LLB with Year Abroad SOAS University of London

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

In an increasingly interconnected world, the law is no longer the preserve of single jurisdictions as legal issues are no respecters of national borders. A SOAS Law degree addresses this need by providing our students with an educational experience that equips you with a distinctive set of skills far beyond what is offered by most traditional Law Schools.

The SOAS Law programme aims to produce highly-skilled, civic-minded and critically engaged graduates, who can effectively contribute to their communities and societies through the knowledge and skills gained on this course.

Why SOAS?

• SOAS is unique as the only higher education institution in the UK specialising in the study of Asian, Middle East and North African (MENA) and Sub-Saharan African regions.
• This programme will immerse you in the legal traditions and practices of a number of global regions, which will give you a critical understanding of the role of law in the world today.
• We specialise in key topics including international and transnational law, human rights, transnational commercial law, environmental law, comparative law and socio-legal method.
• In common with other law schools, the degree program will result in our students obtaining a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD), allowing you to pursue a career in legal practice should you wish to do so.
• We are specialists in the delivery of more than forty African and Asian languages. Your command of a language will set you apart from graduates of other universities.
• You will be able to flexibly structure your programme using our Open Options modules to take advantage of the expertise of our other departments, including the opportunity to learn a regional language.

Structure

Students take 120 credits per year composed of core and optional modules, which allows students to design their own intellectual journey while maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals.

In Year 1 students are introduced to the core elements and principles of the English legal system and provided with the key analytical skills necessary for undertaking a demanding law degree program. During this first-year students’ will also be introduced to elements of legal principles and practice from other countries.

In the second and fourth years, our students will be even more fully immersed in the distinctively SOAS program. Our students can choose from a wide array of optional courses that draw on the unique research expertise of our staff. The emphasis we place on choice, and research-led teaching, will allow our students to pursue a number of distinct specialisms as their degree progresses, but whichever path they choose to focus on the courses they study will all be imbued with that distinctive SOAS dimension, that stresses critical engagement and understanding of the role of law in the world at large.

In the third year, students study Law or Language modules in a partner university abroad. Those enrolled in Named Pathways will choose from partner universities for the pathway.

Year 1

Students must pass All modules in Year 1 to progress to Year 2.

Compulsory Modules

• Introduction to Law and Legal Processes
• Criminal Law
• Contract Law
• Common-Law, Equitable and Comparative Property 1: Property Interests
• Public Law

Year 2

Compulsory Modules

• Legal Systems of Asia and Africa
• Law of Tort
• Common-Law, Equitable and Comparative Property 2: Proprietary Relationships
• Introduction to EU Law

and

Guided Option

Choose a module(s) from List of Year 2 Options below to the value of 30 credits.

or

Named Pathways

• China
  • Chinese Law
• South Asia
  • Law and Society in South Asia
• Southeast Asia
  Students must take up to 30 credits of either language or non-language compulsory modules of the BA Southeast Asian Studies programme Year 1 or Year 2 or other modules ascertained from year to year.

Year 3

Students study Law or Language modules in a partner university abroad. Those enrolled in a Named Pathways will choose from partner universities for the pathway.

Year 4

Compulsory Module

• Independent Study Project on a Selected Legal topic

and

Guided Option

Choose a module(s) from List of Year 4 Options below to the value of 30 credits.

or

Open Options

Choose related Language or Non-Language open option modules to the value of 30 credits.

• Language Open Option Modules
• Non-Language Open Option Modules

or

Choose a module(s) at another University of London (UoL) if not taught at SOAS to the value of 30 credits.

and

Choose a module(s) from List of Year 4 Options below to the value of 60 credits.

List of Modules (subject to availability)

List of Year 2 Optional Modules

• Law and Society in South Asia
• Islamic Law
• Chinese Law
• Introduction to Global Commodities Law
• Foundations of Human Rights Law
• Public International Law
• International Law of the Sea
• The Art of Advocacy
• Law and Society in South Asia
• International Environmental Law

List of Year 4 Optional Modules

• Family Law
• Law and Society in South Asia
• Islamic Law
• Independent Study Project on a Selected Legal topic
• Company Law
• Chinese Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• Law of Islamic Finance
• Advanced Comparative Administrative Law
• Commercial Law
• Law, Multiculturalism and Rights
• Law of Commercial Arbitration
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Asylum and Immigration Law
• Introduction to Global Commodities Law
• Foundations of Human Rights Law
• Public International Law
• International Law of the Sea
• The Art of Advocacy
• International Environmental Law

UoL Options

Up to one 30-credit level 5 or level 6 LLB module in Law taught at another University of London Law School - King’s College, LSE, QMUL, UCL and Birkbeck - subject to approval and provided that a similar module is not taught at SOAS.

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.

Employment

The degree structure provides students with a qualifying law degree for the purposes of both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board and exempts students from the academic stage of legal training.

Skills gained include:

• The specialist knowledge of comparative law, human rights, environmental law and international law.
• The ability to think laterally and employ critical reasoning.
• Analytical skills.
• Problem-solving skills.
• The ability to formulate sound arguments.
• Ability to interpret and explain complex information clearly.
• Communication and presentation skills.

SOAS Law graduates have gone on to pursue careers directly related to law or used their skills and expertise to take up professional and management careers in both the private and public sectors. The Law degree programmes have also enabled graduates to continue in the field of research either at SOAS or other institutions.

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

• Allen & Overy
• Clifford Chance
• Baker McKenzie
• United Nations
• Linklaters
• Lloyds Banking Group
• Gibson Young Solicitors
• Liberty UK
• Slaughter and May
• CMS Cameron McKenna

Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:

• Trainee Solicitor
• Barrister
• Finance Manager
• Legal Researcher
• Paralegal
• Financial Analyst
• Procurement Manager
• Tax Consultant
• Business Developer
• Recruitment Consultant