Law LLB (Hons)

LLB (Hons) Law at Northampton gives you a solid grounding in how legal systems work — from basic principles to complex areas of law — preparing you for a career in law or any field that values critical thinking and strong reasoning. It’s ideal if you’re motivated, curious about society and justice, and want a degree that keeps open paths to becoming a solicitor or barrister, or a variety of other professional roles.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1

In your first year, you’ll build a foundation in core legal knowledge and essential skills. Modules like Learning the Law introduce you to how law is structured and applied, while UK and EU Constitutional Law helps you understand the government, courts and how laws are made. You’ll also study Law of Contract and Criminal Law, giving you insight into how agreements and criminal offences are regulated, and establishing the building blocks for all future legal studies.

Year 2

The second year broadens your legal understanding and begins to offer more specialization. You’ll study compulsory areas such as Judicial Protection under UK and EU Law and Law of Tort, deepening your command of civil liability, negligence and legal protections. On top of that, you’ll get opportunities to pick designated optional modules — perhaps Criminal Litigation, Child and Family Law, Environmental Law and Justice, Intellectual Property Law in Commerce, or others — which lets you start steering your studies toward the areas of law that interest you most.

Year 3

In your final year, you build on everything you’ve learned and prepare for professional life or further legal training. You’ll cover modules like Land Law, Law of Equity, Wills, Probate and Trusts, and you may choose from electives such as Business Law and Practice, Civil Litigation and ADR, Information Technology Law, or Contemporary Issues in Human Rights. This gives you a chance to specialize and produce work — sometimes including a dissertation or project — that reflects your interests and strengths, leaving you well-prepared for a variety of legal or allied careers.

Focus areas: “Foundations of UK and EU law; contract, criminal, tort, property and equity law; specialised elective areas such as business law, environmental law, human rights, intellectual property; legal reasoning, litigation, equity, property, civil litigation, and elective legal disciplines.”

Learning outcomes: “Strong understanding of core UK and EU legal frameworks; ability to interpret and apply law to real-world issues; competence in legal analysis, reasoning and research; preparedness for litigation, civil and criminal procedures; flexibility to specialise; readiness for professional legal training or diverse graduate roles.”

Professional alignment (accreditation): The course covers all the “foundations of legal knowledge” required for a qualifying law degree under legal professional bodies, which means after graduation you will be eligible to proceed to vocational training if you aim to become a solicitor or barrister.

Reputation (employability potential): Graduates from Northampton’s law programme leave with strong legal knowledge and a range of transferable skills — legal reasoning, critical thinking, research, writing, analysis — making them suitable not only for traditional legal careers but also for roles in public service, business, consultancy, compliance, education, and more.