LLM Corporate Governance

Taught by manchester's corporate governance and corporate social responsibility experts, this llm provides you with specialist knowledge about the law of conducting business in today's globalised society. The course examines the major theories concerning the nature of corporations, the concerns driving corporate governance law and practice, and reform proposals. 

You will evaluate the effectiveness of current corporation governance processes in setting and pursuing objectives, both nationally and internationally. In addition, you will define your expertise in this field by examining the evidence for European and global convergence of corporate governance practices and the ways in which this might evolve.

Aims

• Provide you with specialist knowledge about the law of conducting business in today's global society.
• Deliver insights into major theories concerning the nature of corporations, and the concerns driving corporate governance law and practices.
• Understanding the effectiveness of current corporation governance processes in setting and pursuing objectives, both nationally and internationally.
• Exploring the evidence for European and global convergence of corporate governance practices and the ways in which this might evolve.

Special features

• We work in partnership with institutions outside the higher education sector to enable you to produce research with a wider relevance and to develop your knowledge and expertise.
• We are dedicated to shaping policy-making and practice in diverse areas; from national healthcare guidelines, to influencing police procedures in countries such as Norway, Australia and Brazil.

Teaching and learning

• Our taught postgraduate courses include classes and a programme of assessed work. These are particularly suitable if you want to gain specialist knowledge in your chosen subject area.
• You may continue your studies in order to pursue an academic career, or go on to pursue your chosen field.

Coursework and assessment

• All course units are assessed by either one unseen written examination, or one coursework essay, or a combination of these two methods of assessment.
• The course will be 180 credits in total and has a compulsory research component. 120 credits will be taught course units and the remainder 60 credits in the form of a 14,000-15,000 word dissertation.
• Your dissertation must be within the area of one unit you have chosen. The research element of the course is supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two designed to improve your legal writing and research skills. For specialised streams, dissertation topic must be within those streams, and general LLM dissertation topics must be within one of your chosen units.

Course unit details
You will be doing 180 credits in total, 120 of which will be taught course units and the remaining 60 credits in the form of a dissertation.

The LLM course will typically offer around 30 different course units in any one year, and will always reflect a wide range of subjects across the legal spectrum. There will usually be course units offered on diverse topics, such as:

• International trade and corporate law;
• Financial services regulation;
• European law;
• International economic law;
• Intellectual property law;
• Human rights law;
• Corporate governance;
• Law and finance in emerging markets.

Course units are worth 15 or 30 credits each. You will be required to select course units to a total of 120 credits. You must choose a minimum of four course units or choose a maximum of eight course units to make up your course of study.

The core course units for semester one are:

• The Principles and Practice of Corporate Governance
• Transnational Corporate & Capital Markets Law.
• The taught element of the degree will total 120 credits and the research element will total 60 credits, in total, you will study 180 credits for the master's course. 

Your dissertation must be within the area of one unit you have chosen. This will be supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two, designed to improve your legal writing and research skills.

Career opportunities

• This is a rigorous degree which will give you up-to-date and globally applicable expertise for a career in the practice of corporate law.
• The University also has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability.

Advice to applicants

• As there is a high demand for our courses we operate a staged admissions process with selection deadlines throughout the year. Due to the competition for places and high quality of applications that we receive, we give preference to students from high ranking institutions and with grades above our minimum entry requirements.
• Please ensure you submit all supporting documentation with your application before the application deadline to avoid a delay in processing.
• Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the deadline date, in some instances due to the competition for places and the volume of applications received, it may be necessary to roll your application forward to the next deadline date.
• Applications received after our final selection deadline will be considered at our discretion if places are still available.
• Please note: All places are subject to availability and if you apply at one of the later stages, some courses may already be reaching capacity or be closed to further applications. We, therefore, recommend that you apply early in the cycle to avoid disappointment.

Tuition fee deposits

• If you are successful in receiving an offer, you will be required to pay a tuition fee deposit of £1,000 by the deadline stated in your offer letter to confirm your place. We ask for the deposit as competition for places is high and there is limited availability. The deposit amount is then deducted from your tuition fees when you register on the course.

Re-applications

• If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.