Law & Criminology

Entry requirements

2:1 Bachelors (Honours) degree in a relevant subject area, or equivalent.

Applicants should submit a full research proposal at the point of application

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

A research degree within the Department of Law and Criminology at Aberystwyth University gives you the opportunity to explore a specific legal or criminological topic of your choosing under the supervision of leading researchers in their field.

The MPhil and the LLM by research are both one-year full-time courses where you will be expected to conduct independent research and produce a thesis of around 50,000 - 60,000 words. Part-time study over two years is also available.

At Aberystwyth you can register for an MPhil or an LLM (Research). There is no difference between these qualifications. Most students register for the MPhil, which is recognised in the UK as a research qualification, whereas the LLM is usually reserved for taught Masters programmes. Some overseas students, however, prefer to be awarded an LLM because the title signifies clearly that it is a law degree. In either case, you can register for one year to produce a thesis of about 50,000 - 60,000 words. You will work under the direction of one or more supervisors but are not required to attend any classes. After the year at Aberystwyth you have up to two years to write up your research.

Studying for a Research Masters offers many of the attractions of studying for a PhD. It would be wrong, however, to think of a Masters dissertation as a short PhD. A Masters thesis should provide a detailed overview and critique of any area of law but it is not intended to provide an in-depth analysis in the same way as a PhD. The main advantage of the Research Masters, therefore, is that it enables you to complete a piece of research and obtain a qualification for it in a relatively short period of time. The Department of Law and Criminology is committed to a policy of innovation and development in teaching and research and regularly reviews both the range and content of its degree schemes, as well as its modes of teaching and assessment, in order to respond effectively to the needs and expectations of our student body. The Department of Law and Criminology aims to maximise choice in its provision of legal and criminological education while ensuring that teaching is informed by up-to-date scholarship at the highest level.

Department specialisms

Most major areas of Law and Criminology.

Research Excellence Framework (REF) score

96.5% of submitted publications were of an internationally recognised standard and 98% of research activity in the department was rated as internationally recognised.

Information for international students

If you have a Bachelor's degree from a UK University, you do not need to take an English proficiency test. Non-native English speakers who do not meet this requirement must take a University-recognised test of academic English language proficiency. For further details see our website.

Fees and funding

For more information on funding please see our website.