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Nottingham Trent University Course Specification
Basic Course Information
- Awarding Institution: Nottingham Trent University
- School/Campus: Nottingham Law School (City Campus)
- Final Award, Course Title and Modes of Study:
LLB (Honours) Law with Criminology Full-Time
- Normal Duration: 3 Years
- UCAS Code:
- Overview and general educational aims of the course The course provides you with an opportunity to study law and criminology modules which are of vital interest in the modern world. You will acquire highly valued transferable legal and criminology skills which will significantly develop and enhance your analytical, evaluative, reasoning, communication and problem-solving abilities. There is significant emphasis upon career planning and ensuring that our graduates are attractive to a wide range of potential future employers.
Nottingham Law School is one of the largest full-service University law schools in the UK, enjoying a national and international reputation for the excellence of its modern legal education and training across a broad range of both academic and professional courses. A great many of the Law School staff are professionally qualified as either solicitors or barristers and the School has extensive links with the legal and other professions both nationally and overseas.
Key professional skills such as problem-solving, case analysis, legal advocacy (mooting), report writing, professional advice and negotiation skills are directly incorporated within core law modules ensuring that such skills are developed within a relevant context. Modules are focussed upon the application of law and criminology to real-life situations and reflect current issues.
The degree is a Qualifying Law Degree which enables you to progress to further study if you wish to become a solicitor or barrister
- Course outcomes Course outcomes describe what you should know and be able to do by the end of your course if you take advantage of the opportunities for learning that we provide. Knowledge and understanding By the end of the course you should be able to:
- Demonstrate the study in depth of the fundamental substantive areas of the law of England and Wales, evidencing knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts, values, principles and rules of law within relevant institutional, social, financial, national and international contexts.
- Recognise and apply the principles and values of law and justice, and of ethics.
- Apply knowledge and understanding of the law (or criminology for criminology modules) to produce reasoned solutions to complex actual and hypothetical problems.
- Direct and self-manage your own learning, reflecting critically upon your own knowledge and understanding, identifying issues to research independently and raising and answering cogent questions about law and legal systems.
- To acquire understanding of the function and application of criminology in the modern world
Skills, qualities and attributes By the end of the course you should be able to:
- Analyse relevant information and data of either a textual, numerical or statistical nature.
- Synthesise relevant doctrinal and policy issues.
- Formulate and advance a reasoned and logical argument and exercise critical judgment as to the merits of competing arguments.
- Evaluate and analyse critically, recognising and addressing ambiguity and uncertainty in the law and presenting a reasoned choice between alternative solutions.
and facilitate the development of your communication skills. Tutor feedback provided in seminars provides a platform for your continued progress and improvement. Workshops operate similarly and may be delivered as an alternative to seminars in order to allow students to draw together knowledge from lectures and independent research to address broad or specific questions, and often uses comparative analysis to investigate issues. Your development is further supported through a range of practice assessments designed to produce both accuracy of knowledge and understanding and demonstration of relevant skills. Detailed tutor feedback on all such practice assessments enables you to target specific areas of substantive knowledge, understanding and relevant skills requiring improvement.
All students are provided with a range of e-learning activities integrated within your relevant course of study. These will focus upon both the confirmation of relevant understanding as well as on-going skills development.
As the course progresses, you are expected to demonstrate greater independence in your planning, preparation, research and reflection and to exhibit increased learner autonomy. This is reflected in the design of the relevant seminar materials and practice assessments, and the greater focus upon project work in the final year option modules.
- Assessment methods
Assessments are designed to measure your achievement of the learning outcomes. Each assessment task is provided with clear assessment criteria which are consistent with the aims and outcomes of the module which are themselves consistent with the aims and outcomes of the Course. The assessment criteria will tell you what is expected from you. Assessments are diverse and reflect the integration of skills within substantive law modules. Examples include oral presentations, case analysis exercises, research, reports, problem-solving assignments, mooting, seen and unseen examinations and a mock assessment centre
- Course structure and curriculum
On this course all students study a total of 120 credits in each of the years spent in full-time study. One credit is equivalent to 10 hours of learning effort. The curriculum is delivered in a progressive manner through the successive years of the Course. All students complete compulsory Foundation modules and also have the chance to select modules from a number of options. Early focus in Year 1 is upon the provision of essential skills in relation to the Legal and Professional Environment as well as in the Law of Contract and Problem Solving, with such skills being further demonstrated and applied through the study of Public Law and Research Skills. In Year 2, students study Criminal Law with Mooting, Law of Torts & Legal Reasoning, International, European and Comparative Law & Group Presentations and Applied Legal Knowledge – Civil Litigation. This latter module revisits foundation law subjects from Year 1, examining the practical considerations of bringing or defending a claim in contract, tort or public law. This module will also provide students with transferable professional skills, such as client advice, negotiation, legal research and introduces students to the rules and procedure of civil litigation. In addition, you will have an opportunity to engage actively with employers in real life or hypothetical situations, via the Employers Challenge* Later study comprises the study of Property Law, consisting of the linked subjects of Land Law and Professional Advanced Legal and the Law of Trusts and Advanced Legal Reasoning A number of substantive law modules directly incorporate a range of key legal skills, including applied legal analysis, negotiation, mooting and professional advice, ensuring that such skills are developed within a relevant context. Students have the opportunity to apply to take an optional year long work placement or overseas study trip. This optional activity would be undertaken in Year 3 of the course and the total course length would be extended by one year. **The Employer Challenge referred to above sits within the Applied Legal Knowledge – Civil Litigation module in Year 2 for students.
