LLM COURSES FAQ’s – Shaun MILLS 2017-18 - uclan.ac.uk · Web viewNote also that the first...

LLM Courses – Frequently Asked Questions.

Course start date 9th January 2018Please read carefully.

1.Induction checklisto Have you completed online enrolment?o Do you have access to the Blackboard pages for the

Course, Master of Laws?o Do you have access to the Blackboard pages for

LA4505 Advanced Legal Systems and any other compulsory modules for your course?

2.Induction weeks and the Advanced Legal Systems module

o Please see attached induction schedule w/c 8th January:

campus students: you will be expected to attend the induction sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. Note also that the first four workshops for the Advanced Legal Systems module are scheduled for Thursday 11th January and Friday 12th

January online students: all sessions are held as

webinars starting at 6pm and ending by 8pm (UK time). Monday and Tuesday are induction sessions and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the first Advanced Legal Systems classes. Access

the link for all sessions via the Advanced Legal Systems Blackboard space.

w/c 15th January: campus students: you will have four

classes for the Advanced Legal System module this week – classes take place every day this week (apart from Friday)

online students: you will have a class for Advanced Legal Systems every evening this week (though some may be offline activities). All classes are held as webinars starting at 6pm and ending by 8pm (UK time). Access the link for the classes via the Advanced Legal Systems Blackboard space.

w/c 22nd January: campus students: weekly classes for

your other modules commence on Wednesday 24th January.

online students: weekly classes for your other modules commence this week – check the timetable for the evenings your modules are running. All classes are held as webinars starting at 6pm and ending by 8pm (UK time). Access the link for the classes via the relevant module Blackboard space.

3.Master of Laws Course Blackboard spaceo Please make sure that you pay careful attention to

this and check-in regularly. It contains vital course information and resources including:

Your Course Handbook – essential reading for everyone

LLM COURSES FAQ’s – Shaun MILLS 2017-18

Essential course documents e.g. assessment criteria; assignment cover sheets

Discussion Board – for students to communicate with each other and to direct questions to the Course Leader

4. UCLan e-mail addresseso These must be used for all correspondence.o You should check your UCLan e-mail account

regularly as this is the main way that tutors will communicate with you.

5.Yammero This is the Microsoft social network tool we are

using for the LLM Courses.o We aim to use this as another means of

communication / information sharing, between tutors and students and also between students across different cohorts / courses and modes of study.

o Sign-up for Yammer via Office 365 (access with your UCLan log-in details).

o Ask to join the Yammer Lancashire Law School LLM Courses Group.

6.Year Plannero Please make sure that you pay careful attention to

this as it contains all the important information you need about coursework deadlines etc.

o It is vital that you implement an effective time management system so that you are able to meet all deadlines. This is particularly important because assignment deadlines are often very close together; indeed you


may be required to submit several assignments on the same day.

7.Students without a law degreeo A law degree or previous legal experience is

desirable but not essential. In fact several of our most successful graduates did not have any legal training at all before the course.

o Please be assured that induction classes together with the first compulsory module: Advanced Legal Systems cover the foundation skills needed for the successful study of law at postgraduate level.

8.Timetables and choosing optionso Please do not register for optional modules until you

have discussed these with the Course Leader (Shaun Mills). Your options will be registered during the induction sessions, after discussion with the Course Leader. You will be automatically registered for the compulsory modules on enrolment.

o Note that your online timetable will not be complete until your options have been officially registered. Compulsory modules should already appear on your timetable.

o Students can study our LLM Courses on a full-time basis (over 12-months) or part-time basis (over 24-months).

o Students can study either on-campus or on-line but not a mixture of both (unless express permission is given, by the Course Leader, to attend the occasional session in exceptional circumstances).

o For each module you will be required to attend 8 x 2-hour workshops (or live ‘webinars’ if you are an


online student). These are taught weekly over an eight-week period.

Campus-based students have all their classes on Wednesdays. They can be timetabled at any time between 9am-5pm on Wednesdays.

Online students can have classes (‘webinars’) on any week-day evening. These are always timetabled from 6-8pm UK time.

o The exception to this is your first module: LA4505 Advanced Legal Systems (which is compulsory for all students). This is block taught over the first two (induction) weeks of the Course. You will have 8 x 2-hour sessions during the first two weeks (in addition to some compulsory induction sessions). These sessions will take place Monday – Friday for the first two weeks (on-campus or online depending on your study mode).

9.How many modules?o Full-time students take six 20-credit modules plus a

60-credit dissertation in 12 monthso Part-time students study over 24 months and

usually take four 20-credit modules in Year One, followed by two 20-credit modules plus the 60-credit dissertation in Year Two.

