Introduction
Studying law is stimulating in its own right and knowing how laws are made, legal rights and duties and how the law impacts society will help you to understand society and your own role within it. By the end of your degree, you’ll have the legal knowledge to understand and apply the law, together with skills in legal analysis. This law degree will be valuable preparation to enable you to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for a legal career and offers the flexibility to tailor your study according to whether you wish to gain a Qualifying Law Degree to become a barrister in England or Wales, or solicitor or barrister in Northern Ireland, or progress to take the national Solicitors Qualifying Examination to become a solicitor in England and Wales.
Key features of the course
- Gives you an understanding of the role and place of law in today’s society.
- Offers practical experience through an online law clinic and other online projects.
- Provides specific routes to suit different career aspirations.
- Offers the opportunity to cover the seven ‘Foundations of Legal Knowledge’ required for a Qualifying Law Degree, or prepare you for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination.
If you want to become a barrister in England and Wales, or either a barrister or solicitor in Northern Ireland, you will need to complete this degree within six years.
Accessibility
We make all our qualifications as accessible as possible and have a comprehensive range of services to support all our students. This Bachelor of Laws uses a variety of study materials and has the following elements:
- studying a mix of printed and online material. Online learning resources may include websites, audio/video media clips, and interactive activities such as online quizzes
- face-to-face tutorials/day schools/workshops and/or online tutorials
- working with specialist reading material
- working in a group with other students
- using and/or producing diagrams and/or screenshots
- using specialist software
- finding external/third party material online
- using technology for research purposes involving access to catalogues and databases online
- continuous and end-of-module assessment in the form of essays, short answer questions, and in some cases an examination
- using feedback: continuous assessment involves receiving detailed feedback on your work from your tutor and using this feedback to improve your performance
- engagement with learning and assessment within a pre-determined schedule or timetable – time management will be needed during your studies and the University will help you to develop these skills throughout your degree.
Program Outcome
This qualification develops your learning in four main areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
The level and depth of your learning gradually increase as you work through the qualification. You’ll be supported throughout by the OU’s unique style of teaching and assessment – which includes a personal tutor to guide and comment on your work; top quality course texts; e-learning resources like podcasts, interactive media and online materials; tutorial groups and community forums.
Curriculum
Course details
This degree has three stages, each comprising 120 credits.
- You’ll start Stage 1 with an introduction to criminal law and the criminal justice system, followed by tort law and civil justice.
- At Stage 2, you’ll build on your knowledge of contract law and public law then choose two modules to focus on aspects of the law that are of particular interest.
- Finally, in Stage 3, your modules will be determined by whether you choose either the Academic law degree route, the Solicitors Qualifying Examination route for prospective solicitors in England and Wales or the Qualifying Law Degree route for prospective barristers in England and Wales or barristers and solicitors in Northern Ireland.
Prepare for OU study with an Access module
We offer two starting points depending on how confident you are or how long it’s been since you last studied. Choose to dive straight in at Stage 1, or if you’d prefer some extra preparation, you can get started with an optional Access module.