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LLB (Hons) Criminal Law
Southwark CampusMode: Full-time
Overview
On the case
We have nearly 50 years of experience educating lawyers. And it shows: We are the second highest ranked law degree in London for Overall Satisfaction of our students (National Student Survey 2020) and ranked 1st for Graduate Prospects, Research Intensity, and Overall Score amongst London modern universities (Complete University Guide 2021). Our LLB Criminal Law course will give you a thorough grounding in the law across all the major disciplines with a particular emphasis on Criminal Law, as well as the opportunity to develop your career and professional skills at the same time. The course is aimed at students who already know that they are likely to want to work in the Criminal Justice sector and covers the key topics of Criminal Law, Criminal Litigation, and the Law of Evidence. Your final year Project will also be on a Criminal Justice topic of your choosing. You will be able to graduate with a clear and focused statement of your career intentions.
As well as developing in-depth legal knowledge and academic skills, there is a strong emphasis on experiential learning and legal education for professional practice and the enhancement of professional career prospects. We offer opportunities for all undergraduate students to undertake a work placement, internship or work experience, including in our Legal Advice Clinic, during our core Working in the Law Module. We also offer professional practice and skills options that allow students to develop their professional skills and specialist interests in selected practice areas including Advocacy, Civil Litigation and Human Rights.
The course is the first step on the journey to becoming a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive as well as being the foundation for a broad range of other professional careers. It is designed to give students a ‘Head Start’ on professional qualification, particularly for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination with its focus on professional procedure and skills as well as the academic study of Law. As part of our assessment strategy, we use professional examination style multiple choice questions, so our students have an opportunity to practice and prepare for them in advance. Students who pass Criminal Litigation and elect to take and pass either the Civil Litigation or Employment Law with grades of 50% or more are also eligible to become Graduate Members of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, a recognised legal qualification .
The course is supported by extensive online learning resources and all students are given a tablet computer and a personal electronic law library. The course offers opportunities to study abroad, including international field trips such as the Comparative Law option. We have very strong links with the local legal community, particularly the South London Law Society and the Southwark Legal Advice Network, and the course offers frequent opportunities to learn from legal practitioners, particularly our Visiting Fellow and Professors, Alumni and members of the local legal profession who contribute guest lectures and support our career development activities and events.
Why Law at LSBU?
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- Happy students: Second highest ranked law degree in London for overall satisfaction of our students (National Student Survey 2020)
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- Ranked 1st for Graduate Prospects, Research Intensity, and Overall Score amongst London Modern Universities (Complete University Guide 2021)
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- An energetic, award-winning Student Law Society that arranges talks, visits and competitions.
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- Expert academics – most of our lecturers are qualified solicitors and barristers, passing on their insights, real-world case expertise and passion for Law.
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- Outstanding facilities – we'll equip you with a tablet computer, complete online support and access to a personal law e-library worth £6000
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- Work experience - you could volunteer at the County Court Help Desk, Southwark Council, with local Law firms, or be a Legal Adviser at LSBU's free Legal Advice Clinic.
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- Extra-curricular activities - Mooting, Street Law, Student Magazine – ‘Devil’s Advocate’
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- Our Law degrees combine the academic study of Law with experience of Law in practice to help develop professional skills and experience.
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- The professional skills and procedure elements of our Law degrees, combined with the forms of assessment used, mean that our students will have a Head Start on their professional examinations, particularly the SQE.
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- Mentoring - peer mentoring for year one students to help support them with the transition to higher education and integrating onto the course.
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- Work experience - you could volunteer at the County Court Help Desk, Southwark Council, with local Law firms, or be a Legal Adviser at LSBU's free Legal Advice Clinic.
Modules
The LLB (Hons) Criminal Law covers the core legal topics with a selection of options covering specialist areas of law, procedure and professional skills.
All modules carry 20 CAT credit.
