Course summary

This inter-disciplinary Masters degree combines two highly-relevant and challenging areas of study - law and environment. The LLM Environment and Law is jointly delivered by the Law School and the Lancaster Environment Centre, enabling you to explore the environmental aspects of the law and the legal regulation of the environment. Our Law School is home to the Centre for International Law and Human Rights, the Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, the Centre for Law and Society, and the Centre for Child and Family Justice. The Lancaster Environment Centre, along with Rothamsted Research and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, is part of the Graduate School for the Environment. These influential centres underpin our postgraduate teaching and you will have access to the expertise of academics researching in the field of natural and social sciences, legal and socio-legal issues. The pathway for the LLM ensures a balanced duality: Law School modules, LEC modules, and a 15,000 word dissertation, enabling you to pursue your own interests whilst becoming practiced at looking at issues from different perspectives. Your core modules are Perspectives on Environment and Development;Environmental Law or International Environmental Law; Research Methods in Law and the LLM Dissertation. You will study two further elective modules in each discipline, focusing on the legal, environmental and sustainability issues that most interest you, typically including (among many others): Chemical Risk Assessment, Climate Change and Society, Environmental Justice, Food Security, Agriculture and Climate, Law and Global Health, International Law, Current issues in European Law, and the Law of the United Nations. The dissertation is an independent, in-depth inquiry into a research topic of your choosing. The topic will link to a key legal or environmental question or issue and may also directly relate to your professional/career interests. This is your opportunity to make a contribution to the academic community with new, original research and writing. A dissertation supervisor can provide you with support and introduce you to relevant research; their personal research interests will closely align with your chosen topic wherever possible. Our teaching approach is international in scope and comparative by nature, and we actively encourage you to build a beneficial network of academics, peers and alumni during your time with us. All of this will help you to broaden your experience, deepen your understanding, and prepare for your next step. Your postgraduate LLM degree can open doors to a wide range of careers. Whilst on this degree you will have the chance to develop: the skills required to critically evaluate cutting-edge research; inter-disciplinary skills; and, analytical and communications skills. All of which can be a real boost in any sector and highly prized by employers both here in the UK and overseas. The LLM is also an ideal stepping stone to PhD study and academia.