Law and Criminology, LLB (Hons), with industry placement

Course summary

This degree prepares you for a career in the legal or criminal justice professions and beyond. You will develop a breadth of transferable skills, and benefit from our focus on teaching law in the ‘real’ world. Combine studying the law with asking broader questions about why people commit crime and how society deals with criminality to understand the social justice system better, working with partners like Victim Support and Devon and Cornwall Police. Learn from our experienced academics who are leading researchers, practising lawyers and who have worked in the justice system. Benefit from our extensive contacts across the sector so you can be ready to make a difference in society.

• Develop your skills and stand out. Get ahead with a course designed to help you stand out with employers, whatever your career goals. Study modules with emphasis on developing your legal and employability skills as well as professional practice.

• Flexibility. Have flexibility and choice in what you study: the first two years include traditional subjects, such as Criminal Law and Tort, alongside learning dispute resolution skills and a range of optional modules. In your final year you have lots of choice so can tailor your degree to your interests and career ambitions. Our optional modules include legal subjects such as family, employment, environmental, intellectual property, business, immigration, human rights and cybercrime.

• Volunteer in our award winning Law Clinic. Gain valuable, professional experience by participating in our award-winning, pro-bono Law Clinic. Here you work under the guidance of legal practitioners, with real clients making a real difference in the community, without taking time out of your studies. You can do this for credit towards your degree or as a volunteer.

• Join our outstanding student Law Society. Our society offers networking opportunities and organises competitions. Our students have excelled in winning national client interviewing and mooting competitions.

• Learn from experts. Benefit from excellent research-informed and practice-led teaching by highly qualified staff, including legal practitioners. We have internationally renowned researchers in areas such as the environment, marine protection, immigration and intellectual property. We give policy advice, regionally and nationally, and work for change. We publish an on-line journal, the Plymouth Law Review, with contributions from both staff and students.

• Supporting you to excel. We keep our class sizes small, so we have a close-knit community of like-minded students and staff, which will give you the encouragement and support you need to excel. You will be part of a supportive community and learning environment, with a dedicated personal tutor system and strong alumni links.

• Prepare for your future. We've designed our degree to ensure you're prepared for the updated Solicitors Qualifying Exam. Our course also allows you to pursue training as a barrister, with our students regularly winning major Bar Scholarships from the Inns of Court. Take advantage of our dedicated person to support you to get work experience and secure placements.

In your first year, you’ll learn about the core theories, principles and processes of the law, introducing you to how it’s studied and practised. You’ll be able to join the Student Law Society and take part in mooting, debating, negotiation and advocacy competitions. We’ve structured the curriculum so that alongside studying the English legal system, Contract, Tort, Public Law and Human Rights, you’ll begin your study of criminology and start to develop the critical thinking and self-reflective skills that will equip you for your chosen career. In your second year, you’ll focus on real-life scenarios and develop practical skills in areas such as negotiation and advocacy through our very successful Dispute Resolution Skills module. You’ll study Property Law and Criminal Law and deepen your knowledge and understanding of criminology and the criminal justice system. You’ll have the opportunity to study a law module of specific interest by choosing from a range of options including, for example, Employment, EU, and Cybercrime. You’ll also have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience volunteering in our award winning Law Clinic, either as a volunteer or for credit towards your degree programme, and will receive support in gaining a placement if you wish to take the optional placement year. Gain valuable on-the-job experience through our optional placement year. We will support you in your second year in deciding whether to take this opportunity, and assist you in finding a placement and in being prepared for it. The placement could be in any appropriate external setting. Alternatively, you can gain this experience by selecting our Work-Based Learning module in your final year. In your final year, you’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate your research skills with a dissertation on a legal issue that inspires you, or undertake work-based learning for credit, including within our Law Clinic. You’ll be able to further tailor your degree to your interests and career ambitions by choosing from a selection of Criminology and Criminal Justice modules, and Law modules such as, for example, those intending to progress to vocational training as either a solicitor or barrister, including Criminal Law and Practice, Business Law and Practice, and Trusts and Practice.