Law with Politics LLB
3-4 years
Course information
Typical offer AAB
UCAS code M2L2
Institute code L34
Taught by Leicester Law School
20th in the UK for Law (Guardian 2024)
Best society for Pro Bono (LawCareers.net Awards 2022)
Course description
Course description
The Law with Politics LLB is delivered cooperatively by Leicester Law School and Politics and International Relations at Leicester. You will receive expert teaching in both disciplines and gain knowledge of both legal and governmental systems. This is a joint honours course, in which Law modules make up 75% of the content, with Politics modules accounting for the other 25%. You will develop an understanding of theory, ethics and law to underpin a sophisticated understanding of the role that politics plays in upholding justice, and when it does not.
You can broaden your perspective with a year studying overseas, or make a difference by giving free legal advice to real clients through our Pro-Bono group. We will also encourage you to build practical skills through our award-winning extracurricular activities.
By studying politics and law, you will be able to place the implementation of public policy in its legal context. You will develop an understanding of the power of individuals and theories of the state as well as the laws that have been created through the political process. You will see how political structures influence the laws that you apply to real problems and the theory underpinning social responsibilities and relationships protected by law. As such, this degree will be of particular interest to those wishing to gain knowledge of the relationship between politics, law and society. In your final year you have access to a wide range of modules on legal, political, socio-legal and ethical topics.
This law degree equips you with the academic skills required for a career as a solicitor or barrister and makes you a highly desirable graduate in a range of other professions. At Leicester we offer a cosmopolitan, friendly and supportive community in which to study this fascinating subject supported by experts and professionals in these closely related disciplines.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
No LNAT required - Unlike some universities, at Leicester we do not require applicants to have taken the National Admissions Test for Law. We are not convinced that LNAT scores provide additional information which we cannot get from your exam grades and school report.
- A-levels: AAB. General Studies accepted
- EPQ with A-levels: ABB + EPQ at grade B
- GCSE: English language at Grade C/4 or above
- Access to HE Diploma: Pass relevant diploma with 45 credits at Level 3, including 30 credits at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit
- International Baccalaureate: Pass diploma with 33 points. Must include a minimum of grade 4 in English A or 5 in English B if minimum of grade 4/C not held in English Language at GCSE.
- BTEC Nationals: D*D*D with a strong GCSE background.
- T Levels: Distinction and A in the core component. Please contact our Admissions Team for full details of T Levels accepted.
Other official national and international qualifications considered from across the world. You can review some of the qualifications we accept on our countries page and English Language equivalencies.
If your qualification or country is not listed, please contact us for more information, including the name and result of the qualification you have studied.
If you do not meet the entry requirements for this course, you can apply for the International Foundation Year – Society and Culture or International Foundation Year - Economics and Management run by the Global Study Centre. The GSC provides academic support to help you progress to your chosen undergraduate degree at the University of Leicester.
Second Year Entry is not permitted.
Contextual offers
The University of Leicester is committed to providing equitable opportunities for all applicants from all backgrounds. We make contextual offers to support students who may be impacted by the area they live in, their personal circumstances or who have completed one of our progression programmes. These offers are usually one or two grades lower than the standard entry requirements. To qualify for a contextual offer, you must apply for an eligible course and meet specific criteria – check if you’re eligible.
Selection Process
When considering your application, we will look for evidence that you will be able to fulfil the objectives of the course and achieve the standards required. We will take into account a range of factors including previous exam results.
Applicants are not normally interviewed. If you receive an offer you will be invited to visit the Leicester Law School.
English Language Requirements
IELTS 6.5 including 6.0 in writing (or equivalent). If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. If you do not yet meet our requirements, our English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) offers a range of courses to help you to improve your English to the necessary standard.
International Qualifications
Find your country in this list to check equivalent qualifications, scholarships and additional requirements.
Countries listFees and funding
Fees and funding
UK Students
Starting in 2024
- £9,250 in your first year. Tuition fees are subject to government regulations and may change in future years
- Year Abroad: your fee will be £1,385 for that year
Find out more about scholarships and funding.
