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Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Course overview
-
L27 -
City Campus -
Full-Time -
12 Months -
21 Sep 2026
International human rights law governs how states exercise power, protect civilians, and uphold fundamental freedoms. It sits at the intersection of law, politics, and global governance, shaping responses to conflict, migration, inequality, and accountability.
On this LLM, you’ll critically examine the legal frameworks, institutions, and treaties that underpin human rights protection. You’ll explore how these mechanisms operate in practice and assess their effectiveness in addressing contemporary global challenges.
Balancing legal theory with real-world application, this course interrogates the tension between safeguarding human rights and preserving sovereignty, security, and democratic freedoms.
As part of this LLM, you’ll:
- Analyse the nature and structure of international human rights within the wider contexts of civilian protection, armed conflict, rule of law, and global policymaking
- Develop a critical understanding of the role of the United Nations (UN) and other international institutions in monitoring state compliance
- Examine key treaties and legal instruments, evaluating their impact at local, national, and global levels
- Explore civil, political, social, and cultural rights, including the protection of women, refugees, and migrants
- Engage with contemporary debates in international relations and legal theory to understand how law shapes, and is shaped by, political and ethical realities
- Critically assess the effectiveness of international human rights regimes
Shape your specialism
Tailor your LLM around your professional ambitions. Through a range of optional modules, you can deepen your expertise in areas such as democracy and the rule of law, war, peace and conflict, global crime and risk, global economic security, and theoretical approaches to human rights.
Whether you aspire to work in international litigation, policy, advocacy, or research, you’ll build a specialist profile that reflects your career goals.
Teaching expertise
You’ll be taught by a research-active team with expertise spanning human rights law, security, peace and conflict, evidence-gathering, and criminal investigation. Their experience ensures your learning is informed by contemporary research, policy engagement, and real-world practice.
Members of your teaching team have worked with and alongside organisations including:
Connect with industry
As part of both Leeds Law School and the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, you’ll study law within a broader political and global context. We have strong links across the legal and public sectors, including commercial law firms in Leeds and national governmental departments such as the Government Legal Department, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Work and Pensions, and HM Treasury.
These connections give you insight into professional practice and potential career routes beyond the classroom.
Get involved
Alongside your studies, you can strengthen your employability through practical experience. Opportunities include volunteering with Support Through Court, delivering public legal education through Street Law, and attending guest lectures from practicing legal professionals.
These activities develop the legal skills, ethical judgement, and professional confidence valued in competitive legal, policy, and international environments.
Why study the LLM International Human Rights Law course at Leeds Beckett University?
- Expert-led teaching – learn from published academics and experienced practitioners specialising in international and human rights law
- Intellectual rigour with real-world relevance – engage with live global issues
- Customisable study – tailor your modules to align with your professional ambitions
- Professional connections – build networks with law firms, government departments, and public sector organisations
- Prime location – study in Leeds city centre, one of the UK's largest legal hubs
Everything you need to know
Discover all there is to know about the course, from entry requirements and fees to exploring the school you’ll be joining - we’ve got it covered.
Entry requirements
Applicants should either have at least a second class honours degree or have equivalent experience or training, normally from within the work environment.
All applications should be supported by a reference, either academic or professional; you can download our reference template for completion.
All applicants should satisfy our English Language requirements. Please note the IELTS requirement for this course are IELTS 6.0 with no skill below 5.5. Further details about acceptable equivalent qualifications can be found on our International Student information pages.
Entry requirements
Applicants should either have at least a second class honours degree or have equivalent experience or training, normally from within the work environment.
All applications should be supported by a reference, either academic or professional; you can download our reference template for completion.
All applicants should satisfy our English Language requirements. Please note the IELTS requirement for this course are IELTS 6.0 with no skill below 5.5. Further details about acceptable equivalent qualifications can be found on our International Student information pages.
IELTS
IELTS 6.0 with no skills below 5.5, or an equivalent qualification. The University provides excellent support for any applicant who may be required to undertake additional English language courses.
Selection Criteria
We may use selection criteria based on your personal attributes; experience and/or commitment to the area of study. This information will be derived from your personal statement and reference and will only be used if you have met the general entry requirements.
