MPhil in International Maritime Law and Ocean Policy

The ocean is under threat from human activities, arising in part from the lack of proper governance of the waters within and beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. There is an urgent need to examine and reconsider the current regime to seek a secure, stable, safe and sustainable ocean governance for the 21st century.

The innovative MPhil programme has been designed in partnership by IMO’s two sister institutions, WMU and the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta, to play a part in ensuring the future sustainability of the world’s oceans in accordance with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The two-year programme is designed to train expert maritime lawyers, immersed in the UN system structure and goals, who can advocate for the policies and legislation to transform the world’s oceans and support their sustainable development. The programme had its first intake in 2017.

PROGRAMME DETAILS

Students spend the first academic year in Malta to follow IMLI’s well-established LL.M. programme in International Maritime Law. The full programme details can be found on the IMLI website (www.imli.org).

Students then have a non-teaching period from May to September to gather dissertation material. The dissertation is a project supervised jointly by WMU and IMLI reflecting the needs of students’ home countries or regions for adequate ocean governance. In September the students move to WMU in Sweden until October the following year, to pursue studies with particular focus on Ocean Sustainability, Governance and Management and to complete their dissertation.

The programme is taught entirely in English. The standard programme consists of 140 EC, 68 EC at WMU and 55 EC at IMLI, plus a further 17 EC for the dissertation. Students who already hold a relevant postgraduate qualification may apply to be exempted from the first term at WMU to allow them to join the accelerated programme, which carries 116 EC.

Field Studies and Seminars

As part of the programme, students will take part in field study visits that link theoretical knowledge to practical experience. Typical destinations include Sweden, Denmark, the UK, IMO (London) and the Netherlands. Students also receive complimentary attendance at the international conferences organized annually at WMU.

Applicants must hold a first degree in law, or in a discipline related to maritime law, and an internationally recognised test of English language proficiency. They are also expected to have professional experience.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

All applicants must submit an internationally recognized English language proficiency test. Acceptable tests include IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge examinations, and GCE O-levels in English language. Other tests are accepted by the Admissions Board only under exceptional circumstances; applicants should check with the Registry in such cases.

Candidates are assessed in accordance with the following general guidelines:

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

IBT (0-120 scale):      80+
IBT (1-6 scale):          4 to 6
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WMU’s TOEFL institution code is 9198.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

band 6.0 or above
Please note: the academic, not the general training, version of the test is required

Cambridge Examinations

Advanced (CAE) or Proficiency (CPE)

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The fee for the MPhil programme is Euro 37,000 in total; this covers tuition, field studies, and the required health insurance. The fee for the ESSP is an additional USD 5,600. Students also need to have funds for their living expenses. These will be around USD 1,500 per month.

Application Process

The application form for the programme can be found on the IMLI website. It must be submitted as a hard copy, along with evidence of payment of the €150 application processing fee to:

The Director
IMO International Maritime Law Institute
Msida Heights, Tal-Qroqq
P.O. Box 31
Msida MSD 1000
Malta