International Students
Starting in 2024
- £18,950 per year
- Year Abroad: £4,737.50, which is 25% of the full-time tuition fee
If you are resident outside the UK and the Republic of Ireland, you will need to pay a deposit of £3,000 to secure your place. This will be subtracted from your total tuition fee.
From 2022 onwards, EU nationals will pay the International fee. If you are an EU national with settled or pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme, you may qualify for the UK fee (subject to criteria).
Find out more about scholarships and funding.
Read more about the international community at Leicester Law School.
Careers and employability
Careers and employability
Whether you're looking for a career in law or are not yet sure where your degree will take you, our dedicated team of Careers Tutors are here to help. With a huge array opportunities to take part in, you'll discover the range of paths available and find the one that's right for you. Along, the way, you'll develop a portfolio of professional skills and also learn what employers are looking for in applications and job interviews.
Some of the careers initiatives within the School include:
- Pro bono projects: Our student-led Pro Bono Group offers hundreds of volunteer roles across an extensive range of projects. Advise real clients in our Legal Advice Clinic or at the courts in Leicester, managing your own case load. Help a local or global community or be part of something really different and carry out research to support vulnerable people on death row in the USA – we’re one of only two universities doing this. As the projects are student-managed and supported by professionals and experts, you could even be the next leader of a new project.
- Legal competitions: The Leicester University Law Society organise mooting, debating, client interviewing, negotiation and mediation competitions for you to develop key transferable skills. For aspiring barristers, we have a brand-new dedicated moot court room and grand debating chamber, in which you can compete in national and international mooting competitions.
- Guaranteed Entry Scheme for progression to the professional training courses for solicitors with the University of Law and a programme of support for the bar course interview from the University of Law and other leading providers of the bar course.
- Networking events: With strong links to local, regional and national law firms, we'll help you to get your foot in the door. Make connections at our annual law fair which attracts over 40 top law firms (including magic circle firms) and through our meet-and-greet sessions with successful graduates.
- Workshops: Applying for jobs is a skill in itself and we’ll help you to succeed with tailored workshops on CV-writing, applications, psychometric tests, interviews and assessment centre techniques.
- Vacancy alerts and weekly newsletters to help you find vacation placements, work experience and a job after graduation.
- Commercial awareness programme run by the Leicester University Law Society ensuring you know what employers and clients really need from you.
- Practice-focused assessments: We’ll teach you how to draft a letter to a client in your first year – an essential skill for any solicitor. You can take this further in practice-based optional modules.
Our courses satisfy the entry requirements for the professional courses to prepare you to qualify as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales and permit exemptions from the legal executive qualification. Applicants wishing to become lawyers outside of England and Wales should consult the appropriate country’s legal statutory body to check the requirements. Leicester Law School LLB degrees are recognised by the Legal Practice Qualifications Board of Malaysia and are qualifying degrees for Canada.
For more information about professional qualification, consult:
- The Legal Practice Course and Solicitors Qualifying Exam
- Bar Professional Training Course and Bar Training Pathways
- Legal Executive Exemptions
Graduate destinations
Graduates from our Law degrees have gone on to work for a wide range of employers including:
- DLA Piper
- UK Government - Policy Advisor
- Freeths LLP
- Grant Thornton LLP
- Home Office
- Sharkespeare Martineau LLP
- Rolls-Royce
After graduating from Leicester Law School, Michael went on to work at Slaughter & May, a member of the prestigious Magic Circle of law firms.
Careers and Employability Service
Get career-ready at Leicester with guidance from our award-winning Careers and Employability Service. We're here to give you a lifetime offer of support, even after graduation. Our team of specialist careers advisers and mentors will help you every step of the way. From supporting you with CVs and interviews, to volunteering opportunities and placements, we're here to help you reach your professional goals.
Related courses
Related courses
Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable Development Goals
We are committed to providing skills and knowledge to help prepare you tackle global challenges. We have mapped our undergraduate degrees for learning which aligns to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This degree includes learning which relates to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
- Goal 3: Health and well-being
- Goal 5: Gender equality
- Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
- Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
- Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong institutions
What our students say
What our students say
"I had a wide variety of modules that I could choose from such as my favourite Company Law and International Law. Since I did Law with Politics, I was able to choose from some exciting politics modules as well.”