Independent study is a crucial part of learning at university and you will be required to undertake many hours of self-directed research and reading, and preparation and writing of assessments. Your course is delivered through a number of modules, which will help you to plan your time and establish a study routine. Outside of your lectures, workshops and tutorials, a range of support is available to assist with your independent study. Our subject-specific librarians will be on hand to direct you to the specialist learning and study-skill resources. You’ll also be assigned an academic advisor to give you tailored feedback and support.
Modules, teaching and learning
What you'll learn
Effective business competition should produce lower prices, better products and wider choice; however, some firms try to avoid competition. In this module, you’ll develop your understanding of policies and rules in promoting competitive, efficient, consumer-friendly markets. We’ll introduce you to key legal frameworks which shape and enforce competition law in the UK, EU and USA; exploring how they regulate anti-competitive practices. In today's rapidly evolving digital economy, understanding competition law is crucial. Looking at real-world examples, from companies like Google and Microsoft, you’ll examine how globalisation and technological advances, like AI and machine learning, challenge traditional competition laws.
This module equips you with the skills and knowledge needed to conduct rigorous legal research, exploring both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. You'll engage with the fundamental principles of legal philosophy and examine a range of conceptual tools that can be applied to research and resolve complex legal problems. By developing these research skills and analytical frameworks, you'll be well prepared to undertake your LLM or MRes Dissertation with confidence and intellectual rigour.
Produce an independent research project of between 15,000 and 18,000 words. This will allow you to develop your ideas on a legal topic which you've chosen to explore in-depth. You'll be supported in your dissertation research and writing process by an academic supervisor.
What you'll learn
Effective business competition should produce lower prices, better products and wider choice; however, some firms try to avoid competition. In this module, you’ll develop your understanding of policies and rules in promoting competitive, efficient, consumer-friendly markets. We’ll introduce you to key legal frameworks which shape and enforce competition law in the UK, EU and USA; exploring how they regulate anti-competitive practices. In today's rapidly evolving digital economy, understanding competition law is crucial. Looking at real-world examples, from companies like Google and Microsoft, you’ll examine how globalisation and technological advances, like AI and machine learning, challenge traditional competition laws.
Explore how the concepts of democracy, rule of law and human rights have evolved to underpin the modern international political and legal order. You'll examine whether these concepts are robust enough to cope with contemporary economic and political challenges.
An in-depth study of the key aspects of modern international commercial law, this module helps you understand and critically evaluate its substance, structure, and complexities. You'll explore essential elements of international commercial contracts, including forms and modes of finance and payment, and examine widely used international contractual terms (INCOTERMS) such as EXW, FCA, FAS, FOB, and CIF. The module also covers the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), exploring its legal character and substantive provisions. In the shipping law component, you'll examine the contract of carriage and the rights and duties of shippers and carriers. Specific topics include Bills of Lading, Charterparties, the Hague-Visby Rules, Hamburg Rules, Rotterdam Rules, Multimodal Transportation, and Marine Insurance. Throughout the module, you'll develop a critical understanding of international commercial law and consider its evolving nature, enabling you to assess the future direction and dynamic challenges of global commerce.
Gain a deeper understanding of the power dynamics behind contemporary crime control policies of national and global reach. You will be able to identify and critically analyse discourses, narratives and policies of crime control and security, and develop an insight into how these impact the changing relationship between the individual and the state in its latest neo-liberal modification.
Critically explore acts of war, political violence and 'crimes of aggression' through the lens of criminological discourse. You will gain an in-depth critical understanding of war and its relationship with 'crime'; by critically evaluating the role of individual states, international communities, as well as victims, bystanders and known perpetrators or combatants.
Consider how projects fit within organisations, and how they are developed, funded and managed. You will study the essential components of project management, including planning, evaluation, ethics and governance issues, and stakeholder engagement. You will develop key skills in project management, funding applications and communication using authentic sources and case studies.
OR
Consider how projects fit within strategic and programmatic approaches to change, and how they are ethically designed, developed, and funded. This module will introduce you to the essential components of project management, including project cycle, logical frameworks, communication, stakeholder engagement and evaluation. You’ll develop key skills in project management, funding proposals and communication using authentic sources and case studies.
