Law with Business Studies LLB

Summary

This popular three-year programme is taught in partnership with Birmingham Business School, providing students with an education in both law and business and opening up career opportunities across many diverse areas. You will study both subject areas in each year of the programme and the proportion is approximately two thirds law to one third business.

Key facts

UCAS code: M1N1

Duration: 3 years

Start date: September 2012

Places available: 20

Applications in 2010: 145

Professional accreditation:

This degree is a ‘qualifying’ degree. This means that it provides exemption from the first or academic stage of the examinations required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board before you can qualify as a solicitor or barrister.

Entry requirements

Number of A levels required: 3

Typical offer: AAA/A*AB

Required subjects and grades: Mathematics at GCSE grade B if not offered at A or AS level

General Studies: not accepted, but a good performance may be taken into account if you fail to meet the conditions of the offer

Additional information:

Other qualifications are considered – learn more about entry requirements|.

All students will be required to take the National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT). Further information can be found at www.lnat.ac.uk|.

International students:

International Baccalaureate Diploma: 36 points (including 6, 6, 6 at Higher Level)

Standard English language requirements apply 
Learn more about international entry requirements|.

Contact details

Admissions: Mrs Sharon Jones
Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)121 414 6290
Email: law-llb@bham.ac.uk| 

How to apply

Apply through UCAS at www.ucas.com|  
Learn more about applying|.

Fees and funding

Standard fees| apply 

Learn more about fees and funding|
 
Scholarships
 Learn more about University scholarships and awards|

The Law School also offers subject specific scholarships for international students|

Programme overview

There are close connections between the law and modern business enterprise. Lawyers acting for commercial clients can benefit from an understanding of organisations, their management and the way they structure their activities. People in business can benefit from a sound knowledge of the law.

This popular programme gives you a thorough grounding in the English law and the disciplines and constraints it imposes on business practice. The business studies modules are taught by Birmingham Business School. 

First year

We assume that you have no prior knowledge of the law, so the programme starts with lectures and discussion groups on the legal system, legal sources and methods of reasoning. You then take 80 credits of law modules (Public Law and Law Of Obligations A (Contract) and B (Tort)) and 40 credits of Business Studies modules (Understanding Organisations, Managing Organisations, Introduction to Financial Reporting, Introduction to Business Economics).

Second year

Again, you take 80 credits of compulsory law modules (Legal Foundations of the European Union and Property Law A and B) plus 40 credits of Business Studies subjects from a range of optional modules, 10 in semester one, 30 in semester two.

Third year

In the final year you study the compulsory Criminal Law module (20 credits) and choose 60 credits of optional law modules from those available to all final-year LLB students. You also choose 40 credits from those available in the Business School. There is also an opportunity to research and write a dissertation on a legal topic of your own choice. 

20-credit optional modules available from Birmingham Law School in the past have included:

  • Advanced Constitutional Law
  • Agency and Partnership
  • Company Law
  • Counter Terrorism Law
  • Civil Procedure and Evidence
  • Criminology
  • Domestic Sale of Goods
  • Family Law: Adult Relationships
  • Family Law: Child Law
  • Human Rights & Criminal Justice
  • International Economic Law
  • International Human Rights
  • International Sale of Goods
  • Labour Law
  • Law of the European Union
  • Medical Law
  • Political and Legal Theory
  • Public International Law
  • Women and the Criminal Justice System

Teaching and assessment

The programme is taught by lectures and discussion groups. We assess your work by essays, projects and formal examinations.

Career opportunities

Along with your legal and business knowledge, you acquire strong organisational and IT skills. Some graduates become solicitors or barristers, while others move into business, commerce or banking.

Related links

Undergraduate Law website: www.birmingham.ac.uk/uglaw|

Back to top

Apply now

Teaching and Learning

Birmingham Law School is research-led and draws upon the expertise of its staff to provide excellent teaching. We regard teaching and research as inextricably linked and mutually reinforcing. Our staff are frequent participants in legal debates and contribute regularly to the policy-making process.

Our teaching reflects original thought and insight which has helped to shape the contours of the discipline of law. Respondents to the National Student Survey have acknowledged the enthusiasm of our staff and their ability to explain things clearly and make material intellectually stimulating. We encourage all our students to challenge us and draw their own conclusions.

Employability

Birmingham Law School is committed to supporting students’ employability and providing opportunities for personal development. 

