Master of Laws

The LLM is designed to provide an advanced level of study for both full-time students and those who are legal practitioners or engaged in other full- or part-time employment. It can be undertaken by coursework, research or a combination of both. You can choose from over 25 taught courses and entry to the LLM is available throughout the year. You can concentrate your study in particular areas of specialisation or study a broad range of legal subjects. Each course contains a significant research component, usually in the form of a 12,500- word research essay for 30-point courses. The LLM also permits cross-disciplinary study in the form of one or two masters courses (up to 30 points) from another faculty at the University of Auckland. For more detailed information on courses available see our

We understand that personal, family and work commitments are important factors when deciding whether to study, so we offer options that fit with your lifestyle. There are four to choose from:

• Full-semester courses taught in the early evening once a week.
• Half-semester courses taught in the early evening twice a week.
• Intensively-taught courses over three to five days (usually with a weekend break, eg Weds, Thurs, Fri, Mon, Tue).
• Independent research programmes.

Taught (coursework) masters (120 points)

A taught masters can be structured in the following three ways:

120 points of taught courses OR 90 points of taught courses and a 30-point dissertation OR 105 points of taught courses and a 15-point supervised research

• All three options are to be completed in one year full-time or up to four years part-time.

Research masters (90-point thesis):

Up to 30 points of taught courses, dissertation or supervised research and a 90-point thesis (30,000 words)

• To be completed in one year full-time or up to two years part-time.

Research masters (120-point thesis):

120-point thesis (40,000 words)

• To be completed in one year full-time or up to two years part-time.

The LLM programme also provides skills in legal research methodology for those without advanced skills in this area.