Explore the contested conceptualisation of human rights, via universalist/relativist and cosmopolitan/communitarian debates, and locate the theorisation of rights within the broad schools of international relations thought. You'll study the tensions that emerge through the institutionalisation of rights at an international level, the operation of sovereignty and the politics of rights at a group and individual level.
Study the key theories and concepts that are used to understand violence, conflict, and peace. By examining existing case studies, you'll gain an overview of various approaches that have been applied to manage or resolve conflict and to build peace. You'll gain an understanding of the key actors and processes associated with conflict resolution and peacebuilding, as well as key achievements and obstacles to building peace.
Consider the United States (US) as a country shaped by confinement. We'll explore different forms of confinement from enslavement, relocation and internment to incarceration, institutionalisation, and detention. This will enable us to consider how these spaces structure and define life in the US. We'll examine how they began and how they have grown and developed over time, and the ways in which they interact with and inform each other. We'll theorise both the physical and psychological forms of imprisonment that manifest in each space and the ways in which they reflect and reinforce social hierarchies and prejudices. Crucially, alongside this, this module will examine each form of confinement as a space for creativity and cultural expression. We'll explore a range of primary sources including autobiography, podcasts, art, and film, to consider how these spaces construct ideas of community and identity and how cultural tools can be used as a form of resistance. In doing so, the module will analyse the spatial, social and political confinements that have developed throughout US history and the forms of cultural expression used to challenge them in order to question the limitations and possibilities of American freedom.
Fees and funding
£11,740
UK
The tuition fee for the year for students entering in 2026/27 is £11740. The amount you will pay may increase each year to take into account the effects of inflation.
£18,440
International 2026
The tuition fee for the year for students entering in 2026/27 is £18440. The amount you will pay is fixed at this level for each year of your course.
Fees and funding
£11,740
For students entering in 2026
The tuition fee for the year for students entering in 2026/27 is £11740. The amount you will pay may increase each year to take into account the effects of inflation.
Additional course costs
Tuition Fees
Your tuition fees cover the cost of registration, tuition, academic supervision, assessments and examinations.
The following are also included in the cost of your course:
- 24/7 Library and student IT support
- Free wifi via eduroam
- Skills workshops and resources
- Library membership, giving access to more than 500,000 printed, multimedia and digital resources
- Access to software, including five free copies of Microsoft Office 365 to install on your PC,laptop and MAC, and access to free high-end software via the Leeds Beckett remote app
- Loan of high-end media equipment to support your studies
Other study-related expenses to consider: materials that you will need to complete your course such as books (whilst the library provides access to readings recommended for your modules, you may wish to purchase your own copies of some books); you can also make suggestions for books to be added to Library stock; placement costs (these may include travel expenses and living costs); student visas (international students only); printing, photocopying and stationery (you may need to pay for multiple copies of your dissertation or final project to be printed and bound); events associated with your course such as field trips; study abroad opportunities (travel costs and accommodation, visas and immunisations). Other costs could include academic conferences (travel costs) and professional-body membership (where applicable). The costs you will need to cover for graduation will include gown hire and guest tickets, and optional extras such as professional photography.
As well as your mobile phone, you will also need access to a desktop computer and/or laptop to complete assignments and access university online services such as MyBeckett, your virtual learning environment. You can book and borrow AV equipment through the media equipment service accessed online via the student hub and located in the library at each campus. Equipment includes: 360 Cameras, iPads, GoPros, MacBooks, portable data projectors, portable projection screens, flipchart stands, remote presenters, digital cameras and camcorders, SLR cameras, speakers, microphones, headphones, headsets, tripods, digital audio recorders and PC/laptops (a laptop loans service is provided on campus in the library on both campuses). Student laptops are also available from the laptop lockers located in the libraries.
This list is not exhaustive, costs are approximate and will vary depending on the choices you make during your course. Any rental, travel or living costs are also in addition to your course fees. If you choose to study via distance learning, you may not be able to access all of the facilities listed if you are not able to visit us on campus.
£18,440
For students entering in 2026
The tuition fee for the year for students entering in 2026/27 is £18440. The amount you will pay is fixed at this level for each year of your course.
Additional course costs
Tuition Fees
Your tuition fees cover the cost of registration, tuition, academic supervision, assessments and examinations.
The following are also included in the cost of your course:
- 24/7 Library and student IT support
- Free wifi via eduroam
- Skills workshops and resources
- Library membership, giving access to more than 500,000 printed, multimedia and digital resources
- Access to software, including five free copies of Microsoft Office 365 to install on your PC,laptop and MAC, and access to free high-end software via the Leeds Beckett remote app
- Loan of high-end media equipment to support your studies
In many cases, costs associated with your course will be included in your course fee. However, in some cases there are ‘essential’ additional costs (those that you will be required to meet in addition to your course fee), and/or ‘optional’ additional costs (costs that are not required, but that you might choose to pay). We have included those essential or optional additional costs that relate to your course, below.
Other study-related expenses to consider: materials that you will need to complete your course such as books (whilst the library provides access to readings recommended for your modules, you may wish to purchase your own copies of some books); you can also make suggestions for books to be added to Library stock; placement costs (these may include travel expenses and living costs); student visas (international students only); printing, photocopying and stationery (you may need to pay for multiple copies of your dissertation or final project to be printed and bound); events associated with your course such as field trips; study abroad opportunities (travel costs and accommodation, visas and immunisations). Other costs could include academic conferences (travel costs) and professional-body membership (where applicable). The costs you will need to cover for graduation will include gown hire and guest tickets, and optional extras such as professional photography.
As well as your mobile phone, you will also need access to a desktop computer and/or laptop to complete assignments and access university online services such as MyBeckett, your virtual learning environment. You can book and borrow AV equipment through the media equipment service accessed online via the student hub and located in the library at each campus. Equipment includes: 360 Cameras, iPads, GoPros, MacBooks, portable data projectors, portable projection screens, flipchart stands, remote presenters, digital cameras and camcorders, SLR cameras, speakers, microphones, headphones, headsets, tripods, digital audio recorders and PC/laptops (a laptop loans service is provided on campus in the library on both campuses). Student laptops are also available from the laptop lockers located in the libraries.
This list is not exhaustive, costs are approximate and will vary depending on the choices you make during your course. Any rental, travel or living costs are also in addition to your course fees. If you choose to study via distance learning, you may not be able to access all of the facilities listed if you are not able to visit us on campus.
Funding support for your studies
Discover more about our range of postgraduate funding options including a Master's Loan of up to £13,206, and our 20% alumni discount*
*Terms apply
Your future in our hands
There’s a lot to consider when choosing a course. Take a look at the team you’ll be working with, employability statistics and career prospects to help make up your mind.
Career Prospects
This LLM equips you with the specialist expertise and advanced analytical skills required to address some of the most complex global challenges. You’ll cover everything from democracy, rule of law and armed conflict to global policymaking and theorising human rights.
You could pursue a career in international legal practice, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charities, government and public sector, international institutions, policy and advocacy, academic research and doctoral study, and more.
With additional legal training, roles you could apply for include:
- Human rights lawyer
- Legal officer or adviser
- Policy analyst
- International development specialist
- Compliance or government adviser
This course prepares you to fully understand international human rights law, then apply it, critique it, and shape its future.
In a world plagued with conflict and injustice, human rights compliance remains the last bastion of hope. LLM International Human Rights Law is a unique course combining traditional core human rights law modules with social science options, offering students legal and humanitarian theoretical and practical grounding.”
Dr Pavel Repyeuski
Course Director
Beckett Careers Team
Our careers service is not just there for undergraduates, we support our postgraduate taught and research students too.
Your postgraduate degree will boost your CV and help you stand out from the crowd. Whether you're just starting out on your chosen career path, changing careers or moving to the next level, we can provide you with expert advice and resources to help you take the next steps to achieving your goals.
Your Beckett experience
At Leeds Beckett your experience is important to us, find out more about what to expect from your time on this course and life at uni.
Experience Leeds Beckett
Our state-of-the-art facilities and learning environments give you everything you need to succeed – whether that’s completing your current studies or joining our cutting-edge research teams.
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