross-Faculty list will need approval of deputy PG programme convenor (LLM or MA)

Programme Specification

• MA Environmental Law and Sustainable Development Programme Specification (pdf; 210kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

Contact hours

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.

More information is on the page for each module.

Knowledge and understanding

• Students will acquire specialist knowledge of environmental law in an international and comparative perspective.
• This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, knowledge and understanding of the following:

1. the theoretical and practical underpinnings of environmental law internationally;
2. the context in which law is made, interpreted, adjudicated, and amended;
3. the role played by law, particularly environmental law in different situations internationally, particularly its role in promoting sustainable development in the global South;
4. the role and function of legal institutions in managing the environment and natural resources;
5. 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.

Intellectual (thinking) skills

• Students should develop rigour in analysis and assessment of legal arguments.
• Students should develop the ability to understand, summarise and critically assess differing perspectives on theoretical debates.
• Students should develop independence of thought and the confidence to challenge the accepted wisdom.
• Students should learn to identify issues and formulate questions for further research through independent work.
• Students will be encouraged to bring to bear their own previous experience and knowledge in addressing legal issues in an interdisciplinary manner.

Subject-based practical skills

The programme will help students develop the ability to:

• Write clear research essays and dissertations.
• Research in a variety of specialized research libraries and institutes and online, and retrieve, sift and select information from a variety of sources.
• Present seminar papers and defend the arguments therein.
• Discuss ideas introduced during seminars.
• Develop essay and dissertation research questions.
• Read legal source materials rapidly and critically.
• Present legal arguments in moots and debates.

Transferable skills

• Communicate effectively in writing.
• Structure and communicate ideas and arguments effectively both orally and in writing.
• Read and comprehend significant quantities of reading rapidly and effectively and develop critical faculties.
• Find and use a variety of written and digital materials, especially legal materials, in libraries and research institutes.
• Present (non – assessed) material orally.
• Develop teamwork skills.

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.

Tuition fees

Fees for 2022/23 entrants, per academic year (Band 3 tuition fee) 

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 Postgraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

Employment 

Students have gone on to take up a variety of exciting opportunities. Some graduates have decided to carry on with further academic studies and have undertaken a PhD in environmental law; some have gone on to practice environmental law in their own countries.

Graduates have worked for environmental consultancies, such as Milieu in Brussels or specific environmental law advisory organisations, such as ClientEarth and Climate Law and Policy; some have gone on to work on environmental issues in international organisations; and others have gone on to work more broadly on sustainable development in international NGOs and inter-governmental organisations.

A postgraduate degree in environmental law and sustainable development opens many doors, reflecting the broad scope of the course and the multiplicity of ways in which it can be applied in the workplace and is an excellent base for further study towards a research degree such as a PhD leading to an academic career. 

Careers

Recent School of Law SOAS 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

Roles

SOAS Law degree graduates gain positions including:

• Trainee Solicitor
• Barrister
• Finance Manager
• Legal Researcher
• Paralegal
• Financial Analyst
• Procurement Manager
• Tax Consultant
• Business Developer
• Recruitment Consultant

Visit SOAS Careers Service

• How to Apply
• Online Application
• Request a prospectus
• Got a question - use our enquiry form (opens a new window)
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts