The aim of the LLM (Human Rights) program is to provide a critical appreciation of human rights in the context of international and comparative developments. It aims to engender excellent research and writing skills that can promote a human rights culture on the basis of multi-culturalism and inclusion. The objective of the program is promote a human rights culture in which issues connected to colonialism, eurocentrism, racism, sexism are understood and form part of the future agenda.

The Aims and Objectives of the LLM Human Rights are to

• Develop a critical awareness of, and an ability to employ, competing analytical frameworks within the human rights legal discourse.
• Contextualise the issues of law, politics and morality to a given human rights question and read critical legal material and understand the socio-political issues.
• Understand a broad range of issues and contexts related to the national, regional and international human rights doctrines and systems and their application.
• Identify and deal with problems of implementation in domestic contexts and develop human rights strategies for specific situation
• Develop the ability to analyse, articulate and write on the subject, by linking previous or current experience with an academic inquiry, particularly via the dissertation.

The LLM (Human Rights) offers a broad range of existing modules. In addition to the core module International Human Rights, a range of options including Law and Development, Islam and Human Rights, Women and the Law, Rights and Remedies, International Refugee law, International Environmental Law, International Trade Law, Law of Armed conflict and Contemporary issues in Police Studies are offered.

The LLM (Human Rights) at UEL will be a distinctive programme for the following reasons

• The School has experts in the field whose research was rated as international recognized in the Research Assessment Exercise 2008;
• The Law School is home to the Centre ion Human Right in Conflict an internationally recognized interdisciplinary research centre whose work contributes modules to the LLM Human Rights;
• All LLM Programs adjudged the highest grade "commendable by the Quality Assurance Agency in 2003 The LLM in Human Rights would offer a wide range of modules and options;
• The LLM in Human Rights has a distinctive focus offering fresh modules such as Islam and Human Rights, International criminal law and Law & Development not offered elsewhere;
• The LLM in Human Rights is attractive because of the programme structure making it entirely research based while offering students the flexibility of choosing research areas within the modules and for their dissertation;
• The LLM in Human Rights will be taught, as with the existing programme, through interactive lectures and seminars and day schools;
• The LLM in Human Rights is supported by a strong library collection and the critical studies academic culture at the School of Law and UEL.

The LLM in Human Rights offers a combination of academic studies and practical/professional expertise which makes it an attractive student option

Qualifications for admission are a good degree in law, the social sciences or the humanities or another appropriate degree. Professional qualifications will also be taken in account. Applicants whose first language is not English or who have not studied for the first degree in English medium require IELTS at 6.5 or its equivalent.

Students that apply to enter stages of the programme may be admitted through normal Accreditation of Experiential Learning (AEL) or Accreditation of Certificated Learning (ACL) processes, or through an approved articulation agreement. Therefore such applicants must be able to demonstrate and evidence that they have the required learning outcomes as listed in the modules for which they are seeking exemption.

Students undertake four modules and a dissertation. In addition to the core modules, International Human Rights and Current Issues and Research in International Law, candidates take at least one module from the following: Law and Development, Islam and Human Rights, , International Refugee law, International Environmental Law, Law of the World Trade Organization,  Minority Rights under International Law,  International Criminal Law, Business and Human Rights and War and Human Rights
Candidates may choose their fourth module  from any one of the above or from any other LLM module. The Dissertation must be deemed by the Dissertation committee to be in the Human Rights area.

Module Lectures/Seminar/s, workshops and human rights seminars with external experts, day school, optional placements, external visits by experts and proposed overseas study.

All modules are research based involving coursework. Students take four modules of 30 credits each for which they submit their coursework of approx. 7,000 words at the end of the respective semester. The LLM dissertation accounts for 60 credits involving a 15,000 word essay. The full time students normally complete the 180 credits requirements in one academic year while part time students complete the same in two years.

Students are welcome to negotiate projects/assignments as work-based initiatives but the supervision offered is the same as for other coursework.

Day School and dissertation seminars provide the opportunity for students to develop their own ideas, research specific topics. Though classroom presentations involve joint study and research, the nature of postgraduate research (and concerns over plagiarism) does not provide scope for formal collaborative research projects.

Students graduating with a specialisation such as the LLM (Human Rights) can look to the expanding market and professional choices available in this field. A wide range of career paths opening up include specialised human rights practice, work in the public sector and government, international human rights and development agencies and organisations, grassroots advocacy and academics.

Every student is allocated a personal tutor who provides support and advice, research methods training is available, special sessions on access to relevant learning materials are organised. Lecturers teaching on the LLM in Human Rights are available for module specific discussions as well as general human rights issues.

The LLM in Human Rights programme will include placement opportunities, career advice, Day Schools and special seminar series led by experts in the field and the likelihood of an international study trip.

LLM (Human Rights) is modelled on the LLM (International Law) and approximates the LLM (Modular). It is based on existing modules but provides recognition to students who have chosen human rights options with the degree title of LLM (Human Rights) rather than the general LLM (Modular).