LLM International Business and Commercial Law / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

The LLM in International Business and Commercial Law offers you the opportunity to develop an advanced understanding of the law governing commerce and finance in today's international market.

Multinational companies must regularly overcome a wide range of legal and governance issues in order to do business worldwide. This course encourages you to explore the legal challenges faced by international business and analyse the fundamental legal framework for dealing with them.

You will study areas such as corporate governance, international trade transactions and competition law.

Aims

  • Develop a thorough knowledge of the legal fundamentals of international commerce and finance.
  • Gain deeper insight into specific problems and critical issues faced by international business today and the international legal frameworks in dealing with them.
  • Develop an understanding of the legal framework for business and commerce within regional economic blocs, such as the European Union.
  • Understand relevant academic debates and new developments in law.

Special features

The Law School works in partnership with institutions outside the higher education sector to enable you to produce research with a wider relevance and to develop your knowledge and expertise.

We are dedicated to shaping policy-making and practice in diverse areas; from national healthcare guidelines, to influencing police procedures in countries such as Norway, Australia and Brazil.

Teaching and learning

Our taught postgraduate courses include classes and a programme of assessed work.

These are particularly suitable if you want to gain specialist knowledge in your chosen subject area.

You may continue your studies in order to pursue an academic career, or go on to pursue your chosen field.

Coursework and assessment

All course units are assessed by either one unseen written examination, or one coursework essay, or a combination of these two methods of assessment.  

The course will be 180 credits in total and has a compulsory research component. 120 credits will be taught modules and the remainder 60 credits in the form of a 12,000 word dissertation.  

Your dissertation must be within the area of one unit you have chosen. The research element of the course is supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two designed to improve your legal writing and research skills.  

For specialised streams, dissertation topic must be within those streams while for general LLM dissertation topics must be within one of the modules chosen by the student.

Course unit details

You will be taking 180 credits in total, 120 will be taught course units, and the remaining 60 credits in the form of a dissertation.

The LLM course typically offers around 30 different course units in any one year, and will always reflect a wide range of subjects across the legal spectrum.

There will usually be course units offered on diverse topics, such as:

  • international trade and corporate law;
  • financial services regulation;
  • European law;
  • international economic law;
  • intellectual property law;
  • human rights law;
  • corporate governance;
  • law and finance in emerging markets.

Course units are worth 15 or 30 credits each. You will be required to select course units to a total of 120 credits, and so must choose a minimum of four course units or a maximum of eight course units.

The course also has a compulsory research component. You will complete a 60 credit dissertation of 12,000 words.

Your dissertation must be within the area of one unit you have chosen and will be supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two. These are designed to improve your legal writing and research skills. For specialised streams, dissertation topic must be within those streams.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
LL.M Dissertation LAWS70990 60 Mandatory
Academic Skills for Legal Studies LAWS50000 0 Optional
Postgraduate Competition Law in an International Context LAWS60172 30 Optional
International Sale of Goods LAWS63051 30 Optional
International Banking Law LAWS63071 30 Optional
Global Economic and World Trade Law LAWS67031 30 Optional
Transnational Corporate & Capital Markets Law LAWS70081 30 Optional
Intellectual Property Law LAWS70101 30 Optional
Trade Mark Law and Policy LAWS70261 30 Optional
Patent Law and Policy LAWS70271 30 Optional
Copyright Law and Policy LAWS70292 30 Optional
The Regulation of International Finance LAWS70352 30 Optional
The Principles and Practice of Corporate Governance LAWS70362 30 Optional
International Law and Practice of Securities Markets LAWS72021 30 Optional
International Investment Law LAWS72042 30 Optional
International Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Law LAWS77082 30 Optional
Displaying 10 of 16 course units

Scholarships and bursaries

Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme:

The Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a first-class bachelor's degree and are progressing to a postgraduate taught master's course.

Manchester Humanities International Excellence Scholarship:

The University of Manchester is proud to offer scholarship awards to exceptional international students commencing their postgraduate studies across subjects in its Faculty of Humanities from September 2022

Manchester Master's Bursary:

The University of Manchester is committed to widening participation in master's study and allocates 75 awards of £4,000 each year.

Postgraduate loans for master's students

If you're coming to Manchester this year to begin postgraduate study, you could qualify for a loan from the UK government.

For more information on our awards, see fees and funding or search the University's postgraduate funding database

What our students say

Meet some of our postgraduate students studying for a master's in International Law, Healthcare Ethics and Law and Financial Law in Student Spotlights .

Facilities

You will be supported by the first-class resources of a top law school.  

In addition to the networked study spaces at the Williamson Building, you can access a specialist moot courtroom, enabling you to hone your debating skills in a realistic court setting. 

You may also access The University of Manchester Library , which houses a substantial collection of law books and periodicals, as well as texts to support all the degrees we offer.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk