Law (Graduate Entry) - LLB (Hons) *
Currently viewing course to start in 2026/27 Entry.
Our diverse and practice-based Graduate LLB (two-year accelerated) degree enables you to take the first step in becoming a lawyer, as well as providing an excellent foundation for a range of other careers....
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time
- Award LLB (Hons)
- Start date September 2026
- Subject
- Location City Centre
This course is:
Open to International Students
Overview
Our diverse and practice-based Graduate LLB (two-year accelerated) degree enables you to take the first step in becoming a lawyer, as well as providing an excellent foundation for a range of other careers.
This course has been designed to align with the subjects you will need to prepare for legal practice (including the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)), while also meeting the requirements of the Bar Standards Board for a qualifying law degree. It delivers all seven Foundations of Legal Knowledge within an intensive two-year structure, and is particularly suited to graduates, including international applicants from Commonwealth jurisdictions.
Canadian students who take this LLB programme with us can return to practice in Canada by through taking exams through the National Committee for Accreditation (NCA) and applying for admission to a law society in a Canadian jurisdiction.
What's covered in this course?
Opportunities to enhance your career prospects have been embedded throughout the degree to support your aspirations. At the heart of this is our award-winning Law Clinic, which will allow you to engage with a whole range of real-world briefs and clients in multiple areas of law, including immigration law and welfare clinics, while you study. Placement activity, pro bono opportunities and professional skills workshops form a key part of the course to expose you to the real world of the law.
The law is wide and varied, and so is our course. You will follow a set programme of study during your first year, followed by flexibility in your final year to pursue optional modules and customise your degree to align with your interests and future career ambitions. You will study all core qualifying law degree subjects alongside a substantial ‘Law in Practice Placement’ module alongside your choice of optional modules in year two.
Creating an excellent learning experience is our priority. We concentrate on delivering outstanding teaching from staff who are experienced in research or practice, ensuring that you develop the skills and knowledge needed to become confident, creative, resilient and responsible as you progress towards your preferred career.
We encourage you to engage in extracurricular activities to support your learning, with student societies such as the highly successful Mooting & Debating Society. Alongside this there are opportunities to engage with the wider Birmingham legal community through our connections with the Birmingham Law Society, the largest regional law society in the UK. Our close links with the Citizens Advice Bureau, Central England Law Centre and Support Through Court also offer you a wide range of choices to ensure that you experience different forms of law and practice, through our Law Clinic. This clinic allows you to volunteer with these, amongst others, to begin applying your practical skills and gain legal experience.
The Graduate LLB is delivered in a supportive, student-focused academic environment. Small-group instruction, approachable faculty staff, and integrated academic skills support combine to help you thrive, build your professional identity, and succeed in a fast-paced, real-world legal setting.
Why Choose Us?
- A professionally-grounded, practice-focused law degree. You’ll do more than study law— you’ll actively apply it. Through hands-on assessments, problem-based learning, and opportunities connected to legal practice and the Law Clinic, you’ll develop the practical skills, professional judgment, and confidence employers expect.
- Key employment skills and career development built in. Career readiness is built into every part of the programme. From the first term, you’ll build core competencies in legal reasoning, research, writing, advocacy, teamwork, and professional communication. These are reinforced through career-focused modules, experiential learning, and meaningful engagement with legal professionals and alumni.
- Strong civic and community engagement. Law at BCU is guided by a strong civic mission. You will learn to see law not only as a discipline, but as a tool for positive social impact. Through public legal education, community-based projects, and access-to-justice initiatives (including a supervised placement in the Law Clinic) you’ll gain valuable experience while contributing to the communities they serve.
- Research and practice-informed teaching with contemporary relevance. Our teaching is informed by leading scholarship and today’s most pressing legal challenges. You’ll engage with law as a dynamic, evolving system shaped by technology, regulation, social change, and global forces. Taught by respected researchers and experienced legal practitioners, our programme integrates theory and practice to prepare you for a career in law and beyond.
Entry Requirements
Essential requirements
We will consider applicants with a 2:1 Honours degree or above.
Applying with international qualifications
See below for further information on applying as an international student.
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
International students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Personal statement
You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.
If you are applying for a stand alone module, please include the title of the module you want to study in your Personal Statement.
Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.
Course in Depth
First Year
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
This module invites you to explore the big questions at the heart of legal study: What is law? and How does it operate in England and Wales? You will uncover how cases are decided, how legislation is made, and how the courts fit within the wider constitutional framework. As your gateway to legal education, this module equips you with the essential foundations needed to think, read, and argue like a lawyer — setting the stage for the rest of your degree and for future professional practice.
Law is not just about knowing the rules — it is about applying them with precision, confidence, and professionalism. This dynamic module develops the core skills employers value most: legal research, persuasive writing, client communication, teamwork, and reflective practice. Through practical exercises and realistic scenarios, you will bridge the gap between academic study and the realities of professional life, building the confidence and competence needed for both advanced study and future legal careers.
Why does the law punish? What makes someone criminally responsible? In this module, you will examine the principles that underpin criminal liability and explore offences against the person and property, alongside key defences. Through real and often dramatic case examples, you will analyse how the criminal law balances individual responsibility, public protection, and justice. This module develops your ability to construct clear legal arguments and apply doctrine to complex factual situations.
This module explores how power is exercised — and limited — within the UK. Covering constitutional law, administrative law, human rights, and the continuing influence of EU law, you will examine the relationship between Parliament, the executive, the courts, and the individual. How is government held accountable? How are rights protected? Building on Legal Systems, this module deepens your understanding of the constitutional foundations of the state and prepares you for advanced legal analysis.
