School of Social Sciences

Public International Law LLM

Year of entry: 2025

Course length: 12 months Full-Time | 27 months Part-Time

About the course

International states are increasingly faced with legal and governance challenges that threaten the rights of groups and individuals.

Our Public International Law LLM is designed for students who seek to become generalist international lawyers. Upon successful completion of the course, you will be an all-rounder who has knowledge and understanding of the rules, systems, techniques, practices, dynamics and discourses by virtue of which international law is created, conceived and applied.

See the full course profile on our website >

Benefit from our first-class facilities, including a purpose-built moot court where you can practically develop your skills

Join a university with a strong heritage of providing legal education since 1872, including graduates such as Dame Christabel Pankhurst

Our graduates are among the most targeted by top UK employers

(High Fliers 2024)

Compulsory Units

Foundations of International Law
International Law and Security
Dissertation (LL.M.)

Optional Units

Academic Skills for Legal Studies
International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law
Global Environmental and Climate Change Law
International Courts and Tribunals
International Investment Law
International Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Law

These are examples of units offered in 2023/24 and are subject to change. See the full list of units and find out more on the full course profile >

Where will your degree take you?

In an increasingly global and interconnected world, there is a high demand for law professionals with expertise in public international law. Our degrees allow you to develop a variety of both subject-specific and transferable skills suited to a wide variety of roles, such as legal analysis, communication, reasoning and negotiation skills, and problem-solving

Most of our recent graduates have gone on to work with leading organisations such as international institutions, government departments (ministries of foreign affairs, defence, justice, home affairs, and development), non-governmental organisations and law firms, and at top universities, with job titles such as International Lawyer, Legal Consultant, Diplomat, Policy Advisor, Manager, and Researcher.

Many of our graduates choose to go on to research degrees (PhD), either at Manchester or at another leading university, where they expand the boundaries of our knowledge and pursue careers in research or academia.

Seyada Rizvi

Public International Law LLM Graduate

“The University of Manchester has a track record of providing quality education and producing motivated, hard-working intellectuals. The Law School has been home to some of the prominent leaders of today and the staff also came highly recommended.

At the Law School, the quality and breadth of teaching I have experienced has been brilliant; I have been exposed to many new and different styles of learning, thinking, and analysing, which have inspired me to look at information in new ways. The quality of teaching is impressive, and the staff are very open, involved, and crucially, experts in the fields that they teach."

Grete Labunski

Public International Law LLM

“Manchester is the ideal destination for studying public international law. Led by a team of renowned experts, this programme is designed for students to develop their own voice and drive social change.

Choosing this programme has been incredibly rewarding. I recommend it to anyone eager to make a meaningful impact in the field of international law.“