Law with Criminal Investigation Bachelor of Law (with Honours) - LLB (Hons)

The distinctive aspect of this programme is that it combines the study of Law with knowledge and understanding of key concepts and professional practices in the field of Criminal Investigation. Where students wish to proceed to qualification in the legal professions in England and Wales, the course allows you to proceed with confidence to the next stages of training. It is recognised, however, that the majority of graduates from LLB courses do not proceed to qualification and/or practice in the legal professions.  Graduates from this course are therefore equipped with the knowledge and transferable skills required to enter graduate employment in a range of fields related to Law, Criminal Investigation, and beyond.   

The programme draws on the programme structure of the standard LLB degree offered by the University of Staffordshire and is constructed from existing modules taught in Law and Policing and Criminal Investigation. The traditional ‘foundations of legal knowledge’ modules have been retained at the core stages despite the deregulation of Law degrees. The relevant subjects are: Constitutional Law, Contract Law, Tort Law (all taught at Level 4); Administrative Law, Property Law, EU Law, Law of Equity and Trusts, and Criminal Law (all taught at Level 5).   By retaining these modules, the courses provide a solid basis for each student’s personalised choices at level 6 and also permits you to proceed confidently to the SQE, Bar Practice Course, or higher stages of the CILEX professional framework if they choose.  

At both level 4 and level 5, students study 90 credits in core law modules, and one 30-credit module in Criminal Investigation (including Policing). The Criminal Investigation modules have been carefully chosen to ensure that they are accessible to Law students and do not require study of any other Policing and Criminal Investigation modules as prerequisites.   The Criminal Investigation modules at these levels focus on criminal theory and investigation of crime and interviews of suspects at the police station and will thus complement the study of Criminal Law.   

Level 6 offers you increased opportunities to consider wider social and ethical contexts for the study of Law, including in a range of global contexts. The programme combines 60 credits of options in Law - across a wide range of subjects tailored to students’ professional and academic interests – with 60 credits of core modules in Criminal Investigation. You can opt to study modules which complement skills and knowledge acquired in both disciplines; for example, having studied Introduction to Criminal Theory; and Contemporary Policing, you may opt to study Human Rights Law, which would complement the two core Criminal Investigation modules, Extreme Offenders and Public Protection, and Safeguarding.  

Students acquire the key skills for study in both subject disciplines; because you will be learning OSCOLA referencing in your Legal Skills module, additional support will be offered for Harvard referencing, as required in Criminal Investigation, through a bespoke workshop.   The university also subscribes to the interactive online referencing guide Cite Them Right, which covers both OSCOLA and Harvard referencing systems.