Master of Laws at University of Cape Town

Programme overview

The general Master of Laws (LLM) at UCT is a one-year postgraduate law degree that can be taken by coursework and a minor dissertation, or by dissertation only. It may be conferred without specialisation or in a specialist area such as Commercial Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Human Rights Law, International Law, Labour Law, Public Law or Tax Law.

Faculty: Faculty of Law | Department: School for Advanced Legal Studies | Duration: 1 year minimum (full-time); coursework and minor dissertation candidates expected to finish within an academic year, part-time within two years; by dissertation, expected within two academic years | Study mode: full-time | Location: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

What you will study

The coursework route requires four approved advanced courses and a minor dissertation of up to 25 000 words, with at least 50% in each course and in the dissertation. The dissertation route is examined on a dissertation of up to 40 000 words (or four short dissertations on cognate areas) in Commercial Law, Criminal Justice, Private Law, Public Law or Rhetoric Studies.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Faculty of Law (LLM by coursework and minor dissertation, and by dissertation): a law degree of UCT or an equivalent degree from another university recognised by Senate, or an equivalent level of competence as judged by Senate on the Faculty of Law's recommendation. Applicants whose primary language is not English must show English proficiency, for example TOEFL 570 (paper) / 230 (computer) / 88 (internet), IELTS overall 7.0 with no element below 6.0, or at least 75% in the NBT Academic Literacy component; a law-specific English test may also be required. Dissertation applications are accompanied by a Statement of Interest and candidates may be required to undertake preparatory work before registration.

Requirements published at faculty level.

Tuition is charged per module, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

The application fee is R100 for undergraduate and postgraduate applications from South Africa and the SADC region, and R300 for applications from outside the SADC region; it is non-refundable and payable by direct deposit, EFT or credit card (online). UCT students and graduates are exempt except for GSB programmes.

Apply through the official page: https://applyonline.uct.ac.za

Explore more study programmes

Arts & Humanities