Length

1 year full-time,
2 years part-time

Department

Centre for Applied Human Rights, York Law School

Start date

September 2025 (semester dates)

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Human rights abuses still occur, despite growing numbers of international treaties and organisations dedicated to their eradication. The LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice engages you in a critical, nuanced and interdisciplinary examination of this paradox.

You'll learn about issues central to the work of human rights scholars and practitioners including states and non-state actors as perpetrators and duty-bearers; standard-setting versus implementation; and the interaction between law, policy and advocacy at local, regional and global levels. Whether you are a mid-career professional or recent graduate, our LLM enables you to acquire the substantive knowledge, versatile skills and valuable networks necessary to work in the human rights field.

The LLM International Human Rights Law and Practice is distinctive because you will:

work on real human rights issues in partnership with international and local NGOs, UN mechanisms or governmental bodies;
undertake fieldwork in South Africa, York or online and acquire valuable socio-legal skills;
learn from the experiences of human rights defenders based at the Centre for Applied Human Rights and from the interactions with an international student body;
benefit from the interdisciplinary expertise of staff at the Centre for Applied Human Rights and York Law School including the current UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Tomoya Obokata.

The Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR) hosts an innovative Protective Fellowship Scheme for Human Rights Defenders at Risk. Up to ten defenders are able to come to York to benefit from time away from a difficult environment, and from educational resources designed to increase their effectiveness and ability to influence policy and practice when they return home.

Our CAHR Human Rights Video Newsletter provides further insight into our community and the range of opportunities available.

Research excellence

York Law School was ranked a top 25 law school in the UK according to the Times Higher Education's ranking of the latest REF results (2021)

Learn more

Human Rights Defenders

Our unique Protective Fellowship Scheme puts experienced activists at the heart of your learning

Learn more

Human Rights City

York is the UK's first Human Rights City, championing a vibrant, diverse, fair and safe environment

Course content

The LLM aims to familiarise you with three key aspects of human rights activism: law, policy and advocacy. You'll learn to:

critically examine international and regional human rights treaties
assess the work of monitoring and adjudication bodies
analyse how political and social context shape international instruments, domestic legislation and policy
develop advocacy strategies to address these issues

You'll have the opportunity to work on a human rights project in partnership with local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), United Nations mechanisms or governmental bodies.

Modules

Core modules

Our core modules enable you to acquire holistic knowledge and the socio-legal skills you need for a successful career in human rights practice, or progression to PhD study.

You'll have opportunities to join the Human Rights Defense Clinic, write essays and a moot written submission, produce presentations and hold moot oral arguments, prepare advocacy campaigns and submissions to international human rights bodies, as well as undertake a human rights placement in Colombia, South Africa or York with an organisation that works on a topic of interest.

Applying International Human Rights Law
Practice of Fieldwork
Human Rights Placement
International Human Rights Laboratory

Option modules

You will also study two option modules. In previous years, options have covered topics such as:

Financial Crime (York Law School)
International Criminal Justice (York Law School)
Issues in the Philosophy of Criminal Law (York Law School)
Law and Society (York Law School)
Current Issues in Counter-terrorism and Media Law (York Law School)
Mental Health and Mental Capacity Law (York Law School)
Comparative Constitutional Law and Theory (York Law School)
Theories and Policies of Development Governance (Politics)
Transitional Justice and Human Rights (Politics)
Law and Social Control (Sociology)
Women, Citizenship and Conflict (Centre for Women’s Studies)
Public International Law (York Law School)
Asylum: Theory, law and practice (York Law School)
Feminist Research Methodologies (Centre for Women's Studies)
Backlash and Co-optation: Feminism, Anti-Racism and Human Rights Politics

The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course. For further information please get in touch.

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

Dissertation

Dissertation

During the Summer Terms, you will work on a dissertation of up to 12,000 words on a topic of your choice.

You will receive specific dissertation training and will be guided through your dissertation journey by an academic supervisor. The dissertation is due for submission in mid-September.

The dissertation is a substantive piece of academic work and the culmination of your studies. It's often possible to align your dissertation with an organisation you've worked with, ensuring it has immediate relevance and impact. As part of their dissertation research, many of our students choose to undertake fieldwork and collect primary data, drawing on the theoretical knowledge and practical skills which they have developed on the LLM. The dissertation can be the springboard to progressing to PhD studies.

Previous students' dissertations have investigated:

The Universal Periodic Review and interstate shaming, providing an analysis of the impact of relational politics on Bahrain’s UPR outcomes.
Female genital mutilation in exile: attitudes towards FGM among the Somali diaspora in Leeds.
Guarantees of non-recurrence and gender-based violence: a case study of Tunisia.
Lawyering for change: a case-study of advancing refugee protection in Thailand.
Internet activism and the strife for environmental rights, examining citizens’ collective action on social media when facing air pollution problems in China.
Art as a means to improve the social construction of disability and the realisation of disability rights' in the UK.

York Law School and CAHR recognise the hard work and celebrate the academic achievements of our students by offering a Best Written Dissertation Award and Best Overall Student Prize.

Fieldwork

You and your group will forge a relationship with an organisation to develop and deliver a project. The experience mirrors a classic human rights mission, requiring the following elements:

Preparation: extensive background research on country context, the host organisation and relevant thematic issues to scope and define the project.
Fieldwork: two weeks intensive fieldwork that may involve qualitative or quantitative data-collection in York, abroad (South Africa) or online.
Writing and follow-up: writing up the analysis, completing the output and participating in dissemination.