There is an emphasis upon building and carrying employability skills forward through the course. Early in the course, students are engaged via the Legal and Professional Environment Module in learning core employability skills (e.g. students are required to undertake an assessed skills audit and be able to produce an effective CV.
The course includes several opportunities for students to translate theory into practice in a range of relevant work-like contexts or simulations. In Land Law and Professional Advice, for example, students give advice on a practical issue in relation to the law of property. In Criminal Law with Mooting students are assessed on oral advocacy skills. Key professional skills such as problem- solving, case analysis and negotiation skills are directly incorporated within modules ensuring that such skills are developed within a relevant context. Modules are focussed upon the application of law to real-life situations.
Students have an opportunity to apply to gain experience in the Law School’s own Law Advice Centre (The Centre). The Centre, which opened in 2006, provides a legal advice and a referral service to the local community, as well as to NTU staff and students. The Legal Advice Centre creates opportunities for students to develop their legal skills in a practical context whilst fostering the ethos of pro bono in students early in their careers. The Legal Advice Centre operates from fully-equipped, purpose-built estate.
In the final year a synoptic assessment of an Assessment Centre exercise, allowing students to combine learning in relation to their employability from a range of activities and experiences, and which requires a significant element of reflection in relation to their future employability aspirations. Throughout the course students build up an e-portfolio of their achievements.
C = compulsory module:; F =Foundation module required for a Qualifying Law Degree
The provision of any particular option is dependent upon student demand,
minimum student numbers and the availability of appropriate resources.
Course Structure Year 1
- Law of Contract and Problem Solving (40 credits) C F
- Legal and Professional Environment (20 credits) C F
- Public Law and Research Skills (20 credits) C F
Criminology Modules
- Explaining Criminal Behaviour (20 credits) C
- Introduction to Criminal Justice System (20 credits) C
Year 2
- Criminal Law with Mooting (20 Credits) C F
- Law of Torts and Legal Reasoning (20 credits) C F
- International, European and Comparative Law and Group Presentation Skills (20 credits) C F
- Applied Legal Knowledge – Civil Practice (20 credits)
Criminology Modules
- Penology (20 credits) C
- Policing in a Democratic Society (20 credits) C
Year 3 / 4
(For Year 3, students can apply to take an optional work placement or overseas study trip and thereby extend their course by one year.)
- Path to Professional Practice, Law in Practice or Applied Legal Knowledge (Legal Advice Centre) - Criminal and Business Practice (20 credits)
- Choice of Law option module (20 credits)*
- Land Law and Professional Advice (20 credits) C F
- Law of Trusts and Advanced Legal Reasoning (20 credits) C F
Criminology Modules
- Choice of 2 options**
*One law option is selected from these.
Law Option Module to be chosen from Commercial Law; Company Law; Comparative Law; Critical Legal Thinking; Employment Law; Evidence; Family Law; Human Rights; Immigration and Asylum Law; Independent Research Project or International Summer School Research Project;
progress and to determine academic and vocational objectives. Wherever possible the allocated personal tutor is an academic tutor who also teaches the student.
Personal tutors also monitor student attendance and are pro-active in ascertaining reasons for absence. Students in the Law School also have access to a full-time Pastoral Support Advisor providing support exclusively to law students.
All law students have access to a dedicated Law School ‘Survive and Thrive Toolkit’ delivered via a NOW learning room. This contains a range of resources and activities to support student transition into higher education as well as help and advice in developing key academic skills and in getting the most out of the University experience. The Student Mentor Scheme further supports the development of such key academic skills through drop- in sessions and relevant student-led workshops.
- Graduate destinations/employability
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) figures consistently show that students in the Law School are highly successful in obtaining employment or continuing with further study.
Our Employability Team can support you at all stages of your career planning with specialist careers consultants available to offer advice on planning your career, improving your CV, completing applications and performing at interviews. This course includes an opportunity to apply to take a work placement in the third year.
- Course standards and quality
An Interim Course Report is submitted annually to the Course Committee comprising both academic staff and student representatives. The Report provides a summary of the on-going monitoring and review of both module and Course feedback from students together with external examiner reports, module leader reports and admission and progression statistics in
order to identify and promote good practice and to inform relevant action points.
There is on-going consultation with students regarding module and course developments through relevant course committees and staff/student liaison meetings. Student feedback is obtained through questionnaires.
External examiners (distinguished academics from other universities) are regularly consulted regarding intended course developments and full feedback is provided to them in respect of the responses made to any recommendations contained in their annual reports.
The Interim Course Report is submitted for consideration and approval by the School Academic Standards and Quality Committee of the Law School and is used to inform relevant School strategy and policy.
The Nottingham Law School operates a comprehensive audit trail procedure in order to ensure appropriate approval of both new and amended modules. In particular, such procedure ensures that all module developments remain consistent with the aims and learning outcomes of the Course and with all related strategies and policies.
- Assessment regulations This course is subject to the University’s Common Assessment Regulations (located in Section 16 of the Quality Handbook). Any course specific assessment features are described below:
Application of the University’s Common Assessment Regulations is also informed by guidance provided by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board regarding qualifying law degree status.
A student will not be allowed to enter Level 3(FHEQ Level 6) of the course with modules from Level 1 (FHEQ Level 4) outstanding.
- Additional Information Collaborative partner(s): None