- Pedram, Law with Politics 2021
Solicitors Qualifying Exam
Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE)
Qualifying as a solicitor is now very flexible and there are several different routes you can take. We’re here to support you in gaining the right experience for whichever route you choose. Find out more about:
- How the Leicester Law School LLB degrees prepare you for the SQE
- Information about Stages 1 and 2 of the SQE
- How we can help you in getting Qualifying Work Experience
- How graduates from Leicester Law School benefit from partnerships with the University of Law, BPP and Barbri who operate guaranteed entry schemes, discounts and scholarships created for Leicester graduates
- How you can fund your SQE Preparation Course
- How the team of specialist careers tutors will support you to make the right decision for you and your future
More about the Solicitors Qualifying Exam and the support at Leicester
Course structure
Year 1
Year 1
You will be introduced to the fundamentals of the legal system and develop your key legal skills. Your politics education will begin with the major political systems and ideologies.
Core module
- Constitutional and Administrative Law
- Contract Law
- Analysing Law
- Politics, Power and Ethics
- Law, Justice and Society
- Comparative European Politics
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year 2
Year 2
You continue to build on the core aspects of law while gaining more freedom in your political learning. A range of optional modules are available for you to choose from and pursue the areas of politics that interest you.
Core modules
Option modules
Choose either Political Ideas or Political Parties in Contemporary Britain
Then choose either Governing Societies in Conflict or Contemporary Political Philosophy: Theories of Justice
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year abroad (optional)
Year abroad (optional)
We’ll make sure you have everything you need for your future career: not just by awarding you a high quality degree, but also by helping you to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to make your mark in the world as a Citizen of Change. One way you can do this is by opting to take a Year Abroad between Years 2 and 3 of your degree.
Studying abroad is not just for people who are interested in travelling and meeting new people. It is about acquiring life skills that are becoming increasingly significant for a wide range of jobs in our modern globalised society. Whether you go on to a career in the private, public or third sector - or plough your own furrow as an entrepreneur – you will find the experience invaluable.
For more information, including a list of destinations, please visit our Study Abroad website.
Please note
- A year spent abroad still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See the Fees and Funding tab of this page for details.
- You may be eligible for a travel grant from Student Finance England.
- Places are offered on a competitive basis, and eligibility is dependent on your academic performance in Years 1 and 2.
- Language courses, at beginners or advanced level, are available through our Languages at Leicester scheme.
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Final year
Final year
Your degree will conclude with more essential law topics. You will gain even greater flexibility. A wide range of law and politics modules will be available so you can adapt your degree to your particular interests and strengths.
Core modules
Option modules
Choose one law option module from:
- Bioethics
- Commercial Law
- Company Law
- Criminology
- Law Dissertation
- Employment Law
- Family Law
- Human Rights in the 21st Century
- Immigration Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- International Law
- Jurisprudence
- Law and Political Theory
- Law of Evidence
- Medical Law
Or two law option modules from:
- Law in Practice: Legal Advice Clinic
- Advanced Law in Practice: Legal Advice Clinic
- Law in the Community: Pro Bono
- Caring and the Law
- Commercial Property
- Criminal Justice: Criminal Trials and Appeals
- Dispute Resolution
- Wills and the Administration of Estates
- International Commercial Arbitration
- Canadian Constitutional Law
- Gender, Sexuality and the Law
- Real Estate in Practice
- Environmental, Climate Change and Sustainability Law
- Commercial Law: Domestic Sale of Goods and Agency
- Commercial Law: Introduction to International Sale of Goods
- Commercial Law in a Digital World
Then choose two politics option modules from:
- Feminism
- The American Presidency
- The Conservatives: Crisis and Recovery
- Parliamentary Studies
- Global Justice and Human Rights
- Political Legacies of Conflict in Northern Ireland
- International Migration in the Age of Securitisation
- The Politics of Contemporary British Foreign Policy
- Politics and War in Outer Space
- Gender, Race and War
- The Politics of Slavery
- The Political Theory of Disobedience and Protests
- Animals and the Environment
- Political Theory of Disobedience
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Why Leicester?
