Law (LLB)

The style and format of teaching on the programme is diverse, to reflect and cater for a variety of learning styles, and to help you develop your independent learning skills. Our approach to teaching nurtures a student learning community, so that you can receive peer-to-peer support and collaborate with other students. 

Modules are taught by teams of lecturers with a mix of academic and professional experience so that you benefit from their knowledge of contemporary real-life examples and scenarios.

Our aim is to ensure that you graduate with the self-reliance, transferable, and law-specific skills that will equip you for the future. We will help you to develop these attributes outside the classroom by providing you with a range of teaching and learning materials and activities that you will need to undertake in your own time either individually or in groups with other students.  Class preparation and independent study form a key part of your learning.

Our in-person, face-to-face teaching and learning is supported and complemented by various digital tools. Each module makes extensive use of Learning Central, which is the university’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). On Learning Central, you’ll find discussion forums, pre-recorded videos, links to relevant web-based resources, multimedia materials and course materials.

How will I be supported?

You’ll receive dedicated pastoral support through our personal tutor scheme. If you wish to study through the medium of Welsh, you’ll be designated a Welsh-speaking personal tutor. The School of Law and Politics has a dedicated Academic Support Tutor who can assist with issues that affect your ability to attend classes or complete assessments, and a Student Mentoring Scheme is also available through the university.

A designated Disability and Diversity Officer ensures that reasonable adjustments are made if you declare a disability. In addition to this, the university has a range of services to support you, including the Counselling Service, the Disability and Dyslexia Service, and the Student Support Service.

We offer an extensive programme of careers advice and workshops with an in-house Law Careers Consultant and a Pro-bono Scheme Co-ordinator, in addition to the university’s Student Futures (careers) service.

Feedback

You’ll receive regular feedback on your progress throughout your programme. Feedback takes various forms e.g., formative oral feedback during small group sessions, in seminars, and tutorials. Feedback is designed to help you develop as a learner and academic, so that you can improve your performance in future summative assessments. In addition to regular class hours, all teaching staff have Student Support Hours when you can meet and discuss any learning queries arising from the module or from your studies in general.

Each module has its own dedicated space on the Cardiff University Virtual Learning Environment. You’ll also have access to both a physical and online law library, with access to a wide range of primary and secondary materials, including books, journals, and online databases for accessing cases, legislation, and other digital materials that are relevant to your studies.

How will I be assessed?

Assessment tasks vary from module to module to ensure you develop a wide range of legal and transferable skills. These will include, but are not limited to, traditional academic essays, reflective journals, or letters of advice to hypothetical clients of a law firm. Similarly, some presentations will test advocacy skills, as though you were presenting in front of a judge, whereas others will be aimed at a different type of audience, such as an academic audience. 

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.

On successful completion of your programme you will be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding:

• KU1 Demonstrate a systematic knowledge and understanding of fundamental legal concepts and institutions.
• KU2 Critically evaluate the content and application of legal rules, principles, and theories in a variety of political, economic, social, cultural, and ethical contexts.
• KU3 Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the doctrinal coherence significance of a body of statutes and/or case law.
• KU4 Examine the potential for law at the national and supranational levels to resist change or effect transformation.

Intellectual Skills:

• IS1 Critically evaluate competing arguments and make reasoned judgments within an appropriate ethical framework.
• IS2 Undertake basic legal research identifying relevant issues using relevant primary and secondary sources.
• IS3 Interpret and apply legal rules, principles, and abstract concepts to complex factual situations to solve problems.

Professional Practical Skills:

• PS1 Communicate persuasively across audiences and genres, conveying academic ideas and legal-technical arguments to both specialist and non-specialist audiences using visual, written, or oral techniques.
• PS2 Independently propose practical and ethical solutions to actual or hypothetical client-based legal problems.
• PS3 Systematically evaluate and recognise ambiguity and uncertainty in the law.

Transferable/Key Skills:

• KS1 Research and study creatively, independently, and reflectively, applying advanced knowledge and skills to unfamiliar or wider world challenges or contexts.
• KS2 Demonstrate initiative by taking responsibility for structuring and time-managing a research or client-focused task, working in teams when appropriate.
• KS3 Demonstrate technical proficiency in written English or Welsh and competence in applying scholarly terminology.
• KS4 Apply skills in critical evaluation, analysis, and judgement effectively in a diverse range of contexts.
• KS5 Demonstrate digital literacy and the ability to assess the credibility of information sources.

Other information

We offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities, some unique to Cardiff University, which equip our students with a competitive edge over other law graduates.

Mooting

Our students are encouraged to enter annual mooting competitions. These competitions give you an opportunity to present legal issues before a judge, against an opposing counsel.

Mooting is a great skill to be able to add to your CV and provides an invaluable experience of public speaking in a formal court setting.

Client interviewing competition

Our students are encouraged to take part in an annual client interviewing competition, which has Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC as its President. You will gain crucial experience interviewing in a simulated setting and will be assessed against specific criteria that include interpersonal skills and your ability to handle legal problems.