Many of our students go on to become solicitors and barristers or work in an industrial and business context. Some have enjoyed success as accountants, hospital managers, bankers, business executives and academics. We can also count among our graduates a novelist, journalists, television presenters, chairs of statutory commissions and a professional jockey.

You can learn more about the help we provide, and the opportunities available to our students, at the following links:

Student Profile: Gabrielle Theunissen-Blackshaw

Gabrielle Theunissen-Blackshaw is a 2nd year LLB student at Birmingham Law School.

Get Adobe Flash player

Birmingham Law School requires applicants for the following programmes to sit the Law National Admissions Test (LNAT):

Video transcript|

What is the LNAT?

The National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT) gives you the opportunity to enhance your application by demonstrating your aptitude for Law. This means that, if your A-Level predictions are below our requirements you will have an additional opportunity to prove that you would make an excellent student. If you do well on the LNAT test you are more likely to receive an offer to study with us, and more likely to succeed on our degree programmes.

We are looking for students with good analytical skills; students who can perform well at basic comprehension because these are the skills that make good lawyers.

What does the test involve?

The test takes the form of a multiple choice section and an essay section.

The 42 multiple choice questions give you a choice of five answers to a question about a passage of text, often taken from a newspaper, book, or other piece of literature. This part of the text examines whether you can comprehend and analyse written material.

In the essay component of the test you will write a 500-600 word essay. You are given a choice of three essay titles to choose from. We are looking for a well-structured essay with good spelling and grammar. It needs to be clear, concise and give a balanced argument including introduction, arguments for and against, and a conclusion.

There are practice tests available on the LNAT website |and we recommend you do these several times to get a good feel for the test. The structure of the test means that last-minute coaching is unlikely to help. The only other way we recommend you prepare is to read a quality newspaper every day. In any event, this is the best preparation for a law degree: good journalism will familiarise you with the language likely to be used in the multiple-choice section of the LNAT and for the essay component of the test.

Our LNAT deadlines

All home/European Union applicants must submit a UCAS application form by 15 January and must sit the Law National Admissions Test (LNAT) by 20 January. 

After this date you will be considered as a LATE applicant and we are under no obligation to consider you.

If you sit the LNAT after the deadline we will not consider the result until August.

All overseas-based applicants must submit a UCAS application form before 30 June, and sit the LNAT by the same date. Provision has been made for the location of test centres across the world. However if a prospective applicant finds that it is impossible or impractical to sit the LNAT, an exemption may be requested. Please contact Law-LLB@bham.ac.uk| for exemption.

Further information on the LNAT, including details of how to register, can be found at www.lnat.ac.uk|

My predicted grades are below the course requirements, can I still get an offer?

We are happy to make offers to applicants predicted lower grades than our stated requirements as long as we believe you have the potential to improve upon your predictions and AS results.

What happens if I don't meet my offer?

Although we cannot guarantee you a place if you fail to meet the conditions of our offer we will always try to accommodate those students who have placed Birmingham as their firm choice.

In previous years we have had some spaces available for students who have narrowly missed the AAA requirement so if this happens there is still a chance that you will be offered a place in August.

How many students do you accept?

Across our range of undergraduate programmes we  take around 250 students each year, which makes Birmingham Law School one of the larger law schools in the country.

What subjects should I study at A-level?

We do not accept General Studies or Critical thinking. Aside from those we accept all A-Level subjects which have at least 70% academic content.

We advise that you should study those areas which you are most interested in as there are no major advantages to studying any particular subjects.

I’ve already started a law degree elsewhere. Can I transfer to Birmingham?

We do not accept transfers into the School from any other Law programme.

Can I take a gap year?

We feel that a gap year, used constructively, can be a positive benefit to a candidate. You should indicate on your UCAS form that you intend to take a gap year and explain what you plan to do during your year.

Do you accept mature students?

The School welcomes applications from mature students. However, we would expect mature applicants to have undertaken some recent academic study at an appropriate level.

It is common for mature applicants to study A-levels, Open University qualifications, or to pursue a validated Access course. Please note that mature applicants are expected to take the LNAT in the same way as other applicants.

What assistance do you offer to students with disabilities?

We welcome applications from students with disabilities. Students with mobility problems need to be aware that parts of the main Law building are not as accessible as we would like. Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to enter details of their disability on their UCAS form, together with the facilities required by them. Prospective applicants are welcome to look at our Disability and Learner Support website| or email disability@bham.ac.uk|