MLitt Legal And Constitutional Studies

A 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree in a subject-related area. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more

Legal and Constitutional Studies is designed to prepare students for work beyond the MLitt, such as: 

• doctoral research within the field 
• study for a law degree 
• employment in areas more broadly related to law, legal history,
• global constitutionalism and international relations. 

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

In the first semester, you will take the following compulsory module: 

• The Idea of Law: introduces fundamental concepts, questions and analytical frameworks relevant to legal, historical and constitutional research. 

You will also take one module from the two listed below. These modules may be subject to a maximum number of participants (students will be asked to indicate their first and second choices): 

• Approaches to Legal History: a grounding in particularly influential authors and works on the history of law. 
• Aspects of International Law: underlying philosophical issues arising from the nature and practice of international law. 

In the second semester, you will take the following compulsory module: 

• Comparative Studies in Legal and Constitutional Research: a forum for students to develop, present and write on a particular field or topic, drawing on methodological ideas from Semester 1 modules. 

Choices offered may include modules on Comparative Studies in Legal History or on Global Constitutionalism or an individually supervised Special Topic in Legal and Constitutional Studies. 

Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered. Some may only allow limited numbers of students. See the University’s position on curriculum development. 

Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August. 

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.