Law with Psychology

On this combined course, you gain an in-depth knowledge of the core areas of the English legal system alongside exploring the fascinating fields of criminal, investigative and forensic psychology. It is your first step to qualifying as a solicitor or progressing to a career at the Bar while also developing skills you might use for professional roles in the criminal justice system, such as those needed to be a forensic practitioner.

Course accreditation

All our LLB courses cover the Foundation of Legal Knowledge subjects and satisfy the requirements set by the Bar Standards Board for the academic component of Bar training. Upon successfully completing the LLB with a minimum grade of 2:ii, graduates who wish to qualify as barristers will be able to progress on to the Bar training course.

Facilities and specialist equipment

• Recently refurbished Moot Court, equipped with digital technology to ensure it reflects an actual court-room environment

• Leading legal research databases used by professionals, including LexisNexis, Westlaw and HeinOnline

• Oxford Law Trove, an online platform giving students access to the wealth of legal educational materials published by Oxford University Press

• Access to our dedicated, specialist, industry-standard psychology laboratories and computing environments

Career-powered links

We have strong links with local law firms such as Macfarlane, Machins, Greystone and Solomon as well as at Luton County Court and the Crown Prosecution Service.

You can also gain professional supervised practice via our three law clinics: family law, criminal law and law related to asylum seekers.

Your student experience

Opportunity to complete work experience at law firms such as Macfarlanes LLP and Machins Solicitors LLP as well as at Luton County Court and the Crown Prosecution Service. This work experience counts towards your qualification as a solicitor.

Gain professional supervised practice via our three law clinics: family law, criminal law and law related to asylum seekers.

In the Psychology-focused units, study key areas such as criminal behaviour, the criminal justice system, and applied forensic psychology, gaining insight into how psychological principles are used to understand, investigate and respond to offending.

Widen your experience through field trips to the Inns of Court in London, the Houses of Parliament, the UK Supreme Court and Luton Crown Court; you also have opportunities to take part in mooting competitions.

Attend research events organised by our Centre for Research in Law (CRiL) and guest talks by prestigious speakers including arbitrators, judges, renowned academics, Members of Parliament and leading legal practitioners from City law firms.

Course modules

Year 1
Criminal law – Overview of the criminal process in England and Wales, and the governing principles of individual and corporate criminal liability. Contract law – Understand legal principles relating to the formation of contracts, their validity, interpretation, performance and remedies for breach. English legal system – Learn to use sources of legal information to support a sound and well-reasoned legal argument. Academic and legal skills – Explore client management, problem–solving, negotiation, and advanced oral and written communication skills. Psychology and criminal behaviour – Integrate forensic psychology with what you have learnt in other modules alongside investigating offender types and criminal career paths.

Year 2
Land law – Explore property and ownership rights in relation to land, and the impact these rights have on third parties. Law of tort – Understand civil rights and liabilities and/or other civil law matters. Constitutional and administrative law – In-depth grounding of constitutional and administrative dimensions of public law. Psychology and criminal justice – Study the role of psychology in criminal justice systems, in this country and worldwide.

Year 3
Equity and trusts – Introduction to equitable jurisdiction with a focus on creation, purpose and enforcement of trusts. Dissertation – Identify a current issue of public interest for in-depth legal analysis and use legal writing to critically discuss the topic. Family and child law – Understand the legal regulations of adult relationships and children's life situations in the context of family, the state and society. Fundamentals of EU law – Examine the main legal principles in the European Union. Applied forensic psychology – Approaches to the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders within the prison system.

Every effort is made to ensure this information is accurate at the point of publication on the UCAS website. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to our website.

The course has been carefully designed to develop a wide range of academic legal and practical skills including by giving you the opportunity to engage with a varied range of assessment methods. A developing range of assessments will enable you to grow in confidence and demonstrate your acquisition of knowledge and skills.

The assessment methods used across the course include:

• Written assignments:  These may vary from short essays and reports to more in-depth research work on broader topics to problem questions and case studies which will require you to apply your legal knowledge to a `real life scenario. These assessments will test your ability to analyse an issue to conduct research to collect relevant materials to assess the quality of the materials and to synthesise them into a scholarly answer.

• Examinations: These will test your ability to convey your knowledge and understanding of a topic and to demonstrate your skills of analysis and evaluation in a time-sensitive manner.

• Oral presentations:  Aimed at developing your public-speaking skills and testing your verbal and presentational skills in communicating information in a professional setting. Mooting activities will test your ability to carry out research and present your findings in a persuasive and authoritative manner. They will also introduce the practical skills of court etiquette and procedure.

In the final year of your course the dissertation unit will allow you to undertake a complex research project in a subject area of your choosing. With the support of your supervisor you will be expected to formulate a relevant and viable research question. The project will allow you to further develop your legal research skills and the ability to communicate knowledge findings and recommendations.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Solicitors Regulation Authority
• Bar Standards Board