Law (Philosophy, Politics and Law Pathway) LLB (Hons) – 2024 entry

Top lawyers not only know what the law is, but they understand why it is this way, what philosophical ideals and values it is based on, and how it can be made better.

If you are keen to get a solid legal education and dig deeper to better understand fundamental questions about why the law functions the way it does, then this is the course for you.

The heightened analytical skills that can be obtained on our LLB in Law (Philosophy, Politics and Law Pathway) are increasingly in demand by employers. As technology eliminates simplistic tasks, employers are progressively seeking law graduates who have complex problem-solving skills, can think abstractly, argue critically and find creative solutions to novel legal problems. This is what our course delivers.

Graduation from Surrey will stand you in good stead for accessing the postgraduate qualifications necessary to become a solicitor or a barrister. To best ensure this opportunity, we have partnered with the University of Law to facilitate access to the solicitors’ courses offered there.

Our award-winning Professional Training placements prepare students for roles in industry.

We were shortlisted for University of the Year in The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.

You’ll gain a strong understanding of the main areas of legal knowledge, including law as it regulates the functions of the state (public law and criminal law), regulates relations between private individuals (contract law and tort law), and regulates the ownership and control of land and other property (land law, and equity and trusts).

After your first year, you will immerse yourself in deeper questions about the operation and design of our legal system and the principles of legal change and reform. You will take optional modules on the philosophical, social and political dimensions of law, focusing on cutting-edge legal problems and developing your knowledge of the relation between law and society, and the values and political structures our legal system is based on.

You will learn how to evaluate the law, analyse its application to given situations and apply your legal understanding in a national or international context. We also provide a series of employability training seminars, digital lawyering, pro bono opportunities, and extracurricular activities focusing on client interviewing, negotiation and mooting.

The academic year is divided into two semesters which are both 15 weeks long. Each semester consists of teaching, revision/directed learning and assessment periods.

The Philosophy, Politics and Law (PPL) Pathway explores the same compulsory modules as the LLB in Law, including Public, Tort, Crime, Contract, EU, Land, Equity and Trusts.

To complete the requirements of the PPL Pathway, you must complete a sufficient number of optional modules from the specified list of PPL modules (equal to at least 90 credits or six modules). Upon completion of this Pathway, you will receive a recognised LLB degree, but one that also signals your PPL specialism to prospective employers.

An indicative list of modules that count toward the minimum of 90 credits required for the PPL Pathway (subject to change) are:

Year 2

• Law & Contemporary Social Issues (15 credits)
• Law & Economics (15 credits)
• Environmental Law (15 credits).

Year 3

• Dissertation in a PPL topic (30 credits)
• Commercial Restitution (15 credits)
• Jurisprudence I (15 credits)
• Legal Obligation and Punishment (15 credits)
• Medical Law I (15 credits)
• Medical Law II (15 credits)
• Core Issues in Private Law (15 credits)
• Tax Law (15 credits).

Expected progression through the PPL Pathway

In Year 1, you will take eight compulsory 15 credit modules just as other LLB students.

In Year 2, you will take three core compulsory modules and one optional module in each semester. The options available include several modules on the PPL Pathway.

You may then decide to gain work experience through our award-winning Professional Training placement programme, or else progress straight to final year.

In your final year, you will take four optional modules each semester, which include a number of options from the list of PPL approved modules.

Modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that modules may be subject to teaching availability, student demand and/or class size caps.

The University operates a credit framework for all taught programmes based on a 15-credit tariff. Modules usually can be either 15, 30, 45 or 60, 75 and 120 credits, and additionally for some masters dissertations, 90 credits.

The structure of our programmes follow clear educational aims that are tailored to each programme. These are all outlined in the programme specifications which include further details such as the learning outcomes.

Timetables

Course timetables are normally available one month before the start of the semester. Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week (Monday – Friday). Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities. View our Code of practice for the scheduling of teaching and assessment (PDF).

For our core law subjects, teaching consists of weekly lectures and tutorials.

You’ll carry out extensive research into the law in preparation for tutorials. During the tutorial, you will engage in solving complex legal problems through advocacy, mooting and discussion of legal principles and rules, using legal sources as the basis of your answers and presentations.

During tutorials you will engage with varied teaching methods, drawing upon material covered in lectures and your own independent reading. Tutorials may involve traditional seminars or inquiry-based learning, and may include opportunities to debate contentious issues, and to work in teams for presentations or mooting. We offer a dynamic and inclusive teaching environment, where every student is supported in building their skills and pursuing their academic interests through our courses.

In addition, other modules (such as second and third year options) have different formats and use a range of innovative teaching methods, including seminar discussions, group work, projects and interactive learning as appropriate to the subject matter.

There may be occasions when the delivery of your teaching is supported by graduate teaching assistants. The University has a set of procedures that govern the use of postgraduate research students in this way.

We assess modules individually and award credits for the successful completion of each one. Assessment takes place through a combination of examination and/or coursework, practical examinations and reports.

Check individual module information to see full details at a module level. 

Contact hours can vary across our modules. Full details of the contact hours for each module are available from the University of Surrey's module catalogue. See the modules section for more information.