Prospective applicants without a four-year law degree (ie LLB) are eligible to apply for the structured MPhil Environmental Governance Law degree, albeit subject to the prior completion of five core undergraduate law modules which could be completed at any university in South Africa:
"To gain admission to the MPhil in Environmental Governance Law, a student who meets all the requirements of a four year university degree may apply for admission to the MPhil in Environmental Governance Law. Such a student must first successfully complete the following undergraduate modules (or module equivalents at another South African university): Introduction to Law; Law of Property, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Environmental Law. Before being allowed to register, the student may be required to provide the Director of Postgraduate programmes with sufficient written evidence of knowledge and practical experience in the relevant field."
Successful completion of the following undergraduate modules (or module equivalents at another South African university): Introduction to Law, Law of Property, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Environmental Law.
Read more about the programme or e-mail the Programme Coordinator. Applications close on 31 October. Apply for the programme or e-mail us if you have any enquiries on the application process. Remember to submit a separate bursary application form.
Once a prospective MPhil student with the required degree qualifications (eg BSc and BSc Hons) has completed all five of the undergraduate law modules, he or she may apply for admission to the structured MPhil programme in Environmental Governance Law. The programme content mirrors that of the Structured LLM in Environmental Governance Law with Environmental Management as an additional compulsory module, presented by the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Environmental Science and Management).
Prospective students may complete the required undergraduate law modules at a university of their choice. Should a letter of recommendation be needed to register for the required modules.
Contact e-mail address
Law-Postgrad-Enquiries@nwu.ac.za
Dissertation topics and study supervisors
Students accepted for the MPhil qualification have the opportunity early in the academic year to approach a potential study supervisor for the writing of the dissertation, which counts 50% of the final degree mark. The dissertation is not an extended module assignment but an in-depth, focused research-based study that must contribute to the development of new knowledge in the field.
The generally accepted standard for such a dissertation must be publishable in a peer-reviewed scholarly law journal. We also actively encourage and assist our students to publish their dissertations in law journals. The lecturers in this programme, as well as other faculty members, are available to supervise students. We encourage students to identify a research topic in conjunction with the identified supervisor early on in the first year of registration.
Compilation of curriculum – M Phil in Environmental Law and Governance
CODE: 6CJ P01, R801P
CAMPUS: POTCHEFSTROOM, (ENGLISH)
DELIVERY MODE: CONTACT
The programme comprises the following modules:
Module Code |
Name |
Credits |
Compulsory Year modules |
||
LAWO 873 |
Research Methodology and mini-dissertation AND |
100 |
LLMO 811 |
South African Environmental Law (first semester) OR |
20 |
LLME 811 |
International and African Regional Environmental Law (first semester) AND |
20 |
OMBO 878 |
Environmental Management |
40 |
Choose one (1) of the following elective modules in any of the two semesters |
||
Semester 1 |
||
LLMO 811 |
South African Environmental Law |
20 |
LLME 811 |
International and African Regional Environmental Law |
20 |
LLMO 884 |
Administrative Law (Not presented in 2023) |
20 |
LLME 812 |
Natural Resource Management Law |
20 |
LLMO 818 | Climate Change and Energy Law | 20 |
Semester 2 |
||
LLMO 885 |
Local Government and Environmental Law |
20 |
LLMO 829 |
South African Planning Law |
20 |
LLMO 886 |
Occupational Health and Safety Law |
20 |
LLME 821 |
South African Mining Law |
20 |
Credit total for modules |
80 |
|
Credit total for curriculum |
180 |
Seminar Programme 2023 (Download)
Queries on costs and financial support:
http://www.nwu.ac.za/postgrad/graduate-studies-potchefstroom
https://law.nwu.ac.za/Info-postgraduate