LLM in International Business Law (Full-time students starting in January 2018)

January Semester:o LA4505 Advanced Legal Systems

(compulsory)o LA4921 WTO Law & Policy

(compulsory)


o Choose ONE option from LA4932 EU Single Market Law LA4925 International Intellectual

Property Law LA4608 International

Commercial Mediation (online students wishing to take this module will have to attend the block teaching week at Preston campus during April 2018)

LA4938 International Corporate Governance

September Semester:o LA4605 International Commercial

Arbitration (compulsory)o LA4929 International Commercial

Litigation (compulsory)o LA4095 Dissertation (compulsory)o Choose ONE option from

LA4946 Independent Research Project

LA4101 Banking and Financial Services Regulation

Summer Period:o Work on Dissertation for submission

in 24-01-2019. It will be important for you to make substantial progress on this during this summer period as you will also have to submit assessments for your other modules in January 2019.


o LLM in International Business Law (Part-time students starting in January 2018)

Year One January Semester:o LA4505 Advanced Legal Systems

(compulsory)o LA4921 WTO Law & Policy

(compulsory) Year One September Semester:

o LA4929 International Commercial Litigation (compulsory)

o LA4605 International Commercial Arbitration (compulsory)

Year Two January Semester:o Choose two options from:

LA4932 EU Single Market Law LA4925 International Intellectual



LA4938 International Corporate Governance

Year Two September Semester:o LA4095 Dissertation (compulsory) –

submission date is January 2020


LLM in Financial & Commercial Law (Full-time students starting in January 2018)

January Semester:o LA4505 Advanced Legal Systems

(compulsory)o LA4938 International Corporate

Governance (compulsory)o Choose ONE option from

LA4932 EU Single Market Law LA4925 International Intellectual

Property Law LA4921 WTO Law & Policy LA4608 International


September Semester:o LA4101 Banking and Financial

Services Regulation (compulsory)o LA4095 Dissertation (compulsory)o Choose ONE option from


LA4605 International Commercial Arbitration

LA4929 International Commercial Litigation

Summer Period:


o Work on Dissertation for submission in 24-01-2019. It will be important for you to make substantial progress on this during this summer period as you will also have to submit assessments for your other modules in January 2019.

o LLM in Financial & Commercial Law (Part-time students starting in January 2018)


(compulsory)o LA4938 International Corporate

Governance (compulsory) Year One September Semester:

o LA4101 Banking and Financial Services Regulation (compulsory)

o Choose one option from: LA4929 International

Commercial Litigation LA4605 International

Commercial Arbitration Year Two January Semester:

o Choose two options from: LA4932 EU Single Market Law LA4925 International Intellectual


Commercial Mediation (online students wishing to take this module will have to attend the


block teaching week at Preston campus during April 2019)

LA4921 WTO Law & Policy LA4946 Independent Research

Project Year Two September Semester:

o LA4095 Dissertation (compulsory) – submission date is January 2020

LLM in Law & International Security (Full-

time students starting in January 2018) January Semester:

o LA4505 Advanced Legal Systems (compulsory)

o LA4503 Transnational Regulation of Terrorism (compulsory)

o Select option: LA4504 Transnational Regulation

of Human Trafficking

September Semester:o LA4501 International Criminal Law &

Security (compulsory)o LA4502 Law Relating to Security at

Sea (compulsory)o LA4095 Dissertation (compulsory)o Choose one option from






o LLM in Law & International Security (Part-time students starting in January 2018)


(compulsory)o LA4503 Transnational Regulation of

Terrorism (compulsory) Year One September Semester:

o LA4501 International Criminal Law & Security (compulsory)

o LA4502 Law Relating to Security at Sea (compulsory)

Year Two January Semester:o LA4504 Transnational Regulation of

Human Traffickingo Choose one option from:


LA4932 EU Single Market Law



submission date is January 2020o LLM in Law (Full-time students starting in

January 2018) January Semester:

o LA4505 Advanced Legal Systems (compulsory)

o Choose two options from: LA4503 Transnational Regulation

of Terrorism LA4504 Transnational Regulation

of Human Trafficking LA4932 EU Single Market Law LA4921 WTO Law & Policy LA4938 International Corporate

Governance LA4925 International Intellectual


Commercial Mediation (online students wishing to take this module will have to attend the block teaching week at Preston campus during April 2018).