Agreements shape everyday life — from business transactions to digital services. In this highly practical module, you will learn how contracts are formed, interpreted, enforced, and sometimes avoided. Through interactive workshops simulating a legal workplace, you will work as part of a legal team, advising clients and solving problems under tutor supervision. This immersive approach allows you to develop both technical knowledge and the professional judgement required in commercial legal practice.
When someone suffers harm, how does the law respond? This module examines civil wrongs such as negligence, nuisance, and occupiers’ liability, focusing on how the law compensates injury and allocates risk. You will analyse leading cases and apply principles to practical scenarios, strengthening your analytical and advisory skills. Essential for aspiring barristers and highly relevant to the Solicitors Qualifying Examination, Tort Law demonstrates the real-world impact of legal reasoning.
Second Year
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 80 credits):
Land law governs one of society’s most valuable and contested resources: property. This intellectually rich module explores ownership, co-ownership, leases, mortgages, and third-party rights. You will develop a sophisticated understanding of how property rights are created, protected, and transferred, while refining the analytical skills first developed in Year One. Closely aligned with the functioning legal knowledge required for professional qualification, this module combines technical precision with practical application.
Equity introduces flexibility, fairness, and conscience into the law. In this module, you will explore how equitable principles developed to soften the rigidity of the common law and how trusts operate in both personal and commercial contexts. Building on Contract and Land Law, you will examine fiduciary relationships, equitable remedies, and modern trust disputes. This subject challenges you to think conceptually and critically about justice, property, and obligation.
Law in Practice brings your legal education to life. Through real casework in our Law Clinic, pro bono placements (such as with Citizens Advice), private practice settings, or clinical arbitration, you will apply your knowledge to genuine legal problems. You will develop client care skills, ethical awareness, professional responsibility, and advanced problem-solving abilities. This transformative module allows you to graduate not only with legal knowledge, but with meaningful practical experience and professional confidence.
You must also successfully complete 40 credits from an indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.
Optional modules may include Commercial Law, Criminal Justice, Employment Law, Legal Technology or Canadian and Commonwealth Comparative Law.
Optional modules will vary from year to year.
Trips and visits
You may have the opportunity to visit a range of legal institutions and professional settings, enhancing your understanding of how law operates in practice.
Employability
Enhancing your skills for employment is central to the Graduate LLB. Key professional skills are embedded within learning and teaching, supported by guest speakers, clinical opportunities and placement experiences.
Our student Law Society also provides you with the chance to interact and work with other students on legal pursuits, career enhancement and social activities, offering you support and helping you build your employability skills.
We also have our dedicated Careers and Opportunities Service, which provides a wide range of online and face-to-face services to help you develop your employability skills, plan your career and access the latest job opportunities. They will also help with tailoring CVs, writing applications and interview techniques.
Important Regulatory Information
Students commencing this course must complete the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales.
Graduates intending to practice outside England and Wales, including Canada, must comply with the relevant professional body requirements in their home jurisdiction.
Placements
Through the Law in Practice module and supervised clinical opportunities, you will undertake placement-style learning experiences that provide valuable, real-world exposure. You will be encouraged to reflect on your professional development and progression throughout. In addition to this, there will also be opportunities to volunteer on a range of programmes too.
Facilities & Staff
Our Facilities
We are constantly investing in our estate and have spent £500 million on learning facilities.
The Curzon Building
This course is based in the Curzon Building, a £63 million development, located on our City Centre campus.
The building offers students a unique social learning space, including a dedicated student hub incorporating student support services, in the heart of Birmingham’s Eastside development.
The facilities at the Curzon building include two bespoke Law Courtrooms, replicating a Crown court and a Magistrates court. These rooms will play a key part in your learning experience, allowing you to try your hand in mock court cases, whilst also being the venue for our Mooting and Debating Societies.
On top of this, the Curzon building houses an extensive Law library, with books covering every aspect of Law history.
The Curzon Building also features:
- An impressive library with access to over 65 million full text items and stunning views of Eastside City Park
- Your Students’ Union which is located in a beautifully restored 19th century pub, The Eagle and Ball
- A modern 300-seat food court with space to study and socialise
- Accessible IT facilities with full Office365 for all students for free
- Shared facilities with the wider campus including the Parkside Building and Millennium Point
Our staff
Professor Craig Newbery-Jones
Head of the Department of Law and Professor of Law
Craig is a dedicated and passionate academic with a 13-year career marked by a commitment to student experience, educational innovation, and world-leading pedagogic research. His journey began at the University of Exeter, where he earned his LLB degree. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies, Craig pursued further academic studies at...
More about CraigDr Ewan Kirk
Associate Professor in Law
Ewan is Associate Professor in Law. He joined the university in 2001 after completing his PhD in Copyright Law and the Internet.
More about EwanDr Sarah Cooper
Professor of Interdisciplinary Research and Criminal Justice
Dr Sarah Cooper is a Professor of Interdisciplinary Research and Criminal Justice at Birmingham City University. Her research investigates intersections of law and science in criminal justice systems, including how judges respond to claims that forensic science is unreliable, jurors interpret expert evidence, and the role of science in clemency and...
More about SarahJessica Gallagher
Course Leader for LLB Law
Jessica Gallagher is a Lecturer in Law, and is currently studying for her PhD in Law which researches Self-Harm and Suicide in Adult Male prisoners. Her areas of research interest include prison conditions, the Criminal Justice system, sentencing criminal law and the relationship between politics and the Criminal Justice System.
More about Jessica