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Teaching
The LLM is a nine-month taught master's degree commencing at the beginning of October each year and finishing by the end of the following June. Students must take four courses but have a free choice as to which four they choose from the list of available course offerings. In recent years, the number of LLM courses on offer has tended to be in the region of 30. While some courses are quite popular, in most courses, student numbers do not usually exceed approximately 30.
| One to one supervision | Under the existing assessment options, LLM students who choose to write a dissertation in lieu of examination for one of their four courses receive some one-to-one supervision from their dissertation supervisor. |
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| Seminars & classes | Teaching typically comprises 16 two-hour seminars and/or lectures for each of a student's four courses. Provision is normally also made for discussion in smaller groups. |
| Lectures | See Seminars and Classes. |
| Practicals | There are no formal 'practicals', but all LLM students are expected to undertake substantial amounts of reading and private study for each of their four courses and may be required to produce written work in preparation for some classes. |
| Small group teaching | In addition to the seminars and/or lectures for each course, additional provision is made for discussion in smaller groups in the form of several workshops. |
| Journal clubs | LLM students are encouraged to contribute to the student law review, the Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law. In addition, many LLM students are involved in the Faculty's Graduate Law Society. |
| Posters and Presentations | This style of presentation is reserved for PhD students, but LLM students are welcome to attend. |
| Taught/Research Balance | Entirely Taught |
Feedback
Formative assessment (i.e. assessment not contributing to final grades) is delivered by way of feedback on students' practice essays or, for those electing to write a dissertation, partial dissertation drafts. In general, students can submit two practice essays for each of the four courses they are taking. Course convenors and lecturers will advise on topics, but the aim is to produce short pieces of writing which provide a concise, rigorous argument or cogent analysis of the issues in question.
Assessment
Thesis / Dissertation
LLM students have the option of writing a full dissertation in lieu of examination for one of their four courses.
Written examination
Courses in the LLM have typically been assessed by means of a three-hour written examination at the end of the LLM year, although students can ask to write a full dissertation in lieu of the written examination for one course (only), subject to prior formal approval of their dissertation topic and availability of the dissertation option. Assessments have been via open-book, online examinations with a time and a word limit – and this basic approach has been applied for 2023-24 (where a three-hour time limit and a 6000-word limit has been applied for each course). In the context of the University-wide re-evaluation of the assessment process, the examination options on the LLM are currently being reconsidered.