LW304-6-SP-CO:
Final Year Research Project

The details
2025/26
Essex Law School
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Monday 12 January 2026
Friday 20 March 2026
15
02 July 2024

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

(none)

Key module for

LLB M100 Law,
LLB M100CS Law,
LLB M100DE Law,
LLB M100MS Law,
LLB M100TS Law,
LLB M101 Law (Including Foundation Year),
LLB M107 Law (Including Placement Year),
LLB M107DE Law (Including Placement Year),
LLB M10ECM Law,
LLB M10ECO Law,
LLB M10ELK Law,
LLB M10ELM Law,
LLB M120 Law (Including Year Abroad),
MLAWM199 Law,
MLAWMA98 Law (Including Placement Year),
MLAWMA99 Law (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MM20 Law with Human Rights,
LLB MM21 Law with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MM22 Law with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
LLB MM30 Law with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
LLB MV06 Law with Philosophy (Including Foundation Year),
LLB MV16 Law with Philosophy,
LLB MV18 Law with Philosophy (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MV19 Law with Philosophy (Including Placement Year),
LLB ML14 Law with Politics (Including Year Abroad),
LLB ML15 Law with Politics (Including Placement Year),
LLB ML16 Law with Politics,
LLB ML26 Law with Politics (Including Foundation Year),
LLB MN00 Law with Business,
LLB MN01 Law with Business (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MN02 Law with Business (Including Placement Year),
LLB MN03 Law with Business (Including Foundation Year),
LLB MN10 Law with Finance,
LLB MN11 Law with Finance (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MN12 Law with Finance (Including Placement Year),
LLB MN13 Law with Finance (Including Foundation Year),
LLB MM00 Law with Criminology,
LLB MM01 Law with Criminology (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MM02 Law with Criminology (Including Placement Year),
LLB MM03 Law with Criminology (Including Foundation Year),
LLB M1Q3 Law with Literature,
LLB M1Q4 Law with Literature (Including Foundation Year),
LLB M1Q5 Law with Literature (Including Placement Year),
LLB M1Q6 Law with Literature (Including Year Abroad),
LLB M1V1 Law with History,
LLB M1V2 Law with History (Including Foundation Year),
LLB M1V3 Law with History (Including Placement Year),
LLB M1V4 Law with History (Including Year Abroad)

Module description

The final-year research project builds on all of your learning throughout the degree to develop and enhance your research, communication, and transferable skills.  The research project gives students the chance to research in a topic area of their choice, to plan a research project and to reflect on that process and the skills that they have gained.  


Students are expected to have a research project idea by the start of the final year. They may choose to use the proposal developed as part of the LW254 module or develop a new one. Students will be allocated a project supervisor and will meet in small group tutorials with their supervisor to discuss their project and progress. Regular individual check-ins with the supervisor are also structured into the process.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:



  • To enable the student to pursue a research project on a legally related topic of interest.

  • To encourage independent research.

  • To encourage students to plan and manage their own projects.

  • To encourage communication of ideas through a medium appropriate to a given project.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:



  1. Undertake a substantial piece of legal research

  2. Discover and utilise materials relevant to a piece of legal research beyond those suggested by teaching staff, including those at the forefront of the discipline where appropriate.

  3. Apply techniques of legal analysis and enquiry developed throughout their degree to new areas of legal study.

  4. Master and present with clarity a large body of information, critically evaluating that information as necessitated by the project.

  5. Plan, manage, and deliver a legal research project 6. Express themselves clearly in a medium appropriate to the research project.

Module information

The final-year research project builds on all of your learning throughout the degree to develop and enhance your research, communication, and transferable skills.The research project gives students the chance to research in a topic area of their choice, to plan a research project and to reflect on that process and the skills that they have gained.


Students are expected to have a research project idea by the start of the final year. They may choose to use the proposal developed as part of the LW254 module or develop a new one. Students will be allocated a project supervisor and will meet in small group tutorials with their supervisor to discuss their project and progress. Regular individual check-ins with the supervisor are also structured into the process.

Learning and teaching methods

The final-year research project builds on all of your learning throughout the degree to develop and enhance your research, communication, and transferable skills.  The research project gives students the chance to research in a topic area of their choice, to plan a research project and to reflect on that process and the skills that they have gained.  

Students are expected to have a research project idea by the start of the final year. They may choose to use the proposal developed as part of the LW254 module or develop a new one. Students will be allocated a project supervisor and will meet in small group tutorials with their supervisor to discuss their project and progress. Regular individual check-ins with the supervisor are also structured into the process.

Bibliography

This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Fikayo Taiwo, email: fikayo.taiwo@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Fikayo Taiwo
The Law Education Admin Team - lawschoolug@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
No
No
No

External examiner

Dr Hedvig Katherine Schmidt Moutsatsos
The University of Southampton
Associate Professor
Dr Christopher Lloyd
Oxford Brookes University
Senior Lecturer
Dr Ebenezer Adodo
The University of Leicester
Associate Professor of Commercial Law
Ms Deborah Jane Rook
Northumbria University
Principle lecturer in law
Dr Thomas Pegram
University College London
Associate Professor
Dr Karen Mc Cullagh
University of East Anglia
Lecturer in Law
Prof Julia Shaw
De Montfort University
Professor of Law
Mr George Ellison
Derby Unioversity
Senior Lecturer in Law
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 44 hours, 41 (93.2%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
3 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

 

Further information
Essex Law School

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