LLB Law (part-time)
ApplyKey facts
- UCAS Code: M321
- Accreditation: Law Society of Scotland
Applications: direct to the University
Study with us
- gain practical court-room experience through the Mooting Society and enter competitions
- develop your legal skills as a member of Scotland’s largest student-run Law Clinic
- benefit from high-quality research-led teaching at one of Scotland’s leading providers of legal education
- classes delivered during the day with fortnightly tutorials at flexible times
Why this course?
Our part-time LLB Law degree is delivered during the day with fortnightly tutorials at flexible times.
The LLB course is open to you if you want to enter university for the first time after a period out of formal education (adult returners) and to those who already hold a degree in another discipline (graduate entrants).
Part-time study of the LLB normally takes five years (four for graduate entrants).
As a part-time law student at Strathclyde, you'll benefit from being taught by expert academic staff in a friendly and supportive environment. You'll also have access to the same excellent library and other university facilities as full-time students and can take advantage of extra-curricular opportunities, such as Strathclyde’s award-winning Law Clinic and our mooting programme.
What you'll study
At the end of the period of study, you'll graduate with a qualifying ordinary degree in Scots Law, recognised by the Law Society of Scotland as a necessary precondition for entry into the Scottish legal profession. Opportunities exist for further honours level study, and to progress to the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice.
Facilities
Law Clinic
Strathclyde’s Law Clinic is run by students for members of the public who cannot afford a lawyer and are not eligible for legal aid.
More than 200 of our students are now involved and regularly represent clients in Small Claims and Sheriff Courts.
Students receive basic training in legal skills, such as interviewing, negotiation and advocacy and (in the Clinical Legal Practice course) reflecting on experiences and on the ethics and justice of legal practice. Assessment in relevant courses such as Employment Law and Housing Law will be partly on the basis of students’ handling of cases.
Find out more about our Law Clinic.
Taking on a part-time LLB was a huge decision for me, but one I have never regretted. The course has been stimulating and the flexibility of undertaking it on a part-time basis has allowed me to fit it around my work and family commitments.
Lesley Finlayson
Part-Time LLB Graduate Entrant
How to become a lawyer
There are different routes to a career in law. The choices you make now can affect the steps you would need to take to achieve your desired career in law. Here we explore the process of becoming a lawyer in Scotland and look at the different roles available within the law profession.
How to become a lawyer
Course content
In order to graduate from the part-time LLB, you must obtain passes in classes worth 360 credits.
Each class is worth 20 credits and part-time students take four classes per year, with the exception of the final year of study when you're required to take 40 credits and have the option of taking an additional two elective classes.
Adult returners normally complete the degree in five years. Graduate entrants are awarded 80 credits on entry in recognition of their prior study on entry, and so normally complete the degree in four years.
Subject to satisfactory progress, both adult returners and graduate entrants have the option of applying to accelerate their studies by one year.
Year 1
Criminal Law
This course considers everything from the theory of why and how someone is held responsible for criminal actions, to many specific crimes, including murder, the less serious crimes of personal violence, crimes of dishonesty, breach of the peace and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Legal Methods
The aims of this class are to:
- provide you with a basic knowledge of the history, structure and institutions of the Scottish legal system
- provide you with the skills required to find, interpret and analyse the law applicable in Scotland, from all their various sources
- introduce you to competing conceptions of law
- introduce you to legal reasoning
Legal Process
- enable students to comprehend the structure, function, operation and proposals for reform of the courts and tribunals in Scotland
- introduce students to the institutions and people involved in legal processes in Scotland
- expose students to an established body of socio-legal scholarship on legal process and to encourage students to use this knowledge to critically assess liberal rule of law ideology
- consider the professional personnel who inhabit the legal world and to examine within broader social and comparative context their respective roles and functions, their recruitment, training, complaints procedures and disciplinary sanctions
- explore on a comparative basis social, political and economic issues in relation to the provision of legal services in Scotland
Public Law 1
The aims of this class are to develop knowledge and critical analysis of:
- the nature of the United Kingdom constitution, including the ways in which the constitution has changed in recent decades, and key proposals for further reform
- the sources of constitutional rules, both legal and non-legal
- the central principles of the constitution, including democracy, the rule of law, the separation of powers, the sovereignty of Parliament, responsible government, and fundamental human rights
- the structure, composition, functions and powers of legislative, executive and judicial institutions in Scotland and the United Kingdom
- the impact of European Union membership on the location of power within the United Kingdom constitution, and of the relevance of European human rights law
Year 2
Law & Society
This class engages with some challenging problems faced by law within contemporary society. It introduces students to some aspects of the social, political, and ethical conditions in which law operates. It deals with the interaction of law with justice, politics, morals and equality. The course will examine the role and challenges of law in times of social change. The course is structured around three key themes:
- legal reasoning
- law & politics
- law & social change
Public Law 2
Following on from Public Law 1, Public Law 2 aims to consolidate knowledge and understanding of constitutional and administrative law. Students taking this class will be required to have taken Public Law 1 in the first year. It'll build upon knowledge of the key concepts and institutions of the UK constitution.