Level 4
Semester One
- Legal System, Legal Study, Legal Skills
An introduction to the English Legal System and the study of law, including a three week study skills Foundation at the start of the course (compulsory) - Contract law
Students study the core principles of law governing the making and enforcement of contracts (compulsory) - Public Law
Students study the core principles of the Constitution and the regulation of central and local government and other public bodies (compulsory)
Semester Two
- Current Legal Issues
Students explore current legal issues and take part in group work to present law reform proposals (compulsory) - Law of Torts
Students study the core principles of law governing our responsibilities not to cause harm to one another (compulsory) - European Law
Students study the core principles of law governing the European Union and the European Convention of Human Rights (compulsory)
Level 5
Semester One
- Working in the Law
Students engage in reflection on their career goals and develop and practice legal professional and career skills. Students are encouraged and supported to undertake legal placements and volunteering opportunities, including in the LSBU Legal Advice Clinic (compulsory) - Criminal Law
Students study the core principles of the criminal law (compulsory) - Property, Equity & Trusts
Students study the core principles Property Law, Equity and Trusts from a theoretical perspective (compulsory)
Semester Two
- Law in Action
Students work in groups on simulated legal cases including a claim for compensation for a road traffic accident
Option Pool A (students take one or two)
- ADR Theory & Practice
Students study the theory and practice of alternative dispute resolution (optional). - Consumer Protection & the Law
Students study the rights and protections governing consumer contracts (optional). - Gender, Justice & the Law
Students study and apply critical theories and perspectives on justice and gender to key debates within the English legal system (optional). - Jurisprudence, Law & Politics
Students study and apply legal theory to explore the relationship between law and politics (optional). - Medical Law & Ethics
Students study and apply law and ethical theory to key Medical law topics such as abortion and euthanasia (optional). - Regulatory Principles of Entertainment & Media Law
Students study the core principles of entertainment and media law such as privacy and intellectual property (optional).
Option Pool B (students take one or none)
- Comparative Law
Students undertake a study visit to another country to study and compare UK Common Law with another major international legal system (optional). - Legal Advice Clinic
Further opportunities for students to give supervised legal advice to local people in the LSBU Legal Advice Clinic (optional). - Professional Skills & Practice
Students practise and develop key legal professional skills such as advocacy, interviewing and negotiation using exercises and simulations (optional). - Public Legal Education
Students practise and develop teamwork and presentation skills through the design and delivery of a public legal education (Street Law) project in the local community (optional).
Level 6
Semester One
- Land Law
Students explore an extended case simulation to study the core principles of law relating to the ownership and sale of Land (compulsory). - Analysis of Evidence & Proof
Students explore an extended case simulation to study the law of evidence and what is required to prove a case in court (compulsory). - Criminal Litigation
Students practise and develop advocacy skills and study the core principles of criminal procedure and sentencing (compulsory).
Semester Two
- The Project
Students undertake an extended piece of independent writing and research on a criminal justice topic of their choosing (compulsory). - Law Admissibility of Evidence
Students observe a real trial in a local court to study and evaluate the rules of admissibility of evidence (compulsory).
Option Pool C (students take one)
- Civil Litigation
Students explore case simulations to study the rules of civil procedure and practice and develop advocacy and negotiation skills (optional). - Employment Law
Students study key employment law legislation and case law and practice and develop their skills in giving legal advice (optional) - European Borders & Security Law & Security Law
Students study the European Convention of Human Rights and key cases of the European Court of Human Rights as preparation for an extended piece of independent writing and research (optional). - European Human Rights
Students study the European Convention of Human Rights and key cases of the European Court of Human Rights as preparation for an extended piece of independent writing and research (optional) - Immigration & Asylum Law
Students study and evaluate immigration law and international refugee law in the context of Government policy and current events (optional). - International Protection of Human Rights
Students study and evaluate to international human rights law and strategy in the context of real case studies (optional).
Employability
On successful completion of our courses you will be able to progress to qualify as a Barrister, a Chartered Legal Executive or a Solicitor. You will also be prepared for a wide range of professional careers in other sectors including Business, Central & Local Government, LawTech and Management.
To be a Barrister you need to pass with 2(ii) Honours. You will then need to pass the Bar Professional Training Examination and obtain a Pupillage (work based learning).
To be eligible to become a Graduate Member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives you need to pass Criminal Litigation and one of the following two option modules at a 2(i) Honours standard (50% +):
Civil Litigation | Employment Law |
You can then go onto qualify as a Fellow of the Institute on the basis of three years qualifying work experience.
To be a Solicitor you need to pass the degree. You will then need to pass the Solicitors Qualifying Examination Parts 1 and 2 and to obtain two years of qualifying work experience.
DAC employability partnership
DAC Beachcroft partnered with LSBU to create an employability programme which aims to help increase diversity within the firm. This project came about due to Nick Young's (regional partner at DAC Beachcroft) strong affiliation to LSBU as an alumnus of the university.
Nick Young is an alumnus here at LSBU, and created this employability programme to help increase diversity within his firm, DAC Beachcroft, where he's a regional partner.
DAC Beachcroft are supporting the development of law students at LSBU with employability skills through training and preparation for a training contract, and the steps involved before securing a contract.
Working in the Law module
Working in the Law is a compulsory module for second year LLB students. The module delivers sessions on graduate employability, writing applications for law work, developing Curriculum Vitae and making presentations. You'll actively use online materials developed by the University Careers Service to encourage you to think about your knowledge, skills and attributes when considering career options.
