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Law and Criminal Justice LLB (Hons)

Understand the workings of the criminal justice system and examine crime, its effect on society, and the strategies the legal profession can develop to prosecute against it.

Overview

Your first year on this fully qualifying law degree will focus on how the UK’s system of government operates. You will also be taught about contract and criminal law and the English and European legal systems.

In addition, you will learn key academic skills needed for the study of law including essay writing technique, answering problem questions, citation, referencing and good academic practice.

In your second and third years you will have the opportunity to choose your modules, allowing you to tailor your degree to your interests. Options range from criminology to penology and social justice.

Students can enhance their career prospects by taking part in co-curricular and extracurricular activities, such as mooting and client interviewing.

Students are also offered additional employability support through dedicated careers and placement team, who offer help finding out about placement and internship opportunities. Advice is offered on CV and cover letter writing, interview skills and psychometric testing.

This targeted careers support is available to students during their studies and even after graduating when searching for their dream graduate role.

Key features

  • A fully qualifying law degree, with full exemptions from the academic stage of the professional qualification for solicitors and barristers.
  • Study in a dedicated law environment, including a mock court room, client interviewing room and an integrated law library and have access to the Crown Court of Leicester Castle.
  • Take advantage of extracurricular opportunities such as DMU Legal Advice Centre, the Careers Project, Street Law, DMU Law Society, client interviewing and mooting, to enhance your employability and help ensure you are well-equipped for a range of career paths or further study.
  • Tailor your degree with specialist options. In your second and third years you have control of the modules that you want to study, so you can focus on your areas of interest.
  • Enjoy an international experience through our DMU Global scheme. Recent study-focused trips for Law students have included New York, Hong Kong, Brussels and Washington DC.

Scholarships

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International student scholarships

Find out about available international scholarships or visit our fees and funding page for more information.

 

 

 

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: M211

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with a placement.

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: M211

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with a placement.

Fees and funding:

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750.

Find out more about available funding for international students.

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

Entry criteria

Entry criteria

  • A typical offer is 112 UCAS points. You need to study at least two subjects at A Level or equivalent (eg BTEC**)
  • You must have at least five GCSEs at grades A–C including English Language
  • Pass Access with 30 Level 3 credits at Merit (or equivalent)

    English (Language or Literature) and Maths GCSE required as separate qualifications at grade C

    We will normally require students to have had a break from full time education before undertaking the Access course

  • International Baccalaureate: 26+ Points

 

Mature students

We welcome applications from mature students with non-standard qualifications and recognise all other equivalent and international qualifications.

English language

If English is not your first language, you will need IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component or equivalent.

UCAS tariff information

Students applying for courses starting in September will be made offers based on the latest UCAS Tariff.

Contextual offer 

To make sure you get fair and equal access to higher education, when looking at your application, we consider more than just your grades. So if you are eligible, you may receive a contextual offer. Find our more about contextual offers.

 

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessment

Accreditations

 

Year 1

  • Constitutional and Administrative Law
  • Law of Contract
  • Criminal Law
  • English and European Legal Contexts

Year 2

Choose options from the following:

  • Criminology
  • Essentials of Forensic Investigations
  • Family Law
  • Law of Tort*
  • Law and Lawyering: International Perspectives***
  • The Lawyer in the Marketplace: Entrepreneurship and Commercial Awareness***
  • Land Law*
  • European Union Public Law
  • Police Powers and Public Order
  • Public Law of Consumer Protection
  • Inter-professional Legal Skills

Year 3

Choose options from the following:

  • Advanced Criminal Law
  • Contemporary Issues in Jurisprudence and Legal Theory***
  • Equity and Trusts*
  • Gender and Law
  • International Child Law
  • International Law
  • Law and Medicine
  • Law of Evidence
  • Lawyering: Advocacy, Negotiations and Ethics
  • Legal Research Project**
  • Penology
  • Social Justice

* You must select these modules if you want to gain an LLB fully qualifying degree

**You may substitute one of the listed modules for a self-study research project

Teaching and assessment

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Assessment is through coursework (presentations, essays and reports) and usually an exam or test, which is typically weighted as follows in your first year:

  • Exam: 70%
  • Coursework: 30%

These assessment weightings are indicative only. The exact weighting may vary depending on option modules chosen by students and teaching methods deployed by the academic member of staff each year. Indicative assessment weighting and assessment type per module are shown as part of the module information. Again these are based on the current academic session. 

Teaching contact hours

This is a full-time course. Each module is worth 30 credits. It is expected that student will spend a total of 300 hours of study for each module. You should be prepared to devote approximately 10 contact hours a week to your studies and additional independent hours of study in order to succeed. Teaching is through a mix of lectures, tutorials, seminars and lab sessions and the breakdown of these activity types is shown in each module description.

Other: In addition, each module provides a two-hour surgery each week for individual consultation with the lecturer. You will also have timetabled meetings with your personal tutor and careers and/or subject meetings scheduled throughout the year.

Self-directed study: In order to prepare for, and assimilate, the work in lectures and seminars you will be expected to use our on-line resources, participate in flipped or virtual classroom discussions on our virtual learning environment (VLE) and engage in personal study and revision for approximately 25 hours per week.

Accreditations

This course meets the requirements of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board, which means that you will graduate with full exemptions from the academic stage of the professional qualification for solicitors and barristers. 

Facilities and features

Hugh Aston Building

You will be taught in our purpose-built Hugh Aston Building equipped with lecture theatres and classrooms, break-out spaces for group work, quiet study zones for individual work, and high-spec IT labs installed with professional software.

You’ll also have access to the building’s new £5.5 million extension called The Yard, which provides more than 22,000 square metres of extra space. This is designed to facilitate your learning experience with large and airy breakout spaces, a new Student Advice Centre, and a balcony on the top floor. The Yard also features more comfortable classrooms and self-study spaces, allowing you to carry out independent study as well as group work.

Students benefit from a dedicated law environment complete with its own mock courtroom, client interviewing room and an integrated law library.

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career.

Previous students have taken up placements in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, including some international posts, with leading blue-chip companies such as Warner Brothers and Toyota, as well as stand-alone placements with major law firms, such as Shoosmiths and Gateleys.

Our careers programme DMU Works can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement.

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DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich studies, broaden cultural horizons and develop key skills valued by employers. 

Through DMU Global, we offer an exciting mix of overseas, on-campus and online international experiences, including the opportunity to study or work abroad for up to a year.

Law and Criminal Justice students have visited the Supreme Court and had the opportunity to debate at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

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Graduate careers

Throughout their degree, students can hone their legal skills by engaging with our Legal Advice Centre, which provides advice to businesses, organisations and individuals. This experience also offers the opportunity to claim qualifying work experience to speed your way to qualification as a solicitor.

Leicester De Montfort Law School also offers a programme for final year students to work as paid researchers supporting major research projects, providing insight and expertise for those who wish to pursue career in academia or research.

Recent graduates from our law school have progressed on to successful roles such as legal associate at Barratt Developments PLC, case worker at the Ministry of Justice, investigation support assistant for Leicestershire Police, and prosecution manager for Arriva Rail North.

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