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This degree offers you the opportunity to study the related disciplines of Law and Welfare in a three-year programme, with a pathway offering the opportunity to obtain a Qualifying Law Degree.
Overview
Covering the foundations of law alongside compulsory and optional modules broadly in the area of social welfare (taught by our highly regarded School of Sociology, Social Policy, and Social Research), you develop an understanding of the law, taught from a critical perspective which allows you to engage in informed debate about contemporary legal issues (with an understanding of its history and development), and an understanding of contemporary issue in social welfare, looking at both the 'causes' of such problems but also at the policies directed towards them by government and at the role of voluntary and private welfare.
Kent Law School is recognised as one of the leading law schools in the UK. It has an international reputation both for its world-leading research and for the high quality, innovative, critical and socio-legal education that it provides.
Please be aware that the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board are conducting independent reviews of the legal training and education required to qualify as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales. These reviews cover the ‘Academic Stage’ of training and may impact upon the role of the law degree as part of the training process. Please see the website of each regulator for more information (the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board).
Independent rankings
Law at Kent was ranked 13th in The Times Good University Guide 2016 and 15th in The Guardian University Guide 2017. In the National Student Survey 2016, 91% of our Law students were satisfied with the overall quality of their course.
For graduate prospects, Law at Kent was ranked 5th in The Guardian University Guide 2017. Of Law students who graduated from Kent in 2015, 94% were in work or further study within six months (DLHE).
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. Please note that the first year modules listed for this degree are compulsory.
Please contact us for more detail about the exact composition of this programme of study.
Teaching and assessment
Law
Kent Law School emphasises research-led teaching which means that the modules taught are at the leading edge of new legal and policy developments. Kent Law School is renowned nationally for research quality, being ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. All of our research active staff teach so you are taught by influential thinkers who are at the forefront of their field. We also have one of the best student:staff ratios in the country, which allows small, weekly seminar-group teaching in all of our core modules, where you are actively encouraged to take part.
Most modules are assessed by end-of-year examinations and continuous assessment, the ratio varying from module to module, with Kent encouraging and supporting the development of research and written skills. Some modules include an optional research-based dissertation that counts for 45% or, in some cases, 100% of the final mark. Assessment can also incorporate assessment through oral presentation and argument, often in the style of legal practice (such as mooting), and client based work and reflection through our Law Clinic.
Law School staff include the winner of the 2012 OUP Law Teacher of the Year Award, with Kent the only law school in the UK to have had staff shortlisted for the award for three consecutive years.
Social Policy
Most modules are taught by a combination of lectures and seminars, with additional tutorial input spread over the year. Many modules also offer additional ‘clinic’ hours to help with the preparation of coursework and for exams. Some modules involve workshops to develop key personal and study skills, or computing and project work, which you can do individually or in teams. In addition, you spend time in individual study, using the resources of the University Library and computer-assisted learning packages.
Most modules in the School are assessed by 50% coursework and 50% end-of-year examination. A small number are assessed entirely by coursework. Marks from both Stages 2 and 3 count towards your final degree result. Stage 1 results do not count towards the final mark, but entry to Stage 2 depends on passing Stage 1 assessments.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- meet the needs of those motivated primarily by an intellectual interest in law and legal issues, as well as other social sciences and humanities subjects, and in the relationship between law and one of those disciplines
- be compatible with widening participation in higher education by offering a wide variety of entry routes
- provide a sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the principal institutions and procedures of the English legal system
- provide a sound grounding in the major concepts and principles of English law, the law of the European Union, and the European Convention on Human Rights
- develop a critical awareness of law in its historical, socio-economic and political contexts, and to introduce students to a range of different theoretical approaches to the study of law
- offer a range of modules covering the foundations of legal knowledge, as defined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board, which will enable students who successfully complete them to obtain a qualifying law degree
- offer a range of options to enable students to study some selected areas of areas of law in depth and enhance understanding of the interdisciplinary significance of legal rules
- provide a curriculum supported by scholarship and a research culture that requires students to engage with aspects of work at the frontiers of knowledge
- offer the opportunity to acquire direct experience of legal practice and to critically reflect on it through participation in the Kent Law Clinic
- enable students to manage their own learning and to carry out independent research, including research into areas of law they have not previously studied
- develop general critical, analytical and problem-solving skills which can be applied in a wide range of different legal and non-legal settings
- enable students to develop skills relevant to their vocational and personal development.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- principal features of the English legal system, including its institutions, procedures and sources of law
- principal features of the law of the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights
- the concepts, principles and rules of a substantial range of English legal subjects, including an in-depth knowledge of some areas of law, and, depending on options, an in-depth knowledge of branches of law which raise issues of particular significance for the joint discipline
- the relationship between law and the historical, socio-economic and political contexts in which it operates
- a range of theoretical and critical perspectives which can be applied to the study of law
- selected areas of study in the other discipline which may be especially pertinent to law (depending on options chosen).