Personality and psychometric tests are carried out for you to further reflect upon and provide an opportunity to develop further as part of the Personal Development Plan (PDP). The module goes further to introduce you to the contentious and non contentious areas of practice, providing an opportunity to appreciate application of the law in practice.
We place a great emphasis on employability: you're supported in gaining work experience and additional evening sessions are organised for practitioners to deliver talks to you about life in practice. We regularly arrange Continuing Professional Development sessions, which are open to you to attend and network with practitioners.
Law student editorial magazine
In addition to these programmes, students will have the opportunity to be contributors and editors in the annual law students magazine, The Devil's Advocate.
Please click and zoom to read the articles in full detail.
Professional links
We employ an experiential learning strategy which means that much of our teaching is rooted in professional practice, using placements (including in our Legal Advice Clinic), simulations and professional skills exercises to engage and develop our students.
As discussed under employability, on successful completion of our courses you will be able to progress to qualify as a Barrister, a Chartered Legal Executive or a Solicitor. The course provides a ‘Head Start’ for professional qualification by introducing students to legal procedure and professional skills and by using professional exam style multiple choice questions as part of the course assessment strategy.
Many of our lecturers are professionally qualified and some combine legal practice with their teaching. We have very strong links with the local legal profession, particularly through the South London Law Society and the Southwark Legal Advice Network, and with our own graduates practicing across London. We appoint leading lawyers as Visiting Professors to support our teaching. These include the crime and human rights experts, Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC, Joel Bennathan QC and Imran Khan QC.
Placements and volunteering are at the heart of our approach. As well as adding value to your CV by giving you the practical skills employers are looking for, they make you a better student.
During your time with us you can enjoy opportunities at:
LSBU Legal Advice Clinic
This free drop-in service is open to the public and staffed by our law students, supervised by practising solicitors. Students receive specialist training, supervised sessions in undertaking research and give legal advice on live issues such as Social Welfare Law as well as Employment Law.
Future lawyers project
Our Future Lawyers Project with the South London Law Society provides students with placements in local Law firms in order to complete the Working in the Law module. You'll have the opportunity to shadow solicitors and where appropriate carry out tasks in placements with South London firms such as: Powell & Co, Anthony Gold Solicitors, Hanne & Co, Fisher Meredith and Deighton Pierce Glynn.
County Court Helpdesk
The LSBU County Court Help Desk allows students to gain valuable experience dealing with members of the public in a Court setting. The support is by way of advising on fees, forms, and next steps. The students who work on the scheme undertake duties such as administrative work, court support work on the help desk and on occasion marshalling judges.
London Law Careers Fair
We are part of the London Law Careers Fair, giving our students priority booking for the annual national law fair held at the Law Society. It is an opportunity to meet future employers and ask about training and employment opportunities. This is an important initiative in which students hear from top practitioners, including Judges, solicitors, barristers and legal executives in break-out sessions designed to address topics of current interest.
The London Borough of Southwark
We’ve set up a placement programme in conjunction with Southwark Council. Complete a placement during the academic year and enter a competition at the end of the year for a full two week placement during the summer holidays.
South London Law Centres
Southwark Law Centre, Blackfriars, Cambridge House and the Afro Asian Advisory Service provide work placements so you can gain an insight into the workings of a law centre and the public advice sector in areas such as Employment Law, Housing Law and Immigration law.
Taught by qualified lawyers
Visiting Professors and Fellows are leading lawyers who support us by teaching on our courses and giving lectures to students and local practitioners. Examples include Imran Khan, Solicitor, Joel Bennathan QC and sir Geoffrey Bindman.
Placements
Students are encouraged and supported to seek placements and volunteering opportunities, particularly in the Working in the Law and Legal Advice Clinic modules. We provide placements for a substantial number of students in the LSBU Legal Advice Clinic and arrange further placements through our links with the local legal community and courts. Most students obtain placements but they can not be guaranteed.
Teaching and learning
We employ an experiential learning strategy which means that much of our teaching is rooted in professional practice, using placements (including in our Legal Advice Clinic), simulations and professional skills exercises to engage and develop our students. Many of our lecturers are also practitioners. As well as studying the Law and how it is used in practice, students analyse and evaluate whether the law is fair and effective and apply theoretical perspectives to critical questions of law reform.
Core knowledge is imparted through large group lectures and explored in interactive workshops. Knowledge and understanding is developed and tested in interactive small group seminars. Smaller optional modules tend to use teaching time more flexibly to suit the subject.
We provide extensive online learning resources to support students’ self-study time and every student is given a personal online law library (OUP Law Trove) and a tablet computer to access their e-learning resources flexibly. We use a broad range of assessment techniques, including examinations, multiple-choice tests, coursework, group work and oral presentations, to test the full range of knowledge and skills the course aims to teach and develop.