As a second year class, its rationale is to give you the opportunity to progress from an understanding of the constitution to an understanding of the role of the law in the constitutional control of public power. This course encourages you to adopt an evaluative and critical stance towards ongoing constitutional developments. The course will focus on control of administrative action, both by the judiciary and by ombudsmen. The protection of individual rights will be a key feature, focusing on judicial protection but also encompassing the role of human rights institutions in the UK and Scotland. The future control of public power will be discussed, including topical debates concerning constitutional reform in this area.
Voluntary Obligations: Contract & Promises
While the most obvious aim of this course is to familiarise students with Scottish contract law and voluntary obligations, this aim may be divided into a number of sub-aims. They are as follows:
- to place voluntary obligations within the general framework of Scots Law
- to place the Scots law of voluntary obligations within its European context
- to analyse and explain how contracts and promises are formed
- to analyse and explain how voluntary obligations may be vitiated and on what grounds their validity may be challenged
- to analyse and explain the substance of contracts and how the inclusion and exclusion of rights and liabilities is circumscribed by law
- to analyse and explain how contracts break down or otherwise come to an end and the remedies available when they do
Involuntary Obligations: Delict & Unjustified Enrichment
The design of this class is primarily aimed at enhancing your ability to read cases, deal with case law and apply the techniques of case-analysis and common law development.
You'll acquire an in-depth and up-to-date knowledge and understanding, from both a legal and a social perspective, of the rules of law governing involuntary obligations, that is to say the law of delict and the law of unjustified enrichment.
You'll acquire the ability to apply the rules of law to particular fact situations in order to provide definitive answers to the problems exposed in these situations.
You'll develop critical and reasoning skills, giving you the ability to make and present personal and informed judgments on the rules of law and their application within the domestic legal system.
Year 3
Domestic Relations
Family law concerns the control which the law exerts over domestic relationships and families; it affects everyone to a greater or lesser degree.
Topics include:
- the legal status of children, parental responsibilities and rights and the upbringing of children - including issues in adoption and fostering, local authority care and the Children's Hearing system
- legal consequences of marriage/civil partnership
- divorce - including what happens to the family and its financial consequences
- unmarried domestic relations, opposite-sex and same-sex
Commercial Law
Commercial law is a second year compulsory subject on the LLB (and LML) degree. The class provides you with an understanding of commercial law in a Scottish context. It partially meets the commercial law subject requirements and related skills outcomes of the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates (albeit that some of the commercial professional topics, eg sale of goods and insurance law, are dealt with by other courses).
Building on the knowledge you acquire in first year, the general academic objective of the course is to examine the basic principles and rules concerning core aspects of commercial law, including the main principles of agency, partnership and company law, the law relating to various methods of payment (including consumer credit and bills of exchange) the rules governing the ways in which creditors can ‘secure’ repayment of a debt (eg through taking personal guarantees from third parties for repayment of the debt, or by establishing rights in security over debtor property); the basic principles of diligence; the consequences of both corporate and individual debtor inability to repay debts (corporate insolvency and personal bankruptcy respectively).
While the focus of the class is on ‘a black letter’ analysis of relevant statutory and common law in the broad commercial area, in order to aid understanding of relevant principles, the class also examines the policy rationales underlying the current law and recent and projected reforms in this area.