Past projects have included:

Drafting a legal brief for women’s groups to obtain standing in proceedings affecting women’s rights in Malaysian courts;
The Use of Technology in Facilitating and Preventing Contemporary Forms of Slavery;
The Blue Badge Test in York: Can the realisation of disabled people’s rights and the prevention of terrorism be reconciled?;
Developing human rights indicators for the York: Human Rights City;
Designing a user-friendly version of the thematic report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders from York.

Every year, CAHR presents the Sam Pegram Human Rights Placement Award to the group which produced an output that best demonstrates a commitment to reflexive human rights practice and which seeks to centre the needs and voices of those involved in the struggle for human rights.

The fieldwork trips abroad will only run if there are sufficient student numbers.

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:

Analyse and evaluate human rights law to develop informed, critical understanding of the ways in which social, political, economic and institutional interests shape human rights.
Design legal human rights advocacy to enhance the implementation of human rights practice by drawing on an understanding of UN, regional, and state policy-making processes.
Retrieve and critically assess legal texts and socio-legal data using appropriate research methods and analytical techniques to investigate complex contemporary human rights.
Engage with debates at global, national, and local levels, communicating ideas effectively and in different formats to peers, policy actors, lawyers and human rights defenders across a range of professional settings.
Apply the values of collaborative, participatory and cultural sensitivity approaches to problem-solving and the shaping of human rights interventions.
Engage in continual reflective practice by exploring different approaches and theories to particular challenges and critically reflecting on their value and effectiveness in diverse contexts.

I cannot overestimate the value of the placement; my experiences were immensely rewarding and incredibly interesting. Throughout the entirety of the process, I have continued to expand my understanding of human rights and their practice in a wide variety of contexts.
Alice, LLM International Human Rights Law and Practice
Read about our students' experiences

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2025/26

Study mode	UK (home)	International and EU
Full-time (1 year)	£11,200	£25,900
Part-time (2 years) This is the year 1 fee. Fees for future years are subject to confirmation.	£5,600	£12,950

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

For courses which are longer than one year, the tuition fees quoted are for the first year of study.

UK (home) fees may increase in subsequent years (up to a maximum of 2%).
International fees may increase in subsequent years in line with the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate (up to a maximum of 10%).

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.

Postgraduate taught fees and expenses

Additional costs

If you choose to undertake a placement in South Africa you will need to budget around £1,400 to £1,600, over and above tuition fees and living expenses. Placements in York do not incur additional costs, apart from potential limited local travel.

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.

Centre for Applied Human Rights scholarship

Every year CAHR offers one scholarship for the LLM in International Human Rights Law and Practice. The scholarship is only open to students who qualify for UK (home) fees who have received a conditional or unconditional offer for full-time study.

Centre for Applied Human Rights scholarships

Chevening Scholarships

Awarded by British embassies and high commissions, Chevening Scholarships provide one year of fully-funded postgraduate study in the UK. They are offered to early and mid-career professionals with the potential to become future leaders. We have hosted 34 Chevening Scholars in the past five years and welcome further enquiries and applications.

Chevening Scholarships

Sam Pegram Scholarship

The Sam Pegram Scholarship provides full tuition fee waiver, travel, accommodation and living costs for a student studying International Human Rights Law and Practice with a specific interest in migration issues.

Sam Pegram Scholarship

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 will be taught by academics and experienced practitioners in a range of innovative and interactive formats, including:

Lectures and guest lectures by renowned practitioners
Interactive seminars and workshops
Directed reading
Fieldwork in York or Cape Town (South Africa)
Simulation and role-play
Independent study and group work
Human rights clinical activities, including advocacy interventions and submissions to international human rights bodies.

Teaching location

Most of the teaching activities will take place at the Centre for Applied Human Rights and York Law School. The Centre is based in the Research Centre for Social Sciences on Campus West and York Law School is located in the Law and Management Building on Campus East. In addition, you will spend two weeks undertaking fieldwork, either in Cape Town (South Africa), online or in and around York (UK).

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

You'll be assessed on work including essays, moot written submissions, legal advocacy campaigns, reflective diaries, presentations and your dissertation.

We'll be looking for evidence of your ability to interpret international human rights law and use compelling socio-legal arguments to identify and challenge human rights violations. You should be able to speak knowledgeably about unfolding international events to a range of audiences, and collect and interpret qualitative data to support your arguments.

As well as your assessed work you'll be given formative assignments which don't count towards your final grade. The feedback you receive for this work will help you develop your skills and identify areas for improvement.

Careers and skills

We provide career advice, networking opportunities, hands-on experience and personalised reference letters to help you find good jobs with human rights NGOs, humanitarian and development organisations, policy think-tanks, national governments, and UN agencies.

Career opportunities

Community engagement manager
Associate for an NGO
Civil Servant for the Diplomatic Service
Legal researcher
Solicitor
Rule of law adviser

Transferable skills

Communication: Argumentation and persuasion skills; Advocacy skills.
Collaboration: Teamwork; Project management
Analysis: Awareness of international current events; Data collection and interpretation; Practical application of theoretical knowledge; Critical thinking; Problem solving
Reflection and self-reflection: Ability to appreciate multiple points of view; Analysis and thought about the self and the social, political and economic environment

Find out more about our graduates' careers:

Alumni profiles

Entry requirements

	Typical offer
Undergraduate degree	2:2 or equivalent. Some academic study or practical experience of law is desirable, but not required.
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
Oxford Test of English Advanced	136, minimum 126 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	478-509, with 444-477 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

You can apply and send all your documentation online. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.