Law LLB Honours

UCAS Code: M101 (3 or 4 Years)

Course Overview

Our qualifying law degree is professionally accredited and provides exemption from the initial stage of the solicitor and barrister professional examinations for England and Wales.

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At a Glance

UCAS Code
M101

UCAS Institution Name and Code
NEWC, N21

Degree Awarded Icon

Degree Awarded
LLB Honours

Course Duration Icon

Course Duration
3 or 4 Years

Entry Requirements Icon

Entry Requirements
A Level: AAA
IB: 34 points

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Opportunities

This means our graduates fulfil the academic requirements to apply for direct entry to the LPC or BPTC stage of professional training.

Newcastle is a top 10 UK university for law, providing a high quality legal education in a supportive and friendly environment.

All your modules in Stages 1 and 2 are compulsory to cover the essential foundation subjects in law.

In your final year you can choose legal topics that interest you from our wide range of research-informed modules, such as: human rights law; terrorism and counter-terrorism law; public international law; and environmental law.

You also have the opportunity to apply to spend a year studying law in Europe or further afield.

Highlights of this degree

Quality and ranking

As the North East of England’s longest established Law School, Newcastle is highly regarded for its teaching of law - we achieved an impressive overall student satisfaction score of 94% in the 2016 National Student Survey.

We also rank in the top 20 UK universities in The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2016 and The Complete University Guide 2017.

Professional accreditation

Our degree is recognised as a qualifying law degree by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Council.

This means it provides exemption from the first part of the legal professional examinations for England and Wales, allowing you to progress directly to the Legal Practice Course (LPC) for solicitors or the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) for barristers on graduation.

We also offer the subjects for students intending to continue their legal education and take the professional course at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies in Belfast.

What you will study

All the modules in Stages 1 and 2 are compulsory, covering the essential foundation modules of legal professional qualification - see the Course Details for more information.

You also learn about the legal and judicial processes of England and Wales, and develop and practise core professional legal skills such as interviewing clients and using legal databases.

In Stage 3, you have the freedom to follow the areas of law that interest you the most, choosing from a wide choice of optional modules.

You can choose modules informed by the research interests of our expert academic staff, such as:

criminology and criminal justice
employment law
terrorism and counter-terrorism law
US constitutional law

You can also select up to a third of your modules from other areas of the University, such as English, politics, history, business or a modern language.

Boost your employability

We offer a range of opportunities to help you boost your employability and stand out from the crowd in the graduate marketplace, including:

opportunities to work on real-world cases through pro bono initiatives
the chance to develop career-enhancing skills such as client interviewing and mooting
annual internships as an environment agency crime technical assistant (available on a competitive basis)

Study abroad

If you want to add an international dimension to your degree and stand out from the crowd, you can apply to spend a year studying abroad.

We offer:

Law LLB Honours (European Legal Studies)
Law LLB Honours (International Legal Studies)

These four-year degrees involve spending your third year studying law at one of our highly regarded international partner universities.

You can apply to transfer to one of these degrees once you're studying on our Law LLB Honours degree and places are available on a competitive basis.

The European degree offers exchange places with:

KU Leuven (Belgium)
the University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
the University of Groningen (the Netherlands)
the University of Oslo (Norway)
the University of Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain)

The International degree currently offers the study abroad opportunity with the National University of Singapore, and other partnerships are being developed.

All of our partners teach in English so foreign language skills are not required.

Successful completion of this year is recognised in your degree title on graduation: either Law LLB Honours (European Legal Studies) or Law LLB Honours (International Legal Studies).

Facilities and support

As a Law student, you’ll spend much of your time in our dedicated Law School. All of our facilities, staff and students are housed together in this building in the heart of campus.

Facilities

You'll have access to:

high quality lecture theatre, seminar rooms and computing facilities
a Dedicated Law Library containing over 40,000 volumes of materials
subscriptions to various legal services, such as: Westlaw; LexisLibrary; Justis; and many electronic journals

Take a virtual tour of our facilities on the School website

Support

You'll be supported by a personal tutor throughout your degree – an academic member of staff who can help with academic and personal issues. You'll also have a peer mentor in your first year – a fellow student who can help you settle in and answer any questions you have.

