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LLM International Corporate and Commercial Law

Develop your understanding of global corporate law

Year of entry: 2025 (September)

Length

1 year full-time

Department

York Law School

Start date

September 2025 (semester dates)

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Take an international look at the key areas of corporate governance, and corporate and commercial law.

Throughout this course you'll explore the differences in laws and governance in countries across the globe, and how they respond to economic and social pressures. You'll assess these approaches in times of economic stability and in crisis, with a particular focus on corporate governance and on commercial transactions.

By the end of this course, you'll have developed a comprehension of how commercial decisions are made and how corporate governance operates, leaving you well-equipped to enter the world of commercial law.

Problem-based learning

A modern, dynamic learning method that ensures you experience and understand law in its practical, social and theoretical contexts

Course content

Your learning will reflect the latest innovations in legal education. You'll work in a student law firm to complete a number of problem-based learning exercises based on a series of varied real-life corporate commercial transactions and matters developed in consultation with legal practitioners.

You'll study 180 credits over the course of your degree. Three core modules will enable you to develop a grounding in the key aspects of international corporate and commercial law. You'll also study research skills and methods to help you prepare for your dissertation. By choosing from a range of options, you can focus your studies on what interests you most.

Towards the end of your degree, you'll work on a 12,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice.

Modules

Core modules

Option modules

You will also study three option modules. Examples can be found below. Some option module combinations may not be possible. The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course.

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.

Dissertation

You'll write a 12,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice and under the supervision of a faculty member. You'll be supported in the preparation of the dissertation proposal during the Legal Systems & Research Methods module. You'll have a lot of flexibility when it comes to choosing your topic.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Discuss and critically evaluate specific principles in relation to the laws affecting the conduct and governance of corporations and of commercial transactions and apply a comprehensive understanding of the operation of such principles to the analysis of legal and commercial problems.
  • Discuss and critically evaluate the fundamental principles and theories of common, civil and international law systems and apply a comprehensive understanding of the operation of such principles to the analysis of legal and commercial problems.
  • Apply and adapt problem-solving skills working efficiently and effectively to develop effective solutions to diverse, complex and integrated legal, practical or societal problem scenarios.
  • Influence debate in chosen areas of specialisation and interest by developing well-reasoned, critical and creative arguments, theories and solutions to broader legal issues within society, supported by researched evidence, with the capacity to draw on these to produce original responses.
  • Evaluate propositions and solve complex problems by reflexively drawing upon and applying a broad awareness of perspectives and interests in their work, capable of taking into account key considerations (such as: ethical, social, political, professional, commercial, financial, business, international, policy, human rights, ethnic, gender and client interest considerations).
  • Record, reflect on, and evaluate the strengths, weaknesses and progress in their own personal learning and professional development.
  • Develop legal research skills including: the use of computer databases and search strategies; critical evaluation of normative research questions, determine research methodologies which can be used to successfully address such questions, apply the skills and knowledge developed on the programme to a selected problem, and plan, project manage and implement a substantial project with minimal guidance.
What drew me to the LLM International Corporate and Commercial Law was its applicability for employment and the broad range of modules on offer. One of the highlights was taking part in a live negotiation with a Law School in Boston. Each student went through the whole process of a complex international commercial deal.
Elliott, LLM International Corporate Commercial Law

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2025/26

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (1 year) £11,200£25,900

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2025/26 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

Chevening Scholarships

We are pleased to work with Chevening Scholars to offer funding for our Masters programmes. Chevening Scholarships provide one year of fully-funded postgraduate study in the UK for international (including EU) students. The scholarships are open to early and mid-career professionals who have the potential to become future leaders.

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching format

You'll receive innovative, practical and relevant teaching integrating problem-based learning, simulations, and student law firms. You'll also attend masterclasses from legal practitioners and academics.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

A core teaching method employed in most modules is problem-based learning (PBL). This will involve you working in a “student law firm” in which you will work on simulated, real-life corporate and commercial law problems brought to you by virtual clients. You will learn to identify the relevant legal principles, and unravel the legal and contextual issues that lie at the heart of each problem. As in real life, the problems are messy, and typically involve several legal topics interacting and overlapping.

Additional learning resources

You will also learn through a range of other resources including: seminars, written subject guides, and a variety of relevant material in our virtual learning environment.

Teaching location

York Law School is located on Campus East. Nearly all of your teaching will take place within the Law building or nearby on Campus East.

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

As you progress through modules, you'll compile your work in a portfolio. Individual modules are then assessed by reflective reports demonstrating understanding of required knowledge, skills and commercial awareness, evidenced by chosen outputs your portfolio. These are followed by the independent study module, where you will write a 12,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice and under the supervision of a faculty member.

Careers and skills

Throughout your time at York, you will receive active support in careers and development planning from the York Law School employability tutor.

We encourage you to get involved with our Careers and Development Programme. The bespoke programme includes several employers, providing an insight into the legal profession and the relevant recruitment processes.

There is also help available for those of you who are thinking about non-legal employers or academic routes following your LLM.

Career opportunities

  • Lawyer
  • Paralegal
  • Commercial in-house lawyer
  • Arbitrator
  • Conveyancer
  • Advice worker 

Transferable skills

  • Research skills
  • Communication and presentation skills
  • Analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Project management
  • Reasoning and judgement
  • Document and case analysis
  • Negotiation and mediation
  • Advocacy

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:2 or equivalent in Law or Management.
International pre-masters programme Pre-masters from our International Pathway College
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component
Cambridge CEFR B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component
Oxford ELLT 7, minimum of 6 in each component
Duolingo 120, minimum 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic 70 with a minimum of 65 in each component
Kaplan Test of English Language 459-494, with 426-458 in all other components
Skills for English B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
PTE Academic 61, minimum 55 in each component
TOEFL 87, minimum of 21 in each component
Trinity ISE III Merit in all requirements

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

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