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Law PGCert

Part of: Law

The Postgraduate Certificate in Law will enable you to develop and enhance your academic and professional expertise, matching your interests to an unparalleled range of specialist law modules. You will learn alongside a diverse postgraduate student community, benefiting from peer-to-peer experiences and in-class exchanges driven by leading academics with international research and considerable teaching experience.

  • Particularly suited to those who already have an LLM or cannot spare a year for full-time study
  • Take advantage of our world-renowned teaching expertise, access to cutting-edge research, proximity to legal practice, and global networks
  • Pick from a wide range of postgraduate taught modules in specialist areas of commercial law
  • Be part of a diverse student body, bringing together different ideas and perspectives from all walks of legal-life and all over the world
  • Benefit from our comparative and interdisciplinary approach to learning, which is fast becoming a key requirement for legal and business professionals.

Study options

Starting in
September 2025
Location
London
Fees
Home: £6,600
Overseas: £10,500

What you'll study

This programme offers you the opportunity to study 60 credits selected from modules offered in London. For those interested in Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law, there may be scope to combine modules taught in-person in London with modules taught by distance for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law Online LLM.

Your 60 credits are made up through a combination of 15 or 30 credit modules which you will study during a period of one semester or one academic year, depending on your choice of modules, and practical considerations such as UK immigration rules.

We will ask you to consider your preferred modules and desire to specialise during the application process in consultation with the CCLS team. Currently, there is scope to specialise in the fields of law offered as specialist LLMs in London, including:

  • Insurance Law
  • International Tax Law
  • International shipping law

Successful completion of all your module credits from a particular specialist pathway, would be recognised in the title of your Postgraduate Certificate. For example, the successful completion of studies in International Tax Law, would be reflected via an award of: Postgraduate Certificate in International Tax Law.

This programme is specifically designed for:

  • those who wish to enhance their knowledge in a specialist field at a highly ranked global centre of learning
  • those who may already have an LLM, but want to enhance those studies in a new area or with a deepened expertise
  • those who are not currently able to undertake a full-time LLM but may wish to take further credit at a future date.

Our modules provide students with a comprehensive legal knowledge, whilst looking at real world examples to apply this knowledge and develop key skills.

Structure

The award of a Postgraduate Certificate requires successful completion (attendance and assessment) of 60 credits of study.

We would advise that you allocate approximately 600 hours towards the combination of class, personal study and assessment time.

You can choose to undertake:

  • 60 credits in one semester, starting in September
  • 60 credits in one semester, starting in January
  • 60 credits in one academic year, starting in September
  • 60 credits in one calendar year, starting in January.

Please note that only up to 50% of your credit can be undertaken off-site through distance learning modules. The alternative is to undertake a Postgraduate Certificate fully by distance on the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law Online PGCert or the International Dispute Resolution PGCert.

Please note that if you are not a UK-resident or have settled status, we strongly recommend that you undertake the Certificate within one semester. We would NOT normally issue CASs for Student Route visas for the Postgraduate Certificate in Law. We instead recommend the Visitor Route which allows you to enter the UK for up to 6 months.

For immigration information please visit the Queen Mary Advice and Counselling team’s website where you will find details on Standard Visitor permissions.

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Modules

Each module is offered just once in any given year, and you will be able to study modules from the London LLM modules. If you are wishing to specialise in technology, media and telecommunications law may consider combining in-person modules with a module from the Distance Learning LLM in Technology, Media and Telecommunication Law modules.

Assessment

You will be assessed by a range of methods combining examinations, coursework and, in some cases, oral presentations. Each module is assessed separately, and you will find the assessment type listed with the module information provided.

Examination periods are in January and May/June of each year. Coursework is submitted online to submission deadlines shared with you at the start of your studies.

Teaching

Your modules will be taught by members of the School of Law’s academic staff with practitioners and other guest lecturers invited to contribute in some instances.

You will be taught through a mixture of formal lectures and small group seminars. The seminars are designed to generate informed discussion around set topics, and may involve student presentations and group exercises as well as open discussion.