Social activities

The student-run society The Eldon Society organises a packed programme, including:

social events
employer presentations
annual mooting competition

Teaching and assessment

Teaching methods

Teaching is by a combination of lectures and seminars where you can discuss legal issues and work through problem questions in small groups.

Individual preparation for seminars is also extremely important and occupies much of your study time.

Assessment methods

Traditional end-of-year examinations form a large part of the assessment, while other modules are assessed via compulsory course work.

Find out more

Teaching and assessment methods may vary from module to module. More information about each module including specific assessment methods, credits and contact hours, can be found in the Course Details section.

Visit our Teaching & Learning pages to read about the outstanding learning experience available to you at Newcastle University.

Compare this course

See how this course compares with others for topics such as student satisfaction, fees and costs and prospects after graduation using the Unistats Key Information Set.

Next step: Course Details

Course Details

Our degrees are divided into Stages. Each Stage lasts for an academic year and you need to complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each Stage.

Programme modules do change and therefore may differ for your year of entry.

Stage 1

Compulsory modules

Stage 2

Compulsory modules

Study Abroad Year (optional)

You have the opportunity to apply to join our Law LLB Honours (European Legal Studies) or Law LLB Honours (International Legal Studies) degree. Places available on a competitive basis.

These four-year degrees include a year studying law at one of our European or international partner universities. See the Course Overview for details.

Stage 3

Optional modules

You take 120 credits of the following optional modules:

You may take a total of 40 credits in Stage 3 from other subjects offered by the University, with approval of the DPD.

Next step: Entry Requirements

Entry Requirements

All candidates are considered on an individual basis. If your qualifications are not listed here, please see our additional entry requirements web pages to find out which other qualifications are considered.

The entrance requirements below apply to 2017 entry.

A Levels

AAA excluding General Studies.

Scottish Qualifications

AAAAB (combination of Highers and Advanced Highers) with AA at Advanced Higher.

Scottish qualifications can be taken in more than one sitting.

International Baccalaureate

Minimum of 34 points, with three subjects at Higher Level grade 6 or above.

Irish Leaving Certificate

A1A1A1A1B at Higher Level.

Access Qualifications

45 level 3 credits at Distinction. Candidates may be subject to interview.

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma)

Candidates are welcomed and will be considered on an individual basis.

Cambridge Pre-U

D3,D3,D3 in Principal Subjects.

PARTNERS - A Levels

ABB plus Summer School. Excludes General Studies.

The PARTNERS Programme is Newcastle University’s supported entry route for students from schools and colleges in England. Find out more about the PARTNERS Programme.

PARTNERS - BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma)

Candidates are welcomed and will be considered on an individual basis.

The PARTNERS Programme is Newcastle University’s supported entry route for students from schools and colleges in England. Find out more about the PARTNERS Programme.

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English require a minimum score of IELTS 7.0 or equivalent.

If you need help to meet our English Language requirements, we can provide support with extra tuition.

Read more about UK visas and immigration requirements.

Other International Qualifications

ABB at A level is typically the minimum required for entry to an undergraduate course. You can check the equivalent grades for qualifications offered in your country.

International Foundation Programmes

If you are an international student and you do not meet the academic and English language requirements specified above, you should consider a preparation course at INTO Newcastle University, which will help to prepare you for study on this degree.

INTO Newcastle University is based on the University campus and offers a range of courses including the International Foundation in Business and Management.

Undergraduate Admissions Policy

See our Admissions Policy 2017 Entry‌ (PDF: 109 KB).

See further policies related to admission.

Next step: Careers

Careers

Law careers

It is a mistake to think of a law degree merely as a narrow route to a legal profession. On the contrary, a law degree opens up a wide range of possible careers.

Approximately 70 per cent of our graduates do indeed go on to qualify as solicitors or barristers. This requires one year’s further training in the form of either the Legal Practice Course for intending solicitors, or the Bar Professional Training Course for intending barristers plus, in both cases, professional on-the-job training.

