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Help me choose - Durham vs Sheffield vs QMUL for LLM Commercial laws

Hello everyone. :smile:
I am an Indian national interested in pursuing LLM in commercial laws. I have done Bachelors in Commerce and LLB from the University of Delhi. I'm a qualified Advocate in my country along with the work experience of almost 30 months at the District Courts, I have also done certificate courses in Intellectual Property Rights and Acquisition & Mergers. I have also cleared the All India Bar Exam and a member of both the state and district Bar Councils. After my LLM, I intend to find an internship/job in the UK and gain some valuable work experience if possible.

I have received offers from the following universities:
1. Durham University – Offer Received
2. University of Sheffield – Offer Received
3. QMUL – Offer Received

As an international student I will not be able to visit these universities so your help will be greatly needed:
1. Opinion about overall prestige and International reputation. How would you rate them?
2. Information about the city, overall atmosphere & social life.
3. Employment prospects. Do they improve my chances for a job?
4. Any other information, pros & cons which you can share?

Other than these, I have also applied to Queen's University Belfast, Cardiff University, University of Southampton, Newcastle University and the University of Aberdeen and expect to receive their reply by next week.

Any detailed information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by MD Singh
Hello everyone. :smile:
I am an Indian national interested in pursuing LLM in commercial laws. I have done Bachelors in Commerce and LLB from the University of Delhi. I'm a qualified Advocate in my country along with the work experience of almost 30 months at the District Courts, I have also done certificate courses in Intellectual Property Rights and Acquisition & Mergers. I have also cleared the All India Bar Exam and a member of both the state and district Bar Councils. After my LLM, I intend to find a job in the UK and gain valuable work experience if possible.

I have received offers from the following universities:
1. Durham University – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 26th April
2. University of Sheffield – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 14th May
3. QMUL – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 4th April


As an international student I will not be able to visit these universities so your help will be greatly needed:
1. Opinion about overall prestige and International reputation. How would you rate them?
2. Information about the city, overall atmosphere & social life.
3. Employment prospects. Do they improve my chances for a job in a top law firm?
4, Any other information, pros & cons which you can share?

Other than these, I have also applied to Queen's University Belfast, Cardiff University, University of Southampton, Newcastle University and University of Aberdeen and expect to receive their reply by next week.

Any detailed information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Other than the 1st i have no idea about your other questions.

https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=law

https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2016/may/23/university-guide-2017-league-table-for-law
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 2
From what I have researched,

1. Durham University: It is among the top 10, both in law school rankings as well as overall rankings. It seems to be a prestigious university in UK.

2. University of Sheffield - I know it is a reputed university but law rankings in league tables (55th in Guardian and 29th in CUG) got me concerned, awesome student's union. I am eligible for a scholarship here so it will reduce financial burden.

3. QMUL: It is in LONDON. From what I have gathered from the forums, some do not regard it in the top league and also read some bad things about the area. Law school ranked 5th in Guardian and 25th in CUG so can't decide. But will living in London provide better opportunities overall like internships and job prospects?
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by MD Singh
From what I have researched,

1. Durham University: It is among the top 10, both in law school rankings as well as overall rankings. It seems to be a pretigious university in UK, also well known in my circle in India. It is a student town. I am not that much into clubbing but surely looking for good overall social life.

2. University of sheffield - I know it is a reputed university but law rankings in league tables (55th in Guardian and 29th in CUG) got me concerned, awesome student's union. I am eligible for scholarship here so it will reduce financial burden.

3. QMUL: It is in LONDON. From what I have gathered from the forums, some do not regard it in the top league and also read some bad things about the area. Law school ranked 5th in Guardian and 25th in CUG so can't decide. But will living in London provide better opprtunities overall like internships and job prospects?


Durham is probably the most well known and prestigious among these. So if money is not an issue then I would suggest that you consider it.

I have no idea about internships and job prospects that are related to law though.

