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Foundation year in Law

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

80

From a combination of acceptable Level 3 qualifications which may include: A-level, T Level, BTEC Diplomas/Extended Diplomas, Scottish and Irish Highers, Access to HE Diplomas, or the International Baccalaureate. Find out how many points your qualifications are worth by using the UCAS Tariff calculator: www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator Northumbria University is committed to supporting all individuals to achieve their ambitions. We have a range of schemes and alternative offers to make sure as many individuals as possible are given an opportunity to study at our University regardless of personal circumstances or background. To find out more, review our Northumbria Entry Requirement Essential Information page for further details www.northumbria.ac.uk/entryrequirementsinfo Subject Requirements: There are no specific subject requirements for this course. GCSE Requirements: Applicants will need Maths and English Language at minimum grade 4/C, or an equivalent. Additional Requirements: There are no additional requirements for this course. International Qualifications: We welcome applicants with a range of qualifications which may not match those shown above. If you have qualifications from outside the UK, find out what you need by visiting www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry English Language Requirements: International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*). *The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades in our English Language section: www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications

About this course


Course option

5years

Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Law

The LLB with Foundation year is a new type of integrated foundation course. It is designed for those whose level 3 grades may not be sufficient to step straight into the law courses offered at Northumbria, but aspire to follow a career in law. The foundation year of the programme prepares you for degree level study.

As a student on the law foundation year you progressively build your knowledge towards successfully completing the year and gaining entry onto the LLB undergraduate honours degree within Northumbria Law School. Throughout the year you will develop a curiosity about the theory and practice of law and the legal services sector. During this time, you will learn how to demonstrate effective academic writing, analysis skills, interpersonal communication and the ability to work in multi-cultural teams.

Our modules encourage you to look at contemporary legal issues and events, exploring how the law and legal services sector operate. You will also grapple with ethical issues, whilst building effective analytical skills. In addition, you will be encouraged to use techniques and procresses with an emphasis on building your personal capacity to demonstrate your creativity, critical and independent thinking.

An important part of this is the Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship module (ICE) which is delivered throughout your year of study. Here we want you to develop legal entrepreneurship. The ICE module will provide you with experience and industry contacts, further enhancing your career prospects.

On successfully completing the foundation year, the following 3 years of study on the LLB (Hons) programme are designed to provide you with a thorough grounding in legal principles, including the study of the 7 foundations of legal knowledge which are required to make this a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD), the first stage of legal education for those who might want to pursue a career as a solicitor or barrister. These are Constitutional and Administrative Law, Law of Contract, Crime, Equity and Trusts, EU, Land and Tort. In addition, specialist options may be studied, along with a research project and involvement in the Student Law Office.

Modules

For a full list of the modules on your course, please access the course pages at www.northumbria.ac.uk

Assessment methods

Your tutors will use a variety of teaching methods, which may include lectures, seminars, problem-based workshops, case discussions, practical activities, group work and tutorials. Teaching is backed up by a well-designed support system that will underpin your learning journey. You will have access to a Guidance Tutor with whom you can discuss any academic issues. Extensive feedback from both tutors and peers is built into the course.

The Uni


Course location:

Northumbria University, Newcastle

Department:

Law

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What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

67%
Law

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Law

Teaching and learning

64%
Staff make the subject interesting
79%
Staff are good at explaining things
69%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
74%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

74%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
59%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
31%
Male students
69%
Female students
81%
2:1 or above
14%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Law

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
low
Employed or in further education
74%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

38%
Legal associate professionals
23%
Legal professionals
6%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

Law graduates tend to go into the legal industry, and they usually take similar routes. Jobs are competitive — often very competitive - but starting salaries are good and high fliers can earn serious money - starting on over £24k in London on average. Be aware though - some careers, especially as barristers, can take a while to get into, and the industry is changing as the Internet, automation and economic change all have an effect, If you want to qualify to practise law, you need to take a professional qualification — many law graduates then go on to law school. If you want to go into work, then a lot of law graduates take trainee or paralegal roles and some do leave the law altogether, often for jobs in management, finance and the police force. A small proportion of law graduates also move into another field for further study. Management, accountancy and teaching are all popular for these career changers, so if you do take a law degree and decide it’s not for you, there are options.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Law

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£22k

£22k

£29k

£29k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Lower entry requirements
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Nearby University
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here