Gain practical skills through our award-winning Pro Bono Society, which offers hundreds of volunteer roles across an extensive range of free legal advice and support projects. Working alongside legal professionals, you can advise real clients and support the local community. The projects support local and global communities, including investigations of miscarriage of justice in the UK and for prisoners on death row in the USA.
You’ll get personal support with your learning in our small group tutorial classes of around 12 to 15 students.
Guest speakers who have visited the University to discuss their lives in politics including MPS, members of the House of Lords, MEPs, members of the US Congress, officials working in UK and EU institutions, diplomats and senior personnel from the armed forces.
Reading list
See the types of resources you might read, over the summer, to get a feel for a Law degree and arrive prepared and ready to go.
Teaching and learning
Law
Teaching is delivered in two main styles: lectures and small group tutorials. With two lectures in each module per week and a tutorial once a fortnight, you will have approximately 12 contact hours each week.
Lectures provide you with the framework for each subject, whereas your tutorials are an opportunity for you to engage with the subjects in more depth. Tutorials test your understanding by planning how to advice a client or critically discussing pre-set problems amongst a group of students led by a member of academic staff. In a small group of around only eight to twelve students, you can really have your opinion heard and ask questions to make sure you've fully understood the topic. Through this personalised experience, you'll receive more individual support with your learning, as well as learn how to confidently articulate your arguments. Some optional modules include seminar-style teaching with larger groups of around 15 students, particularly where group work helps replicate the experience of working in teams.
We use web-based and electronic course materials to supplement traditional teaching methods and support student learning. There is easy access to computers in the David Wilson Library next to the Law School and quiet study space in the historic Harry Peach Law Library. You will be able to access information about your courses and tutorials electronically.
Assessment methods include assessed essays/coursework, exams and multiple choice question papers. Professional legal writing - for example, writing a letter of advice or opinion addressed to a client or a briefing for a supervising solicitor or pupil-master - is also built into our curriculum. You will start developing these practical skills from your very first year with us.
Politics
You will be taught mainly through lectures and seminars but will also experience working in small groups where you will take part in debates and simulation exercises. This will give you the opportunity to engage in discussion about key issues with other students, supported by experts in political theory and ethics.
Teaching is led by our team of academics who are involved in cutting-edge research. You will learn in an intellectually stimulating environment with academics who share with you the latest ways of thinking.
You will have access to a range of online materials and resources through our virtual learning environment to support your learning. We believe in the importance of developing valuable transferrable skills while you study with us and this is reflected in our teaching. Our courses are designed to improve your skills in written communication (from short reports to a long dissertation), oral presentation (both formal and informal), team work, independent learning (e.g. information gathering and time management) and problem solving.
Independent learning
Outside of your teaching, you continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this involves reading journal articles and books, preparing for tutorials, working on individual and group assignments, undertaking research in the library, and preparing for exams. To help with your independent learning, you can access the Library and our social study spaces in halls of residence.
Your contact hours will depend on the option modules you select. You can see details of the contact hours on individual module pages.
Academic support
Our Centre for Academic Achievement provides help in the following areas:
- study and exam skills
- academic writing
- presentations
- dissertations
- numerical data skills
- referencing sources
Leicester Law School is made up of a vibrant international community of academics, many with leading reputations in their field. We have expertise in a broad range of areas across the legal spectrum, which offers you access to a wide variety of optional modules. We strongly believe in research-led teaching, which allows our modules to draw on the latest thinking and cutting-edge developments. You can learn more about our supportive community of experts and professionals by visiting our staff profiles.
Apply now
| Course | Qualification | Duration | UCAS Code | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course Law with Politics | Qualification LLB | Duration 3 years full-time | UCAS Code M2L2 | Availability How to apply |
| Course Law with Politics with Year Abroad | Qualification LLB | Duration 4 years full-time | UCAS Code M2L2 | Availability How to apply |
Data about this course
Really enjoy the fact that your learning is supported by small sized tutorial groups, which allow you to take part in intense discussions and ensure you understand all areas of the law.