I'd suggest that you ask people on the law students chat thread.
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1401599&page=421
(edited 6 years ago)
Durham is miles ahead of the other two. It depends if you want to be in London though, I think that's a legitimate reason to choose QMUL instead. Definitely one of those two anyway.
Original post by MD Singh
Hello everyone. :smile:
I am an Indian national interested in pursuing LLM in commercial laws. I have done Bachelors in Commerce and LLB from the University of Delhi. I'm a qualified Advocate in my country along with the work experience of almost 30 months at the District Courts, I have also done certificate courses in Intellectual Property Rights and Acquisition & Mergers. I have also cleared the All India Bar Exam and a member of both the state and district Bar Councils. After my LLM, I intend to find a job in the UK and gain valuable work experience if possible.

I have received offers from the following universities:
1. Durham University – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 26th April
2. University of Sheffield – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 14th May
3. QMUL – Offer Received. Last date to accept is 4th April


As an international student I will not be able to visit these universities so your help will be greatly needed:
1. Opinion about overall prestige and International reputation. How would you rate them?
2. Information about the city, overall atmosphere & social life.
3. Employment prospects. Do they improve my chances for a job in a top law firm?
4, Any other information, pros & cons which you can share?

Other than these, I have also applied to Queen's University Belfast, Cardiff University, University of Southampton, Newcastle University and University of Aberdeen and expect to receive their reply by next week.

Any detailed information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.


Would definitely choose Durham out of all of them. QMUL wouldn't be a bad choice either.
Reply 6
Original post by infairverona
Durham is miles ahead of the other two. It depends if you want to be in London though, I think that's a legitimate reason to choose QMUL instead. Definitely one of those two anyway.


As of now, I am attracted to Durham University. It seems to be a prestigious and traditional institution. Regarding the University of Sheffield, I have not found anyone saying anything bad about it in my search on this forum. QMUL's biggest USP is that it is situated in London. As an international student do you think it will be beneficial from the point of view of internships and job opportunities?

Fact is that if I choose QMUL over the other two, I will be paying almost Β£5500-Β£6000 more according to the estimates given by my counselor. I can arrange it but is the financial burden to study at QMUL worth it?

Also, what do you think about my other choices like QUB, Cardiff, Newcastle, Southampton, Aberdeen as I might receive offers from them?
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by MD Singh
1. As of now I am attracted to Durham University. It seems to be a prestigious and traditional institution.
2. Regarding University of Sheffield, I have not found anyone saying anything bad about it in my search on this forum.
3. QMUL's biggest USP is that it is situated in London. As an international student do you think it will be beneficial from the point of view of internships and job opportunities?

Fact is that if I choose QMUL over the other two, I will be paying almost Β£5500-Β£6000 more according to the estimates given by my counsellor which translate into approx. 450000 INR more. I can arrange it but is the financial burden to study at QMUL worth it?

Also what do you think about my other choices like QUB, Cardiff, Newcastle,Southampton, Aberdeen as I might recieve offers from them ?


None of your other choices have anything extraordinary about them. I went to Southampton for my undergrad LLB and King's College for my postgraduate, KCL has more of a wow factor than Southampton. Considering you have an offer from Durham I wouldn't even be considering the likes of QUB, Cardiff etc.

You're right that London may present more opportunities for networking etc. I noticed a big difference in this between Southampton and KCL, there's just more going on in London and it's easier access to career events etc. However, Durham has such a good reputation and strong law school that I would imagine firms make the effort to travel up there for events. But if you're new to England then it might be the case that London is better for networking etc. You're already qualified so are you planning to cross qualify here? I personally think if you're looking for a job it might be better to be in London, you're already qualified so the prestige of your LLM won't make too much of a difference - if you needed to get a training contract for example I would say Durham without hesitation, but if you're able to cross qualify and it's just a case of using your LLM year to build contacts and find a job then personally I'd go for London. Why didn't you apply to KCL, UCL, LSE etc?
Reply 8
Original post by infairverona
None of your other choices have anything extraordinary about them. I went to Southampton for my undergrad LLB and King's College for my postgraduate, KCL has more of a wow factor than Southampton. Considering you have an offer from Durham I wouldn't even be considering the likes of QUB, Cardiff etc.

