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Excellence and an Enviable Reputation
Law in the UK
British law schools are respected world-wide for their
excellence, and have a long and enviable reputation for
expertise in educating international students, as they offer
good value for money in a safe and accessible country. Studying
Law in Britain gives international students the unique opportunity
to learn in the original Common Law jurisdiction, with a
wide range of institutions and courses from which to choose.
 There
are Universities to suit all tastes, from big-city campuses
to rural or sea-side environments. Some are many centuries
old, whilst others are new. Nearly all institutions offer
University accommodation for the first year of study, and
will help students find accommodation for further years. Specialised
support for international students, including English language
provision, is provided at institutional level and frequently
at Faculty or Departmental level.
The most popular undergraduate law degree is
the LLB, but law with a language or business is offered by
many Universities. Law may also be combined with a variety
of other subjects at institutions that operate a modular structure.
A law degree takes three years, although some institutions
offer four year courses with a placement year in commerce
or studying a language abroad. Two English Universities, Buckingham
and Hertfordshire, offer intensive two-year LLBs. Although
Scotland retains its own distinctive legal system when it
united with England in 1707, English law may be studied at
its Universities. Scotland also kept its own education system
where students enter higher education a year earlier than
in the rest of Britain, and consequently a degree with Honours
takes four years.
Typically, four or five subjects will be studied
each year. Most institutions offer a wide variety of options,
so it is possible to concentrate on, for example, criminal
justice or commercial law. If a student wishes to become a
lawyer in Britain, the degree will need to be professionally
recognised - this means that the following must be studied:
contract, tort, criminal law, constitutional and administrative
law, European law, land law and equity and trusts. In addition,
many countries have further requirements for professional
purposes, and students who wish to become lawyers should check
these carefully with their relevant professional body.
Most teaching on law degrees is by way of lectures
and seminars. Assessment methods vary, but will include examinations
with the additional options of written coursework, oral presentations,
group work, seminar performance, dissertation, or a combination
of these. British Universities also provide a wide variety
of postgraduate opportunities, both professional and academic.
Some institutions offer the Common Professional Examination
or the Diploma in Law, which are intensive one year courses
designed for those with a non-law degree who wish to qualify
as lawyers. A few institutions offer the one year full-time
Bar Vocational Course and/or the Legal Practice Course, which
are necessary for practice as a barrister or solicitor respectively.
Most British Universities offer academic postgraduate law
qualifications, both taught and by research.
The subject-matter of research degrees at any
institutions depends on the research expertise of the staff,
and their availability as supervisors. Short taught research
methodology courses are generally provided for research students,
as well as for those on taught courses. Research degrees normally
take two years full-time for an MPhil, and three years full-time
for a PhD. PhD students normally register on an MPhil before
transferring to a PhD after twelve to eighteen months of study.
Structured taught Masters courses of one full year are increasingly
popular. These generally require a good law or law-related
degree. Typically, a student chooses four from a list of related
subjects, though it is often possible to choose from contrasting
subjects. Assessment is usually by examination, with or without
coursework, but some Masters are assessed by dissertation
only. Some Masters are general, some are highly specialised
and many are innovative. The non-jurisdictional and comparative
law-based programmes such as International Law are particularly
attractive to international students. A feature of most taught
Masters is small class-size, fostering good lecturer/student
contact and integration with other students.
Although many law students enter legal practice,
large numbers pursue other employment. Employers recognise
and value the high entrance qualifications for law, the rigour
of law degrees and the range of general transferable skills
acquired through legal study, especially clear oral and written
communication, the ability to assimilate large amounts of
information fast, problem-solving, critical and analytical
thought, team-working ability and the art of persuasion. Thus
law graduates are highly employable in a variety of careers,
including accountancy, commerce, management, personnel, banking,
finance, administration, research, social work, the police,
teaching and journalism.Students may obtain information from
their local British Council, local University or school, University
web-sites, and sometimes local agents or offices.
Author
Colleen South
International Student Tutor
Faculty of Law
University of Hertfordshire
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