Programme Specifications

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Law

September 2023

Although the Themed LL.B (Criminal Law) degree is a qualifying law degree for the purposes of the legal profession, it provides a much broader basis for life long intellectual, personal and social development. In addition to enabling students to acquire a sound knowledge base and an understanding of Law and the legal environment, it raises awareness of the role of Law in society. The learning experience provides many opportunities to acquire a wide range of distinctive legal skills. It also facilitates the development of generic skills. Together, these provide a sound foundation for entry into the legal profession and other professions, and for postgraduate study. In addition to the core modules, the programmes direct students towards modules that share a common general theme, namely the working of the criminal law and the criminal justice system. This provides a particular focus within the scheme allowing for some legal specialisation, and hence a distinctive type of qualification.

Although the Themed LL.B (Criminal Law) degree is a qualifying law degree for the purposes of the legal profession, it provides a much broader basis for life long intellectual, personal and social development. In addition to enabling students to acquire a sound knowledge base and an understanding of Law and the legal environment, it raises awareness of the role of Law in society. The learning experience provides many opportunities to acquire a wide range of distinctive legal skills. It also facilitates the development of generic skills. Together, these provide a sound foundation for entry into the legal profession and other professions, and for postgraduate study. In addition to the core modules, the programmes direct students towards modules that share a common general theme, namely the working of the criminal law and the criminal justice system. This provides a particular focus within the scheme allowing for some legal specialisation, and hence a distinctive type of qualification.

• To equip students with the analytical skills necessary to undertake the intellectual study of law.

• To stimulate students intellectually to take an active role in their learning and lead them to a critical apreciation of the discipline and its major debates.

• To develop students’ ability to apply knowledge to the resolution of practical problems.

• To equip students with the research skills to permit them to locate, read and critically assess the work of others and to conduct simple research projects of their own.

The learning outcomes of this programme are designed to meet the expectations of the Benchmarking Statement for Law, and the current Joint Statement issued by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board. The structure and the delivery of the degree scheme recognise the need to achieve an appropriate balance between the acquisition of legal knowledge, and the development of legal and generic skills. Integrating these two components is a central feature of the learning outcomes listed below. Reference should also be made to guidance given in the Classification of Examination Results in Law & Criminology, which describes the expected level of performance for each class of degree.

• A1 knowledge of major concepts, values, principles and rules of the legal system 

• A2 an understanding of the institutions and procedures operating at sub-national, national, European and international levels 

• A3 an awareness of 'legal environment' 

• A4 knowledge of specialist areas of law 

• A5 an awareness of the role of Law in society and its historical context 

• A6 an understanding of the theoretical underpinning of the Law 

Learning & Teaching: 

Acquisition of A1-A6 is through lectures, seminars, assessed coursework, exams and independent research. Students also learn through participation in discipline-specific student societies and public lectures as well as through other public resources such as newsprint media, TV, radio and the internet. Throughout, students are encouraged to undertake independent reading to supplement, consolidate and broaden individual knowledge and understanding of the subject. Students also learn through self-reflection through engagement in Personal Tutorial system and the Department’s Careers Development and Employability programmes.  

Assessment Strategies and Methods: 

Knowledge and understand (A1-A6) is tested through a combination of unseen and pre-seen written examinations (A1-A6), essays (A1-A6), dissertation (A1-A6 depending upon topic) and may, depending on module option choices, include seminar presentations (involving both individual and group work), reports, literature searches, book or film reviews, e-portfolios, learning logs or blogs, and a range of other forms of assessment specific to particular module options. 

10.2.1: Intellectual Skills

• B1 Identify, describe and evaluate different approaches to analysing the law 

• B2 Identify and investigate research issues 

• B3 Apply concepts, theories and ideas to concrete cases 

• B4 Identify, investigate and formulate solutions to intellectual problems 

• B5 Critically reason, analyse and interpret data and ideas 

• B6 Demonstrate and exercise independence of mind 

• B7 Reflect on experience of learning and adjust intellectual strategies accordingly 

• B8 The ability to apply acquired knowledge to solving hypothetical or actual problems 

• B9 the ability to distinguish relevance and irrelevance 

• B10 Recognition that problems often have more than one solution

While lectures introduce students to topics and ideas, the development of intellectual skills takes place when students engage with the topic themselves and interact with others in the intellectual learning community both during discussion (in seminars, where tutors seek to guide and develop intellectual skills), and in the process of reading and writing notes, essays, or examinations. Reflection and self-assessment are also integral to the learning of intellectual skills. Tutors form impressions of, and assess, a student’s ability and progress through contact with students in seminars and in the assessment of written work.  

Assessment Strategies and Methods 

Intellectual skills (B-10) are assessed primarily in essay and examination performance, plus the other methods of assessment set out above. The published assessment criteria reflects these intellectual skills that in turn are mirrored in the feedback to students. Students can assess their own performance by gauging their rate of progress in comparison to that of their peers, and in light of tutors comments. Students are free to discuss the informal development and assessment of such skills during staff office hours. Personal learning (B7) is not formally assessed but relative success is reflected in a student’s ability to improve over time. Personal learning is also enhanced through engagement with the Personal Tutorial system and the Careers Development Programme process.  

10.2.2: Professional Practical Skills/Discipline Specific Skills

The knowledge and transferable skills identified in the recent Joint Statement (referred to in section 10) are consistent with those identified in the Law Benchmarking Statement and in the Department’s Learning Outcomes 

Learning & Teaching: 

All modules, and in particular core modules taught at Part One, contain elements which directly address the development of practical skills (C1-8). The process of writing essays, preparing answers to seminar questions etc (C1-6) and preparing for examinations (C1-6, C9) allows the student to hone skills through practice guided by feedback from tutors. Discussion in seminars or engagement with debate in public fora leads students to improve their intellectual communication 

skills (C2, C5, C7). Students also learn and improve such skills through personal reflection on their learning experience (C9) and purposeful adaptation of their learning methods; a process reflected upon in all modules. Personal learning is also enhanced through engagement with the personal tutorial system and the Careers Development Programme process.  

Assessment Strategies & Methods: 

All modules, and in particular the core modules taught at Part One, contain forms of assessment which directly address the development of practical skills (C1-8). Exams, essays, critical reviews, and other forms of written coursework address skills C1-6 and C8-9.  

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate: 

D1 Time management and personal organisation 

D2 Sef awareness and self confidence 

D3 Interpersonal skills 

D4 Team working 

D5 Numerical skills 

D6 IT skills – e.g. WWW, legal databases, e-learning, email and word processing 

Learning & Teaching: 

The programme aims to promote, develop and nurture students’ awareness of and competence in the key transferable skills which are integral to teaching and learning activities across the programme (and in line with the Joint Statement (D1-6). Skills D1-6 are developed through specific modules and learning activities, including small group seminars which specifically focus on D2-3, 5. Skills D6-7 are enhanced by aspects of the core modules that include employability an professional skills, through being embedded within the tutorial system on which all students are enrolled and through regular extra-curricular employability events and sessions.  

Assessment Strategies and Methods: 

Assessment of student capacities in relation to the above outcomes (D1-6) is central to criteria employed in the evaluation of a range of assessment forms employed at all three levels of the degree scheme. These include coursework essays and other forms of written assignment, practical exercises, seminar participation (including group work)