Which one is better for LLM?

Hi everyone,
I got offers from 6 universities in LLM. They are University of Greenwich, South Bank University, Westminster University, University of Hertfordshire, City, University of London and SOAS. I eliminated 4 of them and I couldn't make a decision between SOAS and the City. Although the City's rankings are higher than the SOAS in ranking tables, I think SOAS is better for LLM. I don't have much time for decision. Can you give me an advise which one is better in LLM?

Reply 1

SOAS Official Student Rep One

Official Rep

Hello!

I don't know if you've managed to make your choice yet, but I just thought I might give you a little more information about SOAS in particular, just to help you in your decision-making process.

Choosing a university can be really stressful and there are a few things I recommend thinking about when trying to figure out what's best for you.

1) What kind of university suits you
Universities come in all different shapes and sizes. SOAS is quite a small but diverse university made up of about 6,000 students. Everything is located on one campus in the Bloomsbury area of central London. This means all your lectures would be in one area, but you still have the benefit of being in a really busy and popular part London with places like the British Museum, the British Library and oxford street being within a 20 minute walk of the campus. Also, I've found that the SOAS student body and academic staff are really proactive and contentious.

I recommend booking a campus tour or going to the open days of the universities you're interested in to get a better feel of what they're actually like to be in and figure out what's best for you.

2) What is the course like
If you'd like to find out about what studying a specific LLM course is like I recommend looking at the specific modules that are taught within the degree and seeing if that aligns with your own interests. Most often you can find this information on the course information page of the degree you're interested in. If you can't attend an in-person open day I recommend looking for online/ virtual open days or taster lectures. You can sign up to SOAS's on-demand open day which will give you access to taster lectures on law, arbitration, law and climate change and human rights law.

3) Reputation of the university/course
SOAS has a really great reputation especially in postgraduate circles where it's well known. It’s a very specialised university with its focus being on arts, humanities and languages. The degrees here are also quite well-rounded. As well as teaching you about legal systems in the UK and EU and equipping you everything you need to pursue a career in the legal field in the UK, you also get the option to learn more about legal systems around the world and use that to inform your career going forward.

I hope this helps and all the best with your decisions!

- Monica (MA Social Anthropology SOAS)