Once qualified, a solicitor or barrister may choose to enter into either a private practice or employment with such entities as the civil service, large companies or local authorities. For those who do not choose one of the legal professions, a law degree is a particularly valuable qualification that is highly respected by a range of employers.

Employers know that a law graduate has acquired a variety of useful skills including a capacity for logical and critical thought, the accurate use of language, communication skills and the ability to make a persuasive argument. Thus, our graduates are to be found pursuing a wide variety of careers.

A significant number of our law graduates are recruited by accountancy firms. Others go into management, insurance, banking, teaching, public relations, the civil service and the armed forces.

Less well-travelled paths chosen by our graduates include the theatre, the representative of a farmers’ union and a commercial pilot.

Given the breadth of opportunities available to them, it is not surprising that unemployment among law graduates is among the lowest of all degree programmes.

Find out more about the career options for Law from Prospects: The UK's Official Careers Website.

What our graduates go on to do: employment and further study choices

See what our recent graduates went on to do and view graduate destinations statistics. These statistics are based on what graduates were doing on a specific date, approximately six months after graduation. The most recent data available is for graduates who completed their course in 2014/15.

The destination data is available in varying levels, beginning with the University and moving through Faculty and School down to individual course reports. This final level may give you some useful ideas about possible options after your course or a course you are considering.

Careers and employability at Newcastle

Newcastle University consistently has one of the best records for graduate employment in the UK.

94% of our 2014/15 UK/EU graduates progressed to employment or further study within six months of graduating.

Of our graduates who entered employment 85% were in a professional or managerial position.

We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through an initiative called ncl+. This enables you to develop personal, employability and enterprise skills and to give you the edge in the employment market after you graduate.

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers.

Next step: Fees and Funding

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees (UK and EU students)

2017 entry*:

Our undergraduate tuition fees for UK/EU students for 2017-18 will be set and published when the government establishes limits for tuition fees.

On this degree programme, you have the opportunity, after Stage 2, to join our European Legal Studies LLB programme and spend a year studying law at one of our European partner universities. The fee for that year will be reduced.

2016 entry*:

£9,000 in 2016-17. Fees for 2017-18 and beyond are subject to review and government legislation

*Please note:

The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for UK/EU students is set by the UK government.
As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases.
Newcastle University has guaranteed that EU students entering our University in 2016 and 2017 will pay the UK (Home) rate of fee for the full duration of their programme of study.
Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.
See more information on all aspects of student finance relating to Newcastle University.

Tuition Fees (International students)

2017 entry:

£13,980 per year

2016 entry:

£13,315 per year

You will be charged tuition fees for each year of your degree programme (unless you are on a shorter exchange programme).

If you spend a year on placement or studying abroad as part of your degree you may pay a reduced fee for that year.

Please note that the tuition fee amount you will pay may increase slightly year on year as a result of inflation.

See more information relating to all aspects of student finance at Newcastle University.

Scholarships and Financial Support (UK and EU students)

You may be eligible for one of a range of Newcastle University Scholarships in addition to government financial support.

Scholarships and Financial Support (International students)

You may be eligible for an International Undergraduate Merit Scholarship (IUMS) or an International Family Discount (IFD).

Next step: Apply

Apply

Before you apply you will need to check the entry requirements for your chosen degree. We accept a wide range of qualifications offered for entry to our degrees. We welcome applications from international students.

Applying to Newcastle University through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

UCAS codes for Newcastle University

institution name - NEWC
institution code - N21

UCAS buzzword

Ask your teacher or adviser from your school or college for the UCAS buzzword. You need the buzzword when you register on the Apply system. This makes it clear which school or college you are applying from.

All UK schools and colleges and a small number of EU and international establishments are registered with UCAS.

If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.

Making your application

On the UCAS website you can also find out more about:

application deadlines and other important dates
offers and tracking your application

Application decisions and enquiries

Find out more about our admissions process and who to contact if you need help with your application.