Human Rights (Taught)

This LLM in Human Rights offers the opportunity to study the theory and practice of human rights by way of an in-depth analysis incorporating the law, history and philosophy of international and domestic legal frameworks.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

• The programme will locate substantive human rights issues within a contextual framework, fostering a critical understanding of these issues within their legal and policy contexts.

• Study from a range of optional courses which offer explorations of the application of human rights in various contemporary contexts.

• You will be equipped with a human rights specialism incorporating a deep understanding of and appreciation for its origins, historical development, and application to real life legal problems.

• You will be taught by a team of academics with a network of a wide range of human rights organisations and NGOs working internationally, providing opportunities for guest lectures and seminars.

• Access to excellent facilities, including two dedicated law libraries, extensive online resources, and access to various official publication databases, such as the European Documentation Centre.

• Law at Glasgow is ranked 4th in the UK by the Good University Guide 2026 and 8th in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2026.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

You will take six courses and submit a dissertation as falling within the area. Courses are delivered through a blend of lectures and seminar-style teaching.

You are required to take three core courses and three optional courses. One optional course can be chosen from other courses within the School of Law's LLM portfolio. Please note, enrolment on courses is subject to availability and timetabling.

For the dissertation, you can choose between a written dissertation or a collaborative dissertation research project with a partner organisation. Please note, the collaborative dissertation option is subject to availability.

Core Courses
Advanced Introduction to the European Convention on Human Rights
International Human Rights Law
National Human Rights Law

Optional Courses
Advanced Introduction to International Criminal Law
Climate Change Law and Governance
Foundations Of International Law
Fundamentals of Environmental Justice
Global Constitutionalism: Rise, Decline, Resilience
Law and Just Energy Transition
The Laws of Armed Conflict

Dissertation
LLM Dissertation or Collaborative LLM dissertation

CAREER PROSPECTS

The LLM in Human Rights offers a wealth of courses that will equip you with the necessary knowledge to develop a successful career in this field.

Most of our courses include perspectives on professional practice and some also include experiential learning activities, such as analysis of case studies. These activities are designed to consolidate your understanding of key theoretical concepts by putting them into practice in real-world contexts, and to give you practical experience with documents, drafting skills and analytical frameworks used in a professional environment.