Property Trusts & Succession
The general rationale of this class is to provide you with a contemporary understanding of the law of property, trusts and succession in Scotland, and to meet Law Society of Scotland requirements in this subject-area.
EU Law
The EU law class focuses on the constitutional and institutional order of the EU as well as on the internal market. To this end, the class looks at the European integration process, the EU institutions, EU competences, the decision-making process within the EU, the principles underpinning the EU legal order and the principles governing the internal market.
Year 4
Reflective Project
This project aims to encourage independent learning by allowing the student space to design their own project on a matter of legal import that interests them. This will enhance students’ ability to undertake independent learning, and to ensure that they take a reflective approach to their work while at the same time developing a consciousness of the ethical dimensions of professional legal practice.
Elective Classes
You'll take a choice of three elective classes at this stage. These classes are subject to change year on year and will be made available once the semester begins.
Year 5
Elective classes
You'll take a choice of two elective classes to complete the degree.
Additional classes
You'll have the option of taking two additional classes - this is not compulsory to complete the degree.
Year 2
Criminal Law
This course considers everything from the theory of why and how someone is held responsible for criminal actions, to many specific crimes, including murder, the less serious crimes of personal violence, crimes of dishonesty, breach of the peace and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Legal Methods
The aims of this class are to:
- provide students with a basic knowledge of the history, structure and institutions of the Scottish legal system
- provide students with the skills required to find, interpret and analyse the law applicable in Scotland, from all their various sources
- introduce students to competing conceptions of law
- introduce students to legal reasoning
Legal Process
The aims of this class are to:
- enable students to comprehend the structure, function, operation and proposals for reform of the courts and tribunals in Scotland
- introduce students to the institutions and people involved in legal processes in Scotland
- expose students to an established body of socio-legal scholarship on legal process and to encourage students to use this knowledge to critically assess liberal rule of law ideology
- consider the professional personnel who inhabit the legal world and to examine within broader social and comparative context their respective roles and functions, their recruitment, training, complaints procedures and disciplinary sanctions
- explore on a comparative basis social, political and economic issues in relation to the provision of legal services in Scotland
Public Law 1
Following on from the introduction to the constitution – its key actors, institutions and their functions – in Public Law 1, students taking Public Law 2 will build upon that knowledge here: first by focusing on the ways in which legal (judicial review) and quasi-legal (tribunals, public inquiries, ombudsmen) bodies supervise the exercise of constitutional and administrative decision making; secondly, by a detailed analysis of the political and legal mechanisms which exist for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. As such, Public Law 2 is concerned with the abuse of power, and the ways and means by which power can be limited and held to account – whether that is the power of a golf club to suspend an unruly member, the power of a local authority to order the compulsory purchase of privately owned property, or the power of the Prime Minister to wage war.
Year 3
Law & Society
This class engages with some challenging problems faced by law within contemporary society. It introduces students to some aspects of the social, political, and ethical conditions in which law operates. It deals with the interaction of law with justice, politics, morals and equality. The course will examine the role and challenges of law in times of social change. The course is structured around three key themes:
- legal reasoning
- law & politics
- law & social change
Public Law 2
Following on from Public Law 1, Public Law 2 aims to consolidate knowledge and understanding of constitutional and administrative law. Students taking this class will require to have taken Public Law 1 in the first year. It'll build upon knowledge of the key concepts and institutions of the UK constitution. As a second year class, its rationale is to give students the opportunity to progress from an understanding of the constitution to an understanding of the role of the law in the constitutional control of public power. This course encourages students to adopt an evaluative and critical stance towards ongoing constitutional developments. The course will focus on control of administrative action, both by the judiciary and by ombudsmen. The protection of individual rights will be a key feature, focusing on judicial protection but also encompassing the role of human rights institutions in the UK and Scotland. The future control of public power will be discussed, including topical debates concerning constitutional reform in this area.