You will have a team of advisers to support you, including the Postgraduate Certificate and Specialism Directors, and your module convenors.

Where you'll learn

Facilities

When not in classes, you are more than welcome to access the range of study facilities in London, including:

  • The Postgraduate School of Law Centre in Lincoln's Inn Fields and the Graduate Centre at Mile End
  • Queen Mary’s excellent Law Library and European Documentation Centre
  • The University of London’s Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) and the Library at Senate House

As a registered Queen Mary student, you will have access to a number of online databases and collections including LexisNexis, Westlaw, Justis, Eur-lex, Hein-Online and many more.

Note that administration for this programme is conducted from Lincoln's Inn fields and any queries should be directed to the CCLS Professional Services Staff there.

About the School

The School of Law

The School of Law is part of Queen Mary University of London, a member of both the University of London and the Russell Group. The School was ranked 7th in the UK and 32nd in the world by QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023, and 10th in the UK and 50th in world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 by subject.

The School of Law has consistently been ranked in the top 10 law schools in the UK for the quality of our research and teaching, and many of our internationally recognised staff act as advisers to governments, industry and NGOs, both nationally and internationally.

The School's central focus is on the role of law and its institutions in contemporary international society. The School of Law is divided into two organisational units: the Department of Law and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS). The School of Law hosts the largest and most diverse LLM programme in the UK.

 

Contact us

School of Law

Career paths

Lawyers need to keep up-to-date in both knowledge and skills in order to thrive in the dynamic and international professional environment. Recruitment of our LLM graduates in a range of legal career paths, from in-house, to practising lawyer, to policy-maker, consultant or other shows the value of our teaching in the international legal job market. The postgraduate Certificate offers you the opportunity to pursue career enhancement objectives, whether through changing the focus of your legal work or bringing greater depth to the knowledge you use every day. With the varied and niche topics covered by the modules on offer, we hope to provide you with a useful supplement to your LLM studies or a first step in your pursuit of an LLM should you choose to take the Certificate as a lead-in to LLM studies.

Depending on your employer and your module choices, for those already practising it may be possible to combine study and work commitments.

Fees and funding

Study

September 2025 | 1 semester

  • Home: £6,600
  • Overseas: £10,500

Conditional deposit

Home: Not applicable

Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits

Study

January 2026 | 1 semester

  • Home: £6,600
  • Overseas: £10,500

Unconditional deposit

Home: Not applicable

Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits

Study

September 2025 | 1 year

  • Home: £6,600
  • Overseas: £10,500

Conditional deposit

Home: Not applicable

Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits

Study

January 2026 | 1 year

  • Home: £6,600
  • Overseas: £10,500

Unconditional deposit

Home: Not applicable

Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits

Funding

There are a number of ways you can fund your postgraduate degree.

School of Law scholarships

The School of Law offers a range of scholarships for Law Masters programmes each year. Full details are made available on the law funding page from October – November each year.

Other sources of funding

Our Advice and Counselling service offers specialist support on financial issues, which you can access as soon as you apply for a place at Queen Mary. Before you apply, you can access our funding guides and advice on managing your money:

Entry requirements

UK

Degree requirements

A 2:1 or above at undergraduate level in Law or a degree with substantial law content. Law graduates with a 2:2 honours degree who also have other legal qualifications and/or substantial professional legal experience may also qualify.

Other routes

Non-law graduates with a minimum second class honours degree, that have also obtained a Merit (or 60 per cent) in the Common Professional Examination (CPE) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) recognised by the UK professional bodies, may also qualify. Non-law graduates may also be considered on the basis of exceptional professional experience (of at least five years) in a legal area or an area directly related to their programme of study.

Find out more about how to apply for our postgraduate taught courses.

International

English language requirements

All postgraduate programmes in this school have non-standard English language requirements.

For the English language requirements for this course, see programmes with non-standard English language requirements .

Visas and immigration

Find out how to apply for a student visa.

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