Law

Why Law

Since the 1960s, Essex’s law school has shaped human rights advocates and practicing lawyers. Its achievements in this field earned it the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2009 — the highest honor in British education. Faculty members collaborate with the UN, WHO, and governments worldwide, bringing direct experience from international treaty bodies and special rapporteur roles into their teaching.

• Faculty includes former UN special rapporteurs and treaty body members
• Three legal clinics handle live cases, from local consultations to WHO and UN projects
• Alumni hold positions at the European Court of Human Rights, UNHCR, and major international rights organizations

LLB in Law at University of Essex

This three-year bachelor’s program, ranked 16th among UK law faculties by THE 2025, combines academic foundations with applied skills. Students can extend it with an optional fourth year abroad or in professional placement. From their first year, they work in the university’s legal clinics, where experienced lawyers supervise their consultations with individuals, businesses, and charities while they develop drafting, research, and analysis capabilities.

LLB in Human Rights

Law with Human Rights merges comprehensive legal training with focused study of how protections function across different systems — from Britain’s Human Rights Act through international treaties. Academics whose research influences international institutions and civil society organizations lead the program, which opens paths toward careers in advocacy, multilateral organizations, and public policy through an optional placement or study-abroad year.

LLB in Law and Criminology

Where traditional legal education stops at doctrine, Law with Criminology continues into how criminal justice actually operates — examining theories of crime alongside punishment reform. Lawyers and criminologists teach jointly, giving students who combine legal principles with sociological perspectives on crime strong prospects in criminal law, policing, probation services, and policy development.

LLM in International Human Rights Law

Europe’s oldest program of its kind draws on faculty who’ve served as UN special rapporteurs, UNHCR advisers, and regional human rights court practitioners. Each year, up to ten students receive grants for placements at Amnesty International, the Council of Europe, UNHCR, and similar organizations in London or Geneva — opportunities institutionalized through the UK’s first memorandum with UNHCR.

• Human Rights Clinic running WHO and UN projects
• Full-time extended placements
• Global alumni network across international organizations, governments, and NGOs

LLM in International Commercial and Business Law

Ranked 87th globally by THE 2025, International Commercial and Business Law examines how regulations govern commerce across Britain, Europe, and beyond — spanning corporate governance, data protection, consumer markets, and environmental frameworks. Students sharpen analytical skills for international practice while gaining hands-on experience through the Business Law Clinic and sessions with visiting firms, establishing routes toward careers in banking, multilateral institutions, and commercial enterprises worldwide.