An accelerated two-year programme for graduates in any discipline who seek a law degree.
Overview
This degree offers an accelerated two-year programme for graduates who seek a law degree. It allows graduates in any discipline to obtain a qualifying law degree after two-years full-time study. The degree includes essential law modules for those considering a career in legal practice in Northern Ireland, and in England and Wales.
Exemptions in other common law countries may be possible. For instance, in Canada the degree would likely qualify you to apply for an NCA (National Council on Accreditation) assessment and exempt you from the non-mandatory exams in Property, Tort, Contracts.
The School
The School of Law has an excellent reputation for teaching, research, student support and student development. In the Times 2024 ranking of UK law schools, Ulster is ranked in the top 20. The School of Law seeks to achieve excellence in teaching, research and professional development.
The School provides a range of LLB courses, all of which are Qualifying Law Degrees (QLDs) for the purposes of the legal professions, as well as a range of postgraduate courses. We embed employability in our curriculum and so students develop practical skills such as mooting as well as skills in problem-solving and writing research papers. We offer extensive career development opportunities and have numerous partnerships with leading law firms and civil society organisations.
Teaching at the School of Law is research-led. In the UK’s independent review of research, 46% of the Law research at Ulster was assessed as ‘world-leading’, the highest level of research excellence.
The Campus
Located in the heart of the vibrant Cathedral Quarter, the new campus provides a progressive learning, teaching and research environment supported by the best innovative technology, allowing us to nurture talent and innovation.
The campus features state-of-the art facilities, including a purpose-built moot court room and a podcasting suite for law. Legal, public sector and civil society organisations, as well as many cultural and social amenities, and accommodation options, are all located within walking distance of the campus .
We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.
Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:
For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.
For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
In this section
A total of 12 law modules are studied over the course of two years. These modules include the core law modules needed for Qualifying Law Degree status.
The full-time degree structure is:
Year 1 – Semester 1
LAW344 Legal System and Legal Research
This module introduces basic legal principles and concepts, and enables students to understand the structure and organisation of the legal system in the UK. It introduces students to the concepts of reflective and independent learning, and provides them with the necessary information, knowledge and intellectual equipment required for the study of law as a discipline. This module continues the induction process and offers the students an opportunity to obtain information about careers and personal development.
LAW347 Criminal Law
Criminal law provides the ideal vehicle to study both common law and legislation and develop an understanding of the relationship between law in Northern Ireland and the law in England and Wales. Students learn the scope and content of criminal law and understand the need for reform in certain areas through academic commentary and critical discussion and evaluation. In examining the principle and substance of criminal law students also gain the opportunity to develop skills in legal reasoning and analysis.
LAW346 Alternative Dispute Resolution (Optional)
This module will give students an insight into the workings of the civil litigation system before embarking upon the forms of ADR that have developed to circumvent the disadvantages of civil litigation.
LAW319 Introduction to Property Law (Optional)
This module provides students with an introduction to the core concepts of property law in both Northern Ireland and England and Wales. This module will directly prepare you for further detailed study of property law in Land Law and in Equity and Trusts as well as complementing the study of aspects of Tort, Contract and even Criminal Law.
Year 1 – Semester 2
LAW341 – Tort
The law of tort plays a central role in the modern legal system, and it is important that anyone engaged in a study of law should have a detailed knowledge and understanding of the principles of the law of tort. This module will explore those principles in detail and will enable students to apply the principles to practical problems and real-life situations.
LAW345 – Public Law
Students by the end of this module should have a good grasp of the constitutional arrangements within the United Kingdom including: institutions of government, key principles underpinning the constitution of the United Kingdom, the arrangements for devolved governance in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the importance of European Union Law as a source of law within the constitution of the United Kingdom, the legal protection of human rights and civil liberties, mechanisms of accountability within constitutional law, especially judicial review, and proposed reforms and debates surrounding such reforms.
LAW313 – European Law
This module provides an overview of the constitutional principles and legal institutions of the European Union. The module also introduces students to the central areas within the market integration process, namely free movement of goods and persons. After the Treaties of Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon, the impact of EU law has expanded even further than before. This module examines the development of European Law, the institutional structure and processes as well as the relationship between European Law and national law.
Year 2 – Semester 1
LAW541 – Equity and Trusts
This module will explore the equitable jurisdiction through its historical development as well as the impact it continues to have on contemporary legal practice. This will be through the prism of examining its greatest creation, the trust. This will explore the creation of express trusts through the three certainties, beneficiary principle and formalities and constitution. This module will also cover implied trusts as well as the duties that will be bestowed upon trustees when they take up a position of trusteeship as well as the rights that a beneficiary under such a trust will have.
LAW564 – Contract Law
The module will provide a basis for acquiring knowledge and understanding and developing analysis of the key concepts, problems and issues in the law of contract. The theories, principles and rules of the law of contract will be explained. The module will address the key features of contract law including formation of contract, contractual terms, exclusion and limitation clauses, vitiating factors, discharge of contract and remedies.
An optional module (a range to choose from)
Year 2 – Semester 2
LAW502 Evidence
The Law of Evidence is key to understanding the judicial system. This module examines the fundamental principles of, and a number of important and controversial issues in, the modern law of evidence. Students will learn to apply the key rules and understand the exercise of judicial discretion on the admission of evidence to court and be encouraged to critique and challenge current rules and practice. The module complements other law modules, particularly criminal law.
