Migration and Refugee Law (LLM by Research)

About the Course

The LLM by research is designed to provide students with a deeper and greater platform of understanding of the hard law and soft law regulation of Migration and Refugee law that is now regarded, justifiably or not, by policymakers and law enforcement agencies as a global challenge. The migration of significant numbers of people seeking a better life in the economically developed and more prosperous parts of the globe has become a key challenge for the host destinations. Moreover, the mass movement of refugees desperate to escape conflict and persecution has also become an increasingly prevalent consequence of the breakdown in internal and external order. Indeed, taken together, it is increasingly difficult for host states to distinguish between the two broad typologies of voluntary and forced population movements and thus establish appropriate regulatory frameworks to deal with the challenges. The need for highly skilled individuals employed in the supportive, regulatory, policing, and developmental aspects of Migration and Refugee law is likely to continue to grow in the coming decades.

The core rationale of this course is to provide postgraduate students with the opportunity to develop research focused, advanced, and evaluative understandings of the national and international regulatory and policy frameworks governing and shaping International Migration empowering them to design and undertake advanced legal research, theoretical or applied or both, by completing three 20 credit taught courses and a significant research project rated at 120 credits on an aspect of International Migration or Refugee Law. The course is rated at 180 credits.

Why choose Liverpool Hope?

The Liverpool Hope University School of Law and Criminology provides students with the opportunity to reach their highest potential, by expanding their horizons and developing their knowledge, understanding and critical thinking skills within the disciplines of law and criminology with the ultimate goal of enhancing their knowledge of either subject for the purposes of furthering their passion or for a career in a legal or a criminological field.

Being a small school means that you get to know us quickly, and we get to know you. This enables us to support you in a way that the larger universities may not be able to. The school prides itself on excellent teaching quality recognised by a recent independent review, which specifically identified approachable staff providing close academic support.

Curriculum Overview

The LLM by Research consists of three compulsory 20 credit research focused taught modules and the research dissertation module which together add up to 180 credits. Assessment methods may include coursework in the form of essays, class presentations and research dissertation.

Modules

During the programme you will study:

Advanced Legal Research Methods (20 credits – compulsory)

The module offers advanced research methods training for students wishing to pursue masters level research in Law. The module will use case studies-based teaching to give students appropriate training in research design for advanced research projects in Law. Students will be guided in accessing legal resources, research design, devising research questions, writing literature reviews, research methodologies, conducting quantitative and qualitative legal research, developing skills in academic writing, and delivering oral presentations. Research ethics will also be considered.

Refugee Law (20 credits – compulsory)

This module will provide an in-depth research focused critical analysis of asylum and refugee law in EU and the UK. It covers key concepts; the development of the field of law viewed in historical and political context, particularly the refugee definition, status determination and procedural rights; questions of nationality and the system of immigration control and enforcement. It also considers how EU law and human rights standards impact(ed) EU and UK law governing asylum.

Drawing on a range of theoretical accounts, policy documents, case law and critical analysis of developments at the national, regional, and international level, the course enables students to acquire both sound knowledge of the law and critical awareness of the biases, gaps and challenges in the current system. By locating EU and UK refugee and law in the broader context of global developments, it allows students to appreciate the multiple standpoints and factors that influence law and practice in the field.

International Migration Law (20 credits – compulsory)

This module will provide an in-depth research focused critical examination of international migration law. It will cover key areas forming part of the broader field of what is referred to as international migration law. This includes analysis of core concepts such as sovereignty, nationality and statelessness; regional arrangements; push and pull factors explaining economic and other forms migration; migration control; trafficking and smuggling; the rights of migrants with a particular focus on migrant workers; and broader questions of global migration law and policy.

The module also explores cross-cutting issues such as race, gender, age, and intersectionality that are of increasing importance in the field of international migration law. The module explores a range of theoretical perspectives that will enable students to critically interrogate the genesis of, and current trends and developments in international migration law. Students will be required to engage with case law, policy documents and key academic texts to develop sound knowledge of the law and critical awareness and understanding of the biases, gaps and challenges in the current system with a particular focus on developments in Europe.

Research Dissertation (120 credits – compulsory)

The 30,000-word Dissertation (excluding bibliography and footnotes) represents the culmination of the critical engagement with the subject area of International Migration and Refugee Law. It will enable students to study and research a relevant topic in considerable depth, make appropriate methodological choices with which to answer research questions, and work with their supervisor to plan, organise, conduct and write-up an in-depth research project. By completing a dissertation, students will demonstrate an advanced, critical and comprehensive knowledge of a chosen aspect of the subject area, present logical conclusions and recommendations on the issues subjected to scrutiny, as well as locating and synthesising materials from diverse sources to produce a coherent, well-presented and correctly referenced thesis.

Entry Requirements

A minimum of a Second-Class Honours degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Law) awarded by a UK university, or an equivalent higher education qualification, or equivalent professional experience

International Entry Requirements

For students whose first language is not English there is a language requirement of IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 minimum of all components. In addition to this also we accept a wide range of International Qualifications, for more information please visit our English Language Requirements page.

For additional information about country specific entry requirements visit the your country pages. 

Due consideration will be given to applications from outside the UK with the possibility of Distance Learning

Teaching and Research

The School of Law and Criminology's academic provision is led by well-respected cutting-edge legal scholars, committed to supporting our students, our academics have internationally recognised research profiles in the fields of Global Business & Human Rights, World Trade Law, International Law, Telecommunications & Cyber Law, Media Law and European Union Law. The School’s teaching is research and practitioner informed with an approach that is inspired by the communitarian and ethical values of the University.

The teaching and learning strategy of the award requires approximately 33 hours contact per taught research-focused module (99 hours in total) and 12 hours per student of supervision for the 120-credit research project/dissertation.  In essence, for the taught modules delivered during the first term of study, students will be required to devote up to 6 hours per week or one day per week to the learning through contact aspects of the course.

Teaching and Learning on the course is in blended learning format with online asynchronous lectures and synchronous student-led research, used seminars interspersed with monthly learning consolidation workshops, face to face or online, depending on student location and convenience. 

UK/Channel Island Tuition Fees

2024/25 

Tuition fees for Home students are £7,500

2025/26

Tuition fees for Home students are £7,750

Funding

We offer a number of scholarships and loans to help fund your postgraduate studies. Visit our scholarships pages for more details.

EU/Non EU International Tuition Fees

2024/25 

Tuition fees for EU students are £7,500

Tuition fees for Non-EU International Students are £15,000

2025/26

Tuition fees for EU/Non-EU International students for 2025/26 are £15,250

Please be aware that the UK’s departure from the EU may affect your tuition fees. Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.

Careers

This course should be of particular interest to candidates, both domestic and international, who are law graduates who would like to practice or are already employed in these areas of practice or indeed support or enforcement, or exceptionally graduates of other disciplines with significant experience of employment in the regulatory and enforcement aspects of voluntary and forced migration with a desire to develop their knowledge and expertise of the regulatory areas.

The target audience also includes law graduates who would like to go on to research careers in these areas of the law. The award may also be of interest to individuals working in non-governmental organizations already operating in the field of migration and immigration law, and governmental agencies tasked with law enforcement that operate staff development sponsorship schemes.