Law with Criminal Justice MLaw Master of Law (with Honours)

An MLaw is an integrated Masters degree and the most direct route to becoming a solicitor. If you have this particular career in mind at the end of your studies, this course could be for you.

Our MLaw Law with Criminal Justice degree will provide you with a strong foundation in the core areas of English law, combined with opportunities to develop critical understanding, practical skills and professional awareness. It also offers focused study of the criminal justice system and its operation in practice, exploring issues relating to crime, policing, criminal process and the wider social and policy contexts of justice. The programme is designed to prepare graduates for a wide range of future pathways, but in particular for the legal professions.

In your first year you’ll be introduced to the key principles of public and private law, alongside the development of essential legal skills such as legal research, case analysis and statutory interpretation. In your second and third years, you’ll have the opportunity to tailor your studies through a range of optional modules.

In your final year, you’ll undertake postgraduate study designed to prepare you for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), including the development of advanced legal knowledge relevant to SQE1 and the practical legal skills required for SQE2. Rather than further subject specialisation, this year provides a broad, practice-focused approach to professional legal training. All our MLaw degrees include coverage of the Foundations of Legal Knowledge, providing a strong academic basis for students intending to pursue qualification as a barrister.

There are also industry experience opportunities throughout, including our: Bar Futures Programme for those interested in the Bar, Panel Talks with legal professionals, Speed Interviewing with solicitors and barristers, Law Link Mentorship Scheme, and Tigers Temple – a chance to pitch solutions in exchange for a mentoring or work experience prize.

At De Montfort University, your legal career starts before you graduate. Connect with the profession, put your learning into practice and gain the experience to take your next step with confidence. Whatever comes next, you’ll graduate ready for it.

Most of our MLaw degrees have a common first year, after which you can continue on your first choice or switch to one of our specialist degrees that best fits with your interests and career goals:\
Law MLaw\
Law MLaw with Business Law\
Law MLaw with Criminology

Why choose DMU to study a Law degree?

* No 1 in the East Midlands for teaching Law – don’t take our word for it, listen to our students (NSS, law subject area, 2026)

* Boost your CV with the Law Lab Enterprise – get real-practice experience for a head start in your legal career

* No 2 in the UK and 13th in the world for legal research quality (Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2026)

* Less stress, less overload – study one block at a time, giving you more time to focus, understand and apply the law

* Get experience in the Justice Clinic – provide supervised legal advice to real clients, building your confidence, professional ID and a powerful sense of purpose

* Internationalise your DMU degree - Study abroad for a year at one of DMU’s partner universities across the globe

* Future proof your career – 96.2% of students agree that our course developed the knowledge and skills they needed for the future (NSS, law subject area, 2026)

* Textbook costs? None – we provide all the textbooks you’ll need online through Oxford Law Trove, free for you at DMU