Intellectual skills
You gain intellectual skills in how to:
- Recognise and rank items and issues in terms of their relevance and importance
- Effectively apply knowledge to analyse complex issues
- Collect and synthesise information from a variety of sources
- Formulate and sustain a complex argument, supporting it with appropriate evidence
- Recognise potential alternative solutions to particular problems and make a reasoned choice between them
- Independently acquire knowledge and understanding in areas, both legal and non-legal, not previously studied
- Demonstrate an independence of mind and an ability to critically challenge received understandings and conclusions
- Reflect constructively on your own learning processes.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in:
- Recognising the legal issues arising in factual situations of limited and great complexity
- Identifying and applying case and statute law
- Providing informed and reasoned opinion on possible legal actions and their likelihood of success
- Appreciating the theoretical, practical and policy issues arising in areas of law which may be particularly relevant to the joint discipline
- Identifying legal and related issues which require research
- Locating and using primary and secondary legal, and other relevant sources
- Conducting both guided and independent legal research using a range of resources
- Critically evaluating an area of law both doctrinally and in terms of its socio-economic and other consequences
Transferable skills
You develop transferable skills in the following areas:
- communication – how to communicate effectively in speech and writing, in relation to legal matters and generally; engage constructively and effectively in arguments and discussions of complex matters; how to use communication and IT for the retrieval and presentation of information, including statistical or numerical data; how to read complex legal and non-legal materials and summarise them accurately; employing correct legal terminology and correct methods of citation and referencing for legal and other academic materials
- information technology – how to produce written documents; undertake online research; process information using databases
- working with others – how to define and review the work of others; work co-operatively on group tasks; collaborate with others and contribute to the achievement of common goals
- improving own learning – how to explore personal strengths and weaknesses; review your working environment; develop specialist learning skills (for example in foreign languages); develop autonomy in learning; demonstrate initiative and manage your own time
- problem solving – how to identify and define problems; explore alternative solutions and discriminate between them.
Careers
Law
Kent has an excellent employment record, with Law School graduates demanding some of the highest starting salaries in the UK. Law graduates can go into a variety of careers, including working as: solicitors or barristers in private practice; lawyers in companies, local authorities, central government and its agencies, or in the institutions of the European Union; non-legal careers, such as banking, finance and management.
Kent Law School has an active careers programme that sees a number of leading law firms and prominent members of the legal profession (including Kent alumni) visit the University to meet and speak with students. The Law School also gives students the opportunity to develop legal skills while at Kent, through modules in mooting and negotiation, and through involvement in the Law Clinic. We also actively work with employers to create work placement opportunities for our students.
Social Policy
We place a high emphasis on developing transferable skills such as those in written and verbal presentation, groupwork and the use of ICT. Our graduates fare extremely well in terms of finding employment, whether in directly related areas such as social work and health care; policy analysis in the public and voluntary sector; human resource management and advice services; education and research; and management in the Civil Service, local authorities or other public agencies, the voluntary sector; or beyond.
Professional recognition
All programmes can lead to a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD). A QLD is recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board as satisfying the first (or ‘Academic’) stage of training required to qualify as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.
Please be aware that the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board are conducting independent reviews of the legal training and education required to qualify as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales. These reviews cover the ‘Academic Stage’ of training and may impact upon the role of the law degree as part of the training process. Please see the website of each regulator for more information (the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board).
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. Students offering alternative qualifications should contact us for further advice.
It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
New GCSE grades
If you’ve taken exams under the new GCSE grading system, please see our conversion table to convert your GCSE grades.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | AAA-ABB |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University will not necessarily make conditional offers to all Access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If we make you an offer, you will need to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The University will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF; OCR) on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 17 points at HL |
International students
The University welcomes applications from international students. Our international recruitment team can guide you on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country.
If you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes.
Meet our staff in your country
For more advise about applying to Kent, you can meet our staff at a range of international events.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2017/18 tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
UK/EU fee paying students
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
In accordance with changes announced by the UK Government, we are increasing our 2017/18 regulated full-time tuition fees for new and returning UK/EU fee paying undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses will also rise from £4,500 to £4,625. This was subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. This fee will ensure the continued provision of high-quality education.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
General additional costs
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Funding
University funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
Government funding
You may be eligible for government finance to help pay for the costs of studying. See the Government's student finance website.
The Government has confirmed that EU students applying for university places in the 2017 to 2018 academic year will still have access to student funding support for the duration of their course.
Scholarships
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.
The scholarship is also extended to those who achieve AAB at A level (or specified equivalents) where one of the subjects is either Mathematics or a Modern Foreign Language. Please review the eligibility criteria.