LLB Law with Criminology with a Year in Industry

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Royal Holloway University of London

Program Overview

This four-year degree gives you a firm grounding in both law and criminology, and then gives you a real-world boost by including a full year working in industry. It’s perfect for students who want to understand how law works in practice, while also exploring the causes of crime, punishment, and justice in society.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1
In your first year, you’ll build up the legal and criminological fundamentals. You’ll study Public Law (Constitutional, Administrative & Human Rights Law) to understand how government power is structured and how justice is protected, and The Law of Contract, which teaches how agreements are formed, enforced, and breached. On the criminology side, Introduction to Criminology helps you explore sociological and psychological perspectives on crime, while English Legal System introduces how courts operate and where laws come from. You’ll also take a Professional & Legal Skills module to practise client interviewing, negotiation, and mooting, and an Academic Integrity module that helps you grow as a researcher and writer.

Year 2
During the second year, your studies get more detailed and challenging. You’ll dive into Land Law, exploring different types of property interest and how land rights work in practice. Law of Tort introduces civil liability — things like negligence, nuisance, and trespass. You also take Criminal Law, where you learn the nuts and bolts of criminal liability, the different types of offences, and how mens rea and actus reus apply. In criminology, Key Perspectives and Debates in Criminology lets you critically examine theories from sociology, psychology, and biology to understand complex issues like terrorism, organised crime, and drug use.

Year 3 (Industry Year)
This year, you step out into a workplace environment. You’ll complete a work placement in a legal, public-sector, or crime-justice organisation. The university supports you to find a relevant internship, and the work you do is assessed—your performance during this year contributes to your final degree grade. It’s a chance to apply what you’ve learned in real life, from legal research and casework to policy and practice.

Year 4
Back on campus for your final year, you tackle advanced legal and criminological topics. You’ll study European Union Law, considering how EU institutions and laws operate across borders. Equity & Trusts teaches you about fiduciary duties, trust structures, and how equity complements common law. You also pick from a range of optional modules, such as Law Dissertation, Company Law, Medical Law, International and Comparative Human Rights Law, Crime, Media & Culture, Risk, Insecurity & Terrorism — giving you the flexibility to shape your degree around what really excites you.

Focus Areas

Law (public, contract, tort, EU, equity), criminology theory, criminal justice, crime & society, policy, and advanced elective topics.

Learning Outcomes

You’ll develop a strong grasp of legal principles in various domains, gain critical insight into the causes and consequences of crime, master professional skills like negotiation and client interviewing, and build experience from your year in industry that helps bridge theory and practice.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)

This LLB is designed to satisfy the academic stage of professional legal qualification, preparing you for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) or the Bar route. The year in industry gives you valuable workplace experience that many law employers highly value.

Reputation & Employability

Royal Holloway’s Law and Criminology department is well respected for its research-led teaching and support for students. The industry year helps make you stand out in the job market: you graduate not just with knowledge, but with relevant work experience in a real legal or criminal justice setting.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

If you choose this course, you won’t just be sitting in lecture halls — Royal Holloway makes sure you actually use your legal and criminological skills in real settings, especially during your industry year. From the start, you’ll be getting involved in activities like mooting, negotiation, client interviewing, and hands-on legal research. The Law & Criminology department works closely with the Careers Service to help you find meaningful placements, and you’ll also have the chance to contribute to the Legal Advice Centre, where you can see directly how the law affects people’s everyday lives.

Here are some of the ways you’ll get genuine, practical experience:

Spend your third year working in a real legal or criminal-justice environment through an industry placement supported by the department and the Careers & Employability Service — and the work you do there actually counts toward your final degree.
Get involved with the Legal Advice Centre, where you can help provide free legal advice under supervision, giving you hands-on experience with real clients and real issues.
Take part in Street Law projects, delivering workshops in schools or community groups and seeing firsthand how legal knowledge can empower people.
In your classes, practise key professional skills like mooting, negotiation, interviewing, and delivering presentations — all designed to show you what legal work feels like in practice.
Make the most of employer events and insight sessions: criminology students regularly meet professionals from fields like policing, probation, and community justice, and you’ll get support to find volunteering or work experience opportunities.
Access the law school’s specialist library and digital tools, including legal databases and research platforms, to work on authentic case studies and assignments that reflect real professional tasks.

Progression & Future Opportunities

Graduating from this degree means you’re not just leaving with solid legal knowledge — you’ll also have a hands-on understanding of criminal behaviour, justice systems and how to work professionally in those fields. It’s a great foundation for careers such as barrister or solicitor, criminal justice officer (e.g., in probation or youth justice), policy analyst, or crime and social research roles. Because of your year in industry, you’re already job-ready: you’ll have practical experience under your belt that many other graduates simply don’t.

Here’s how Royal Holloway sets you up for success:

The Careers & Employability Service offers law-specific career coaching, interview preparation, CV support, and connections to law firms, NGOs, public sector, and criminal justice agencies.
Through partnerships with criminal justice organisations — like youth justice groups, probation services, and legal charities — you may secure industry placements or internships that give you direct insight into your future career.
Many graduates from the Law & Criminology department go on to highly skilled roles in policy, research, public service or legal practice.
Thanks to the industry year, you'll likely command a stronger starting position in the job market, standing out to employers because you already have real-world legal experience.
This LLB is academically recognised, meaning it meets the core legal education requirements for professional training as a solicitor or barrister.
Your knowledge of crime theory, social policy and legal systems makes you a strong candidate for roles in government agencies, non-profit NGOs, or research institutions focusing on justice, crime prevention, or community safety.

Further Academic Progression:
If you want to continue studying after your LLB, you’ve got plenty of options. Many students go on to a Master of Laws (LLM) specialising in crime, human rights, public policy, or international law. If you prefer to go further into research, you could pursue a PhD focused on criminological studies or legal theory. And of course, you can move on to professional legal qualification routes like the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) or training to become a barrister.