Foundation year in Law

The LLB with Foundation year is a new type of integrated foundation course. It is designed for those whose level 3 grades may not be sufficient to step straight into the law courses offered at Northumbria, but aspire to follow a career in law. The foundation year of the programme prepares you for degree level study.

As a student on the law foundation year you progressively build your knowledge towards successfully completing the year and gaining entry onto the LLB undergraduate honours degree within Northumbria Law School. Throughout the year you will develop a curiosity about the theory and practice of law and the legal services sector. During this time, you will learn how to demonstrate effective academic writing, analysis skills, interpersonal communication and the ability to work in multi-cultural teams.

Our modules encourage you to look at contemporary legal issues and events, exploring how the law and legal services sector operate. You will also grapple with ethical issues, whilst building effective analytical skills. In addition, you will be encouraged to use techniques and procresses with an emphasis on building your personal capacity to demonstrate your creativity, critical and independent thinking.

An important part of this is the Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship module (ICE) which is delivered throughout your year of study. Here we want you to develop legal entrepreneurship. The ICE module will provide you with experience and industry contacts, further enhancing your career prospects.

On successfully completing the foundation year, the following 3 years of study on the LLB (Hons) programme are designed to provide you with a thorough grounding in legal principles, including the study of the 7 foundations of legal knowledge which are required to make this a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD), the first stage of legal education for those who might want to pursue a career as a solicitor or barrister. These are Constitutional and Administrative Law, Law of Contract, Crime, Equity and Trusts, EU, Land and Tort. In addition, specialist options may be studied, along with a research project and involvement in the Student Law Office.