A postgraduate course of study and/or research training is commonly regarded as a logical follow-up to a first Degree and is a usual prelude to a career in academic teaching and research. Recent developments in our country demand however, a postgraduate training that is not merely geared toward academic research but also designed to afford specialization in specific area of industry and national development. Employers are concerned that postgraduate training should be relevant to industry, to commerce and to society in general. These considerations have been taken into account in drawing up the programme of study. The emphasis is on more sophisticated and comparative approach to course work, and the need for the student to develop a research paper or dissertation as an integral component of the requirement for the award of a postgraduate degree. The courses available provide a wide scope for specialization in many arms. Nigerian law will in all cases, be taken as the basis of instruction. But owing to a keen awareness that this country’s law is itself largely a part of the common heritage of the world’s legal tradition, emphasis will be placed on the comparative and international aspects of each course.
These Regulations are additional to the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Degrees in the University of Benin and the regulations must unless varied herein, be complied with in their entirety.
There are five categories of postgraduate degrees:
The above requirements are in addition to the general postgraduate admission requirements of the University of Benin. However, a pass in Mathematics at Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination or O’L results is acceptable for admission purposes.
The Postgraduate Diploma Programmes offer across two semesters six (6) Core Courses in addition to four (4) elective courses (from which a candidate is to choose two) and one (1) Compulsory Research Methodology lecture and Project in the field of study. The programme design encapsulates diversified versions of law to make the syllabus both academic and practical. The elective courses are designed to expose students to related areas of law with a view to giving a wholesome training that is both relevant to theory and practice. The programme contents will not only equip the candidates with a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach on emerging challenges in law and practice but will also enhance capacity in carrying out research on topical issues in the field of study.
The candidate must submit a project of 15,000 words (minimum) under the supervision of a member of the academic staff. It must be an original written work submitted by each student on a topic of their choice within the syllabus of the programme. The topic will be approved for each student at the beginning of the programme after successfully completing the Research Methodology class. The preparation of the project involves a supervised work borne out of meetings between the student and the assigned academic supervisor in order to conduct and produce independent research on the topic of their research.
Each programme is for full time duration made up of two semesters only. The contact hours shall be two hours for lecture and one hour for tutorial per week for fourteen weeks. In order to graduate, a student must score at least C grade in all the subjects registered for. Each subject carries 3 credits per semester and the project is weighted 6 credits. To be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma (PGD), the student must accumulate a minimum total of 30 credits.