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The rising popularity of specialised LLM programs
Few programs are currently more popular with international students than the LLM. Whether it is the lure of higher level study or the development of specific skills demanded by the tight focus of the LLM program, the international interest in this qualification has never been stronger. The LLM has the added advantage of being very flexible. Not only can it advance your career in the legal field but the knowledge acquired from it can also be relevant for career paths as diverse as media, journalism, business and research.
The sheer variety of specialized LLM programs is undoubtedly one of the most attractive aspects for prospective international students interested in studying law at an advanced level. There are hundreds of potential areas to choose from, with individual universities specializing in one or more of these academic areas depending on the strengths of their academic faculty and their research interests. The demand for specialists able to navigate the legal aspects of fields such as trade, human rights, the Internet and biotechnology is increasing fast, particularly as they become ever more international.
The LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law offered by the University of Oregon is one such highly specialized program. Intended to meet the needs of public and private institutions alike, the Oregon LLM focuses on a range of environmental legal issues including energy and the law, hazardous waste law, climate change litigation and coastal law, in order to equip those with legal responsibilities in one of the most fast changing areas in society today. With links to advocacy groups, international think tanks and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, graduates of the program enjoy high profile positions in the USA and further afield.
The skills developed as part of an LLM can be vital, especially for those law firms that have a major specialization, such as intellectual property, human rights law or international environmental law.
Many prospective graduate students consider an LLM program as an entry into the more research-oriented area of some law firms. As legal issues become both more complicated and international, the specific nature of many legal areas requires a far more academic and, in some cases, scientific approach than ever before. The skills developed as part of an LLM can be vital, especially for those law firms that have a major specialization, such as intellectual property, human rights law or international environmental law.
Lisa Cherkassky, a graduate of the LLM in Criminal Law and Procedure at the University of Sunderland in the UK, focused on the specialized nature of the LLM program to ensure she had the right background for an academic career: “I wanted to improve my subject knowledge in my strongest subject. I have thoroughly enjoyed all my lecturers and seminars andhave learnt so much. I have established links that I will maintain for life and I have now attained my dream job as a law lecturer thanks to the links that I secured at Sunderland’s School of Business, Law and Psychology.”
Public sector oriented aspects of legal careers continue to attract students from all over the world.
Public sector oriented aspects of legal careers continue to attract students from all over the world. For example, the University of Pretoria in South Africa has a well established LLM program in the area of Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa. Drawing students from 21 countries, the 2008 academic program started in January with 32 new students, specializing in developing best practice and firsthand experience with the issues of human rights throughout Africa. The program is one of the most prestigious of its kind and in the past nine years, 227 students from 32 countries have graduated from this program, a unique product of academic collaboration between six universities from six African countries. The Pretoria LLM combines core academic modules in areas such as international and comparative human rights, democratization in Africa and the methodologies of human rights with practical field experience in Rwanda, Sierra Leone or Somaliland.