You're right that London may present more opportunities for networking etc. I noticed a big difference in this between Southampton and KCL, there's just more going on in London and it's easier access to career events etc. However, Durham has such a good reputation and strong law school that I would imagine firms make the effort to travel up there for events. But if you're new to England then it might be the case that London is better for networking etc. You're already qualified so are you planning to cross qualify here? I personally think if you're looking for a job it might be better to be in London, you're already qualified so the prestige of your LLM won't make too much of a difference - if you needed to get a training contract for example I would say Durham without hesitation, but if you're able to cross qualify and it's just a case of using your LLM year to build contacts and find a job then personally I'd go for London. Why didn't you apply to KCL, UCL, LSE etc?


Thank you so much for sharing your point of view. It certainly brings clarity to my confusion. :smile:

1. After going through your opinion it is clear that Durham and QMUL are the best choices for me among all others. It is going to be Durham's reputation and prestige VS networking opportunities at QMUL. (I am still getting charmed by Durham University more don't know why)

2. Yes, I am planning to cross qualify and gathering more information about that. (QLTS ?)

3. I didn't apply to KCL, UCL, and LSE because of the substantial fee difference and higher living costs in London.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by MD Singh
Thank you so much for sharing your point of view. It certainly brings clarity to my confusion. :smile:

1. After going through your opinion it is clear that Durham and QMUL are the best choices for me among all others. It is going to be Durham's reputation and prestige VS networking opportunities at QMUL. (I am still getting charmed by Durham University more don't know why)

2. Yes I am planning to cross qualify and gathering more information about that. (QLTS ?)

3. I didnt applied to KCL,UCL and LSE because I achieved 2nd Divison in both of my degrees where they consider 65%+ ( a high 1st class in Indian system). Plus there is a substantial fee difference also.


It's definitely a difficult decision because Durham's reputation is far better than QMUL and like you say it's a lot cheaper as well. To be honest if you're going to cross qualify I doubt you'd struggle to find jobs whether you go to Durham or QMUL so it's whether you want a year in London studying and building contacts or gaining a more prestigious qualification from Durham which would possibly make you more attractive to employers when you start seeking jobs. I don't think you're going to have a problem on that front either way though so if you want to go to Durham don't be put off, you can always move to London afterwards
Original post by MD Singh
1. As of now I am attracted to Durham University. It seems to be a prestigious and traditional institution.
2. Regarding University of Sheffield, I have not found anyone saying anything bad about it in my search on this forum.
3. QMUL's biggest USP is that it is situated in London. As an international student do you think it will be beneficial from the point of view of internships and job opportunities?

Fact is that if I choose QMUL over the other two, I will be paying almost Β£5500-Β£6000 more according to the estimates given by my counsellor which translate into approx. 450000 INR more. I can arrange it but is the financial burden to study at QMUL worth it?

Also what do you think about my other choices like QUB, Cardiff, Newcastle,Southampton, Aberdeen as I might recieve offers from them ?


As infairverona said, the other unis don't have that "wow" factor that Durham holds in comparison.

In terms of QMUL, I think being in London would definitely bring you a lot of networking opportunities and easy access to events happening at other London unis. In terms of the costs, I would probably look further into your financial status to see if you can afford it. Living in London can rack up a hefty cost and it would definitely create a hole in your pockets. I would definitely weigh the advantages and disadvantages in terms of that before choosing to go to QMUL.

From what I usually see, a lot of major law firms do make the trek up to Durham, so I think you would have opportunities to meet with firms.
Reply 11
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(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 12
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Reply 13
Have you applied to the 2 year course "International Business Law with Placement" in Queen's University Belfast?
Reply 14
Original post by VPVJ
Have you applied to the 2 year course "International Business Law with Placement" in Queen's University Belfast?


Yes. I have applied to the course you have mentioned. But haven't heard back till now.
Reply 15
Me too. Do you know if there are any conditions for this placement year? Not much info is given.
Reply 16
Original post by VPVJ
Me too. Do you know if there are any conditions for this placement year? Not much info is given.


I have received an unconditional offer from Queen's University Belfast. Also eligible for a bursary. For query related to the placement year, I think you should get in touch with their India Office and the Law School.
(edited 4 years ago)
Reply 17
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(edited 6 years ago)

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