LLM/MSSc in Human Rights and Criminal Justice

Aims
This Masters course is designed for those with an academic and / or professional interest in postgraduate studies in all areas of Human Rights law, equality, and conflict. Within the School of Law, human rights teaching on the LL.M. degree and research has been carried out under the auspices of the Human Rights Centre  since 1990. Within the field of criminology and criminal justice, teaching on the MSSc and research is carried out under the auspices of the  Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice , established in 1995.

These postgrad study LLM programmes programmes in human rights are exciting opportunities which attract a diverse student body, including international students, students who are qualified legal practitioners and students with extensive experience in the statutory or community and voluntary sectors. The teachers on the course have experience of working for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the United Nations Working Group on Minorities; Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young Persons, the Inter American Court of Human Rights, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Council of Europe and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Women in Politics programme and the Geneva based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions among others. This diversity among both staff and students allows the students and teachers on the course to learn from each other and makes for a vibrant academic experience.

Duration
1 year Full time / 2 years Part time

Activities
A number of activites are organised for postgrad Human Rights Students, see further details of Activities for LLM Human Rights Students .

Prize for the best LLM Dissertation
The Human Rights Centre is pleased to announce that the NI Human Rights Commission has agreed to provide a prize for the best LLM dissertation on a Human Rights topic. The prize will be 500 pounds, and will be presented to the recipient at a public ceremony hosted by the Commission. The recipient will be asked to make a short presentation on the dissertation at the prize giving ceremony. The successful dissertation will subsequently be published on the NIHRC website. (Any LLM student who is a staff member of the Commission or a Commissioner is ineligible for this prize.)

Entrance Requirements
For the LLM/MSSc in Human Rights and Criminal Justice applicants must normally have a good second class law degree. However applicants who do not have a law degree may also be admitted if they possess a good second class degree in another subject with relevant experience in legal or human rights activity. Students who do not have a law degree should include with their application a statement explaining why they feel their other qualifications/experience are appropriate for admission onto the course.

Organisation of the LLM/MSSc Programme
The programme is offered on a modular basis. It may be completed in one year on a full-time basis or two years on a part-time basis. To complete a degree students must have successfully passed courses amounting to 180 credits. Students wishing to complete the LLM/MSSc in Human Rights and Criminal Justice are required to take compulsory modules in :

• Punishment & Social Control (15 credits)
• Penal Policy & Practice (15 credits)
• Policing (15 credits)
• Comparative Youth Justice (15 credits)