(LLB) Bachelor of Laws
Law (Including Foundation Year)
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Essex Pathways
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
Law
LLB M101
13/05/2024
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
UK and EU applicants:
All applications for degree courses with a foundation year (Year Zero) will be considered individually, whether you:
- think you might not have the grades to enter the first year of a degree course;
- have non-traditional qualifications or experience (e.g. you haven’t studied A-levels or a BTEC);
- are returning to university after some time away from education; or
- are looking for more support during the transition into university study.
Standard offer: Our standard offer is 72 UCAS tariff points from at least two full A-levels, or equivalent.
Examples of the above tariff may include:
- A-levels: DDD
- BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma: MMP
- T-levels: Pass with E in core
If you are unsure whether you meet the entry criteria, please get in touch for advice.
Mature applicants and non-traditional academic backgrounds:
We welcome applications from mature students (over 21) and students with non-traditional academic backgrounds (might not have gone on from school to take level 3 qualifications). We will consider your educational and employment history, along with your personal statement and reference, to gain a rounded view of your suitability for the course.
International applicants:
Essex Pathways Department is unable to accept applications from international students. Foundation pathways for international students are available at the University of Essex International College and are delivered and awarded by Kaplan, in partnership with the University of Essex. Successful completion will enable you to progress to the relevant degree course at the University of Essex.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 5.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component, or specified score in another equivalent test that we accept.
Details of English language requirements, including component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here
If we accept the English component of an international qualification it will be included in the academic levels listed above for the relevant countries.
English language shelf-life
Most English language qualifications have a validity period of 5 years. The validity period of Pearson Test of English, TOEFL and CBSE or CISCE English is 2 years.
If you require a Student visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
Pre-sessional English courses
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Pending English language qualifications
You don’t need to achieve the required level before making your application, but it will be one of the conditions of your offer.
If you cannot find the qualification that you have achieved or are pending, then please email ugquery@essex.ac.uk.
Additional Notes
If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
Dr Panagiotis Kapotas
Dr Steven Cammiss
Associate Professor
University of Birmingham
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
1. Provide students with a rigorous academic training in the discipline of Law.
2. Allow students to develop a critical awareness of the nature of Law within its social, political and economic contexts and enable students to develop an approach to the discipline so that they are able to see each subject area as part of an integrated whole.
3. Inculcate in students an awareness of the place of the Law of England and Wales in its European and international frameworks.
4. Allow students to develop critical, analytical and research skills, problem-solving skills, and transferable skills.
5. Foster the ability in students to construct a logical argument and to communicate that argument clearly, and to consider, evaluate and respond to alternative and possibly conflicting points of view.
6. Provide students with the opportunity to work independently and in teams.
7. Provide students with the exemption from the academic stage of the Bar Vocational Course and the Legal Practice Course through a qualifying law degree.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Fundamental doctrines and principles of the law, and the institutions and procedures of the legal system of England and Wales.
A2: Social, cultural, economic and political context in which the law develops.
A3: Some substantive areas of law in depth.
A4: Those areas of law relevant for progression to professional legal training and examinations.
Learning methods
Skills A1 - A4 are acquired through lectures, large group interactive classes which encourage dialogue between the students and teacher and between the students inter se, and tutorials which allow students to work in small groups and for dynamic interaction. Students will be taught to use, present and evaluate, as the basis for a legal argument, relevant numerical or statistical information as appropriate. Students are expected to undertake independent research through directed reading to consolidate and develop what they have learned in class.
Assessment methods
Skills A1 to A4 are assessed through examinations, MCQs and coursework throughout the degree. Coursework consists of a range of assessments, including essays, problem analysis, oral presentations and practical skills applications.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Identify accurately the issue(s) which require researching.
B2: Apply relevant primary and secondary legal sources.
B3: Reason critically, identify, analyse, and solve problems.
B4: Recognise, rank and collate items and issues in terms of relevance and importance.
B5: Produce a synthesis of relevant doctrinal and policy issues in relation to a topic.
B6: Make a critical judgement of the merits of particular arguments.
B7: Present and make a reasoned choice between alternative solutions.
B8: Demonstrate and exercise independence of thought.
Learning methods
Skills B1 - B8 are obtained and developed through tutorials and large group interactive classes where there is an emphasis on group discussion and analysis of case material and problems (hypothetical and actual). B5 and B6 are also enabled through lectures. All skills are complemented by class-independent reading undertaken by students in the light of guidance by lecturers and tutors. Intellectual and cognitive skills are also acquired through written and oral feedback on coursework. In addition, learning is enhanced by formative assessment of Skills B1, B3. B7 and B8 in tutorials and large group interactive classes.
Assessment methods
Skills B1 - B8 will be assessed through coursework, and B2 - B8 through unseen examinations. B8 will also be assessed through the dissertation modules
C: Practical skills
C1: Identify, select and retrieve up-to-date legal information, using both paper and electronic sources.
C2: Use and apply legal terminology and legal concepts.
C3: Plan and undertake tasks in areas of law already studied, and undertake independent research in areas of law not previously studied, starting from standard legal information sources.
Learning methods
Skill C1 is developed through preparation for tutorials, coursework and examinations. Skills C1 and C2 are also facilitated through the provision of LEXIS and other database training. Skills C2 and C3 are developed through tutorials by way of the medium of problem solving and group discussion. Skills C1 - C3 are formatively assessed in tutorials and large group interactive classes, which assessment reinforces their learning by students. Skill C3 will be acquired through compulsory dissertation and/or research project skills modules.
Assessment methods
Skills C1 - C3 are assessed through coursework and other assessments. In addition to traditional research methods, students are expected to use the internet appropriately when researching their coursework in order to find primary and secondary sources, either in on-line or paper format. Skill C3 will be assessed through compulsory dissertation and/or research project skills modules.
D: Key skills
D1: Both orally and in writing, (i) work with the English language proficiently in relation to legal matters;
(ii) present knowledge or an argument in a clear, coherent and relevant manner.
D2: (i) Produce a word-processed essay or other text in an appropriate form and
(ii) use the worldwide web, e-mail, and also some electronic information retrieval systems.
D3: Where relevant and as the basis for an argument, use, present and evaluate information provided in numerical or statistical form.
D4: Analyse a reasonably complex set of facts and apply relevant law thereto.
D5: Participate in group work to the benefit of the group as a whole.
D6: With limited guidance, reflect on his or her own learning, and to make use of feedback.
Learning methods
Skills D1, D2 ,D4 and D5 are acquired through tutorials where students debate legal issues and problems. Skills D1 and D5 are acquired as part of the dissertation and/or research project skills modules through the oral presentations, where the presenter is required to respond appropriately to questions by other students. Skills D1, D2, D4 and D6 will be learnt throughout the degree in writing summatively assessed and formative coursework and consequent feedback, both written and that obtained in oral sessions. Skill D3 is acquired in particular in LW101 (Contract), in the context of the law of damages, in LW102 (Land Law) and LW202 (Equity and Trusts) in the context of quantification of interests, and in LW201 (Tort) in the context of probabilistic causation. Skills D6 is developed through classes on reflection and the writing of a reflective statement in dissertation and/or research project skills modules.
Assessment methods
Skills D1, D2, D4 and D6 are assessed through coursework and skills D1, D3 and D4 are also assessed through unseen examinations. Skills D1 (oral communication) and D5 (working with others) are summatively assessed as part of the oral presentations for the dissertation and/or research project skills modules where the presenter is required to respond appropriately to questions by other students.