September Semester:o LA4095 Dissertation (compulsory)o Choose three options from:



LA4929 International Commercial Litigation

LA4101 Banking & Financial Services Regulation

LA4501 International Criminal Law & Security

LA4502 Law Relating to Security at Sea




o LLM in Law (Part-time students starting in January 2018)


(compulsory)o Choose one option (see full-time list

for January options) Year One September Semester:

o Choose two options (see full-time list for September options)

Year Two January Semester:o Choose two options (see full-time list

for January options)



submission date is January 2020

10. How will I be taught?o Please note that we expect our postgraduate

students to be independent learners, so please do not expect to receive undergraduate style lectures in your workshops / webinars or similar learning support materials. At Masters-level, the expectation is that all sessions are student-focused. The tutor will guide discussion based on the pre-reading and activities you have been asked to prepare prior to the sessions.

11. What happens if I miss classes?o We maintain that attendance at classes is

‘compulsory’, this is because we believe that attendance is required in order to assist you develop your independent research / thinking / analytical skills. Furthermore, regular attendance at classes helps to promote a sense of cohort identity, which can only work if students are ‘meeting’ each other regularly in classes. Not only does this give you the opportunity to meet new people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and cultures, but also gives you additional peer support (the value of which should never be under-estimated). That said, we are aware that it is not always possible to attend every scheduled class but we do ask students to attend as many as they can.

o If you cannot attend a class you should notify your workshop tutor in advance and make sure that you


complete the required reading and tasks for that session.

o Please be aware that all tutor support (in particular for assessment) comes via these sessions and we are unable to offer one-to-one tuition to students who miss classes. That said, it is usual for the online webinars to be recorded so, if you do miss a session, you can at least catch-up on the discussion even though you missed the educational benefit of participating yourself.

o Please note that international students with Tier 4 immigration status are required to attend all scheduled classes as part of their visa conditions. This attendance is monitored by the UK Home Office.

12. How will I be assessed?o Each module is assessed by written coursework.

There are no examinations on the LLM courses. o Usually this is split between:

1,000-word abstract / annotated bibliography (worth 25% of the module marks) for which you receive written feedback.

3,000-word essay (worth 75% of the module marks) written-up after taking into account the feedback on your abstract / annotated bibliography.

13. Assessment deadlines and effective time management

o Students often under-estimate the workload for the LLM courses. When you start the Course you will be given a Year Planner. This details submission dates for all your assessments.


o It is very important that you plan your time effectively as it is common for deadlines to be on (or around) the same date for each of the modules you take in a semester. Therefore, it is essential that you are able to multi-task by actively working on several different assessments concurrently.

o There is a tendency for some students to rely on being granted extensions. The LLM Course Team would like to point out that any extension that is granted is a concession given to the students at personal inconvenience to the relevant module tutor/s. This does not grant a right and there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of this on behalf of the students.

o There is also a trend by students to treat the submission day as a writing day, regardless of the specific advice to the contrary which is constantly given to the students. This seems to suggest that many students are not effectively managing their time, again, against specific advice, and this is something that does need to change. The fundamental principle is that each individual student is responsible for their own work.

14. Dissertationo Remember, the Dissertation is an ongoing project,

not something to be left until you have finished your assessments for the taught modules. All students should be working on their dissertations throughout their second semester, even though taught modules are being delivered.

o For full-time January start students: you must aim to make substantial progress with your Dissertations during the summer period (June through to September 2018). Do not put this off until the September


semester as this will be an extremely busy semester for you (you will also have assessments for three other modules to contend with during this semester!)

o Try not to leave the writing-up of your research to the last minute - start writing up your work as soon as you can, otherwise you may forget the detail of what you have read!

o It is better to submit a detailed plan and a draft chapter to your supervisor early on, so major style flaws, structural issues and source selection can be picked up and corrected.

o Draft work submitted to the supervisor must be the best the student can do. Your supervisor’s role is not to proof- read and edit your work for you. Complete chapters should be submitted at an agreed time (as per schedule) and they should be carefully proof checked for errors of punctuation, word selection, spelling and grammar before being submitted to the supervisor. All references must be complete and in the OSCOLA style.

15. Who do I contact for further support?o Administration issues: Harris Hub Prog Admin:

[email protected] Academic issues: LLM Course Leader, Shaun Mills

[email protected]. o Library support: Law Librarian, Louise Guilfoyle

[email protected] Writing skills support: WISER -

[email protected] or view the WISER student-facing website.

o Learning support for international students: Assistance with academic writing:


mailto:[email protected]




[email protected]. Specific support for law students: Anita Richards ([email protected])

o Careers support: The Law School contact is Vivien Ivins: [email protected] or you can contact [email protected]

o Pro-bono legal work opportunities: contact Karen Buckley: [email protected]







LLM COURSES FAQ’s – Shaun MILLS 2017-18 - uclan.ac.uk · Web viewNote also that the first...

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