Course summary

Our Foundation Year programmes provide the best possible preparation for degree-level study at Birkbeck. They are ideal if you do not meet the entry requirements for the undergraduate degree you would like to study, if you feel you are not quite ready for an undergraduate degree, or if you are returning to study and need extra help and support. Whatever your background and circumstances, Birkbeck's Foundation Year degrees will prepare you for success. Upon successful completion of the one-year Foundation Year, in which you will develop your core knowledge and skills in law, you will automatically progress on to our three-year, full-time evening study LLB Law. Birkbeck’s Law LLB teaches you the foundational areas of law required by the legal profession and provides you with the key skills and knowledge to move towards successfully qualifying as a lawyer. You will gain highly transferable legal skills that are also valuable in other professions beyond a legal career. You will develop a sound knowledge and understanding of law across a range of foundational and specialist subjects. You will also learn to identify the political, economic, commercial, social and cultural factors that inform how we understand the law and the problems, tensions and contradictions within certain legal theories and doctrines. Upon graduating, you will be ready to prepare for the Solicitors’ Qualifying Exam (SQE), apply for a place on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) or pursue a range of other careers. Our Law LLB allows you to specialise in your studies by choosing to follow one of three pathways and graduate with:

• LLB (Hons) in Law and Commercial Law

• LLB (Hons) in Law and Human Rights

• LLB (Hons) in Law and Legal Practice

• Our Department of Law is a leading international centre for world-class legal teaching, research and scholarship. You will be taught by field-leading academic staff, alongside experienced solicitors, barristers and judges from across the legal sector.

• Career development and skills enhancement are a key part of studying this course. You will have access to a huge range of careers support including Birkbeck's Careers Service, Birkbeck Talent and Birkbeck Futures.

• You will have opportunities to network with real-world legal professionals through our Mentoring Pathways Scheme, Legal Practice Conversations, Legal Professionals Insight Evening, Careers Fair, and open days are held exclusively for Birkbeck students.

• You will be able to put your teaching into practice with the University of London Refugee Law Clinic. You can join our Law Society, highly successful Mooting team, or the Birkbeck Law Review.

• We are among the top law schools in the UK and in the top three in London in the most recent Times Higher Education Research Excellence Framework (REF) rankings for research intensity.

• The LLB is accredited by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and students awarded the degree will be entitled to receive a Certificate of Completion of the Academic Stage of Legal Education for solicitors. It is also recognised by the Bar Standards Board as a qualifying law degree for the purposes of completing the Academic Stage of Training for the Bar. The degree is accredited as LLB Law.

Course details