How long does the LLM in Public Law take?

The LLM in Public Law runs one year full-time or two years part-time. Online and distance modes of the LLM in Public Law follow the same weekly seminar and supervision timetable.

How is the LLM in Public Law delivered?

You can study the LLM in Public Law on-campus in central London, fully online or by structured distance learning. All modes of the LLM in Public Law share the same seminar structure and dissertation supervision.

Is the LLM in Public Law recognised in the UK?

Yes. The LLM in Public Law is a UK Level 7 award aligned with Bar Standards Board, SRA and ICCA expectations. It is recognised across chambers, Government Legal Department and regulator recruitment.

What are the entry requirements for the LLM in Public Law?

You need a UK Bachelor's degree at 2:2 or above (or international equivalent), ideally in law, to join the LLM in Public Law. Portfolio applicants with five or more years of senior legal experience are considered for the LLM in Public Law on portfolio review.

What are the fees and funding options for the LLM in Public Law?

Fees vary by residency and study mode. LSLPE publishes a full fee sheet at application and offers structured instalment plans and early-application discounts for the LLM in Public Law; contact admissions for a personalised quotation.

LLM in Public Law | LSLPE | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The LLM in Public Law at LSLPE is a one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) senior-track Master's programme delivered on-campus, online or by distance learning. The syllabus reads UK public law as it is actually argued in the Administrative Court and the Supreme Court, covering judicial review, constitutional adjudication, human-rights law under the Human Rights Act 1998, and the executive-legislative interface. This programme is a strong foundation for further routes through the SQE and the Bar and for public-law practice.

By graduation you will have drafted a judicial-review grounds document, produced a Human Rights Act compatibility argument, run a moot at appellate standard, and completed a supervised dissertation. You will be able to write to the standard expected in an Administrative Court chambers, the Government Legal Department or a public-interest organisation.

Key Features

Case sessions on Miller, Bank Mellat, Osborn and modern Supreme Court public-law authority.
Alignment with Bar Standards Board (BSB), Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA) expectations.
Weekly drafting workshops on judicial-review grounds, skeletons and witness statements.
Guest sessions from Administrative Court practitioners and Government Legal Department alumni.
Supervised dissertation on a live public-law file, defended in oral viva.
Three parallel study modes so serving public-law lawyers and progressor students share the cohort.

What You Will Learn

Framing judicial-review grounds under illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety.
Applying Human Rights Act 1998 proportionality and margin-of-appreciation analysis.
Reading constitutional statutes and statutory-interpretation authority with rigour.
Drafting a permission-stage judicial-review claim and a defendant's summary grounds.
Handling standing, delay and alternative-remedy arguments.
Advising a public authority defendant on litigation risk and settlement.
Producing a compatibility declaration argument for appellate court.
Defending a dissertation in an oral viva in front of a mixed academic and practitioner panel.

Who This Course Is For

Solicitors and barristers moving into a public-law practice group.
Government Legal Department, local-authority and regulator lawyers.
Public-interest and NGO lawyers strengthening their litigation toolkit.
International lawyers moving into UK public-law work.
Portfolio-route applicants with 5+ years of senior public-sector legal experience.

Career Pathways

Barrister in public-law chambers (post-Bar route)
Solicitor in a public-law or judicial-review practice (post-SQE)
In-house Counsel in a regulator or government department
Legal Adviser at a public-interest NGO
Legal Researcher in an Administrative Court set
Judicial Clerk (post-qualification track)
Compliance Officer in a regulated public body
Human Rights Adviser

The LSLPE careers service curates introductions across Administrative Court chambers, the Government Legal Department, regulators and public-interest organisations, and refreshes curriculum alignment annually against Bar Standards Board, Political Studies Association and Royal Economic Society guidance.

Entry Requirements

A UK Bachelor's degree (2:2 or above) or equivalent international qualification in law or a closely related discipline.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
Applicants without a Bachelor's degree but with 5+ years of senior professional experience in law, government or a regulator are considered on portfolio.
One academic and one professional reference.
A 500-word research proposal or professional practice statement identifying your proposed dissertation area in public law.

Why Study at LSLPE

LSLPE is a specialist division of Harold International College of London teaching in small, tutor-visible cohorts. Central London places the Royal Courts of Justice, the Supreme Court, the Inns of Court and Whitehall's public-law community within a short tube ride of every seminar room, which matters when the judgments you will read are handed down a few streets away.

Every intake, on-campus or remote, joins the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support. Seminars are run in the case-room tradition, evidence-led and argued in public, and the careers service connects students with employers across chambers, government departments and public-interest organisations.

Apply for LLM in Public Law

Applications for the LLM in Public Law are open now, with intakes calibrated to the UK academic year and rolling admissions for online and distance cohorts. Enrol on an LSLPE Master's programme and complete a supervised dissertation on a live public-law file. Enrol Now