LAW563 Land Law
This module provides students with the opportunity to study Land Law (which is considered to be a core subject in the study of law) in respect to both Northern Ireland and England and Wales. The professional bodies require law school graduate entrants to have studied Land Law at Degree Level.
An optional module (a range to choose from)
Each module of study usually involves a weekly two-hour lecture and one-hour seminar. In addition, students are required to undertake substantial directed independent learning.
The content for each course is summarised on the relevant course page, along with an overview of the modules that make up the course.
Each course is approved by the University and meets the expectations of:
As part of your course induction, you will be provided with details of the organisation and management of the course, including attendance and assessment requirements - usually in the form of a timetable. For full-time courses, the precise timetable for each semester is not confirmed until close to the start date and may be subject to some change in the early weeks as all courses settle into their planned patterns. For part-time courses which require attendance on particular days and times, an expectation of the days and periods of attendance will be included in the letter of offer. A course handbook is also made available.
Courses comprise modules for which the notional effort involved is indicated by its credit rating. Each credit point represents 10 hours of student effort. Undergraduate courses typically contain 10, 20, or 40 credit modules (more usually 20) and postgraduate courses typically 15 or 30 credit modules.
The normal study load expectation for an undergraduate full-time course of study in the standard academic year is 120 credit points. This amounts to around 36-42 hours of expected teaching and learning per week, inclusive of attendance requirements for lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical work, fieldwork or other scheduled classes, private study, and assessment. Teaching and learning activities will be in-person and/or online depending on the nature of the course. Part-time study load is the same as full-time pro-rata, with each credit point representing 10 hours of student effort.
Postgraduate Master’s courses typically comprise 180 credits, taken in three semesters when studied full-time. A Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) comprises 60 credits and can usually be completed on a part-time basis in one year. A 120-credit Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) can usually be completed on a part-time basis in two years.
Class contact times vary by course and type of module. Typically, for a module predominantly delivered through lectures you can expect at least 3 contact hours per week (lectures/seminars/tutorials). Laboratory classes often require a greater intensity of attendance in blocks. Some modules may combine lecture and laboratory. The precise model will depend on the course you apply for and may be subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. Prospective students will be consulted about any significant changes.
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
The class of Honours awarded in Bachelor’s degrees is usually determined by calculation of an aggregate mark based on performance across the modules at Levels 5 and 6, (which correspond to the second and third year of full-time attendance).
Level 6 modules contribute 70% of the aggregate mark and Level 5 contributes 30% to the calculation of the class of the award. Classification of integrated Master’s degrees with Honours include a Level 7 component. The calculation in this case is: 50% Level 7, 30% Level 6, 20% Level 5. At least half the Level 5 modules must be studied at the University for Level 5 to be included in the calculation of the class.
All other qualifications have an overall grade determined by results in modules from the final level of study.
In Masters degrees of more than 200 credit points the final 120 points usually determine the overall grading.
Figures correct for academic year 2022-2023.
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 60% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (19%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (22%) or Lecturers (57%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic and learning support staff (85%) are recognised as fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advance HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures correct for academic year 2022-2023.
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We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.
In this section
Applicants must hold at least a second class Honours degree or above or equivalent (in any discipline) or demonstrate their ability to undertake the programme through the accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL).
Applicants should satisfy the University General Requirements e.g.
* GCSE English Language (grades A-C/4-9) may be used as part of the GCSE requirement.
You must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements for admission to a first degree course and hold a GCSE pass in English Language at grade C or above (or equivalent).
English language requirements for international applicants The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes. Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores. • English language requirements • Your country
Pass HND with overall Distinction to include 75 distinctions in level 5 credits.
Pass HNC with overall Distinction to include 105 distinctions in level 4 credits.
Successful completion of any Ulster University Foundation Degree with an average of 60% in Level 5 modules. (Entry into Year One only)
You may also meet the course entry requirements with combinations of different qualifications to the same standard as recognised by the University.
The professional bodies that accredit LLB degrees place restrictions on the extent to which credit can be given for study undertaken on other courses and/or at other institutions. Provided that a candidate has met the standard entrance requirements for the course, consideration will be given (subject to these restrictions) to an application to transfer or for exemption from specific modules. No transfer or exemption is possible at level 6.
In this section
Ulster graduates have gone on to qualify as solicitors or barristers, having completed the Certificate in Professional Legal Studies. Others have pursued careers in related areas such as the business and finance sector, human resources, politics and the community sector. Graduates have also pursued the study of law at postgraduate level both at Ulster University and other institutions (e.g. Masters courses such as the LLM, or doctoral studies).
Recognised by the Law Society of Northern Ireland (LSNI) for the purpose of a Qualifying Law Degree.
Accredited by the Bar Standards Board for the purpose of a Qualifying Law Degree.
Prizes are sponsored by some of the foremost law firms in Northern Ireland, leading nongovernmental organisationss and legal publishing houses. The School believes that hard work and talent should be rewarded and, as such, the range of prizes on offer within the Law School provide an excellent means of facilitating student engagement with the legal professions and with community based organisations more broadly.
It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.
Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.
There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.
See the tuition fees on our student guide for most up to date costs.
We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.
Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:
For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.
For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