Each student has a personal tutor who is available at regular times every week for informal consultation and meetings. In addition, personal tuition support for learning and careers is embedded in formal meetings in a core module every year - Legal Study, Legal System, Legal Skills (L4), Working in the Law (L5) and The Law Project (L6).
No.1 UK wide for Satisfied overall with the course in Law
Guardian League Table, 2018
Law Mentoring at LSBU
Law students are invited to take part in a Law mentoring scheme as both a mentor or mentee. This programme gives mentors experience in supporting and leading, whilst mentees benefit from their guidance.
Free resources and technology
- We invest in resources and technology to support your learning journey.
- After enrolment you will receive FREE: a tablet computer; access to the latest version of Microsoft Office and Microsoft Teams; Moodle (our Virtual Learning Environment); over £6000 of Oxford University Press Law Trove Library of online law text books; and access to top quality practitioner databases (e.g. Westlaw & Lexis) and numerous other resources. We also nurture and develop your skills through our Law Division Skills and Support Site.
Personal Tutoring
As an undergraduate Law and Social Science student, you will be allocated a named tutor during your first semester at LSBU. The role of your tutor is to be your primary contact for academic and professional development support.
Your tutor will support you to get the most of your time at LSBU, providing advice and signposting to other sources of support in the University. They should be the first person at the university that you speak to if you are having any difficulties that are affecting your work. These could be academic, financial, health-related or another type of problem.
Staff
Entry requirements
- A Level ABB or:
- BTEC National Diploma DDM or:
- Access to HE Diploma with 33D 3M 9P or:
- Equivalent Level 3 qualifications worth 128 UCAS points
- Applicants must hold 5 GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English and Maths, or equivalent (old style GCSEs A-C)
- We welcome qualifications from around the world. English language qualifications for international students: IELTS score of 6.0 or Cambridge Proficiency or Advanced Grade C.
Applicants without these qualifications will be considered on a case by case basis if they have relevant legal work experience. Work experience in a Law firm prior to enrolment is not required in addition to the qualifications stated above. However, if any is secured, it will provide a good entry point and start the student’s self- development connected to Law.
Advanced entry
If you have already completed some studies at another university, we may be able to consider you for advanced entry. Please see our advanced entry page for more information.
How to apply
International students
International (non Home/EU) applicants should follow our international how to apply guide.
Accommodation
Once we have made you an offer, you can apply for accommodation. You can rent from LSBU and you’ll deal directly with the university, not third party providers. That means we can guarantee you options to suit all budgets, with clear tenancy agreements and all-inclusive rents that include insurance for your personal belongings, internet access in each bedroom and on-site laundry facilities.
Or, if you’d rather rent privately, we can give you a list of landlords – just ask our Accommodation Service.
Read more about applying for accommodation at LSBU.
Finance
You don't need to wait for a confirmed place on a course to start applying for student finance. Read how to pay your fees as an undergraduate student.
Home/EU postgraduate students and research students should apply through our dedicated application system.
Full details of how to do this are supplied on our How to apply section for postgraduate students and our How to apply section for research students.
International applicants should use our international application system. Full details can be found on our How to apply section for international students.
See our admissions policy (PDF File 1,043 KB) and complaints policy (PDF File 127 KB).
Considering your application
Your application will be circulated to a number of potential supervisors who will look at your academic qualifications, experience and the research proposal to decide whether your research interest is something that could be supervised at LSBU.
There will also be an interview either by telephone or at the University. If you are successful you will be offered a place on a course and informed of the next enrolment date. The whole process normally takes between six to eight weeks, from receipt of your application to a decision being made about your application at the School.
Prepare to start
Applicant events
After you’ve received your offer we’ll send you emails about events we run to help you prepare for your course.
Enrolment
Before you start your course we’ll send you information on what you’ll need to do before you arrive and during your first few days on campus. You can read about the process on our Enrolment pages.
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Prepare to start
We help our students prepare for university even before the semester starts. To find out when you should apply for your LSBU accommodation or student finance read the How to apply tab for this course.
Enrolment
Before you start your course we’ll send you information on what you’ll need to do before you arrive and during your first few days on campus. You can read about the process on our Enrolment pages.
Fees and funding
Students who take the Comparative Law and European Security & Borders Law options have the opportunity to attend short intensive international study visits. Students can also elect to study abroad for the second semester of the their second year at international Law Schools linked with LSBU
The individual fee for this course is shown above. For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for postgraduate students.
See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 201 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 KB).
We have a range of PhD Scholarships available in partnership with businesses and organisations; read notices of PhD studentships.
Contact information
Course Enquiries - UK
Tel: 020 7815 7815
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