Voluntary Obligations: Contract & Promises
While the most obvious aim of this course is to familiarise students with Scottish contract law and voluntary obligations, this aim may be divided into a number of sub-aims. They are as follows:
- to place voluntary obligations within the general framework of Scots Law
- to place the Scots law of voluntary obligations within its European context
- to analyse and explain how contracts and promises are formed
- to analyse and explain how voluntary obligations may be vitiated and on what grounds their validity may be challenged
- to analyse and explain the substance of contracts and how the inclusion and exclusion of rights and liabilities is circumscribed by law
- to analyse and explain how contracts break down or otherwise come to an end and the remedies available when they do
Involuntary Obligations: Delict & Unjustified Enrichment
The design of this class is primarily aimed at enhancing students’ ability to read cases, deal with case law and apply the techniques of case-analysis and common law development.
The student will acquire an in-depth and up to date knowledge and understanding, from both a legal and a social perspective, of the rules of law governing involuntary obligations, that is to say the law of delict and the law of unjustified enrichment.
Students will acquire the ability to apply the rules of law to particular fact situations in order to provide definitive answers to the problems exposed in these situations.
Students will develop critical and reasoning skills, that is an ability to make and present personal and informed judgments on the rules of law and their application within the domestic legal system.
Year 4
Domestic Relations
Family law concerns the control which the law exerts over domestic relationships and families; it affects everyone to a greater or lesser degree.
Topics include:
- the legal status of children, parental responsibilities and rights and the upbringing of children - including issues in adoption and fostering, local authority care and the Children's Hearing system
- legal consequences of marriage/civil partnership
- divorce - including what happens to the family and its financial consequences
- unmarried domestic relations, opposite-sex and same-sex
Commercial Law
Commercial law is a second year compulsory subject on the LLB (and LML) degree. The class provides students with an understanding of commercial law in a Scottish context. It partially meets the commercial law subject requirements and related skills outcomes of the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates (albeit that some of the commercial professional topics, eg sale of goods and insurance law, are dealt with by other courses).
Building on the knowledge acquired by students in first year, the general academic objective of the course is to examine the basic principles and rules concerning core aspects of commercial law, including the main principles of agency, partnership and company law, the law relating to various methods of payment (including consumer credit and bills of exchange) the rules governing the ways in which creditors can ‘secure’ repayment of a debt (eg through taking personal guarantees from third parties for repayment of the debt, or by establishing rights in security over debtor property); the basic principles of diligence; the consequences of both corporate and individual debtor inability to repay debts (corporate insolvency and personal bankruptcy respectively).
While the focus of the class is on ‘a black letter’ analysis of relevant statutory and common law in the broad commercial area, in order to aid understanding of relevant principles, the class also examines the policy rationales underlying the current law and recent and projected reforms in this area.
Property Trusts & Succession
The general rationale of this class is to provide students with a contemporary understanding of the law of property, trusts and succession in Scotland, and to meet Law Society of Scotland requirements in this subject-area.
EU Law
The EU law class focuses on the constitutional and institutional order of the EU as well as on the internal market. To this end, the class looks at the European integration process, the EU institutions, EU competences, the decision-making process within the EU, the principles underpinning the EU legal order and the principles governing the internal market.
Year 5
Evidence
The main focus of the course is on providing an overview of how the handling and proving of facts works in law and how this interacts with the law of evidence. The emphasis is on understanding and application, rather than the learning of the specific details of legal rules.
The course has three general academic aims:
- to introduce students to theoretical and practical issues relating to the use and proof of facts in the Scottish legal system
- introduce students to the central concepts, rules and principles of the Scots law of Evidence
- give students an understanding of the interrelationship between the theory, practice and law relating to the use and proof of facts in the Scottish legal system
Elective classes
You'll have the choice of taking one elective class at this stage.
Additional classes
You'll have the option of taking two additional classes at this stage. This is not compulsory for the degree.
Assessment
Exams and other assessments take place at the end of each semester. You're expected to be available throughout each semester and exam period, and should not book holidays or make other commitments during those times.
Learning & teaching
The academic year is split into two twelve-week semesters. Part-time LLB students take two classes each semester. The academic year normally runs from the end of September until June. Exact semester dates and university holidays are specified in the university calendar.
Entry requirements
Adult returners
Adult returners are people who have had time out of formal education before applying to university. To be considered an adult returner:
- there must be a gap of at least three years between you completing secondary education and applying to university
- you must be at least 21 years old on the date the course starts
- you must show evidence of academic attainment within the past five years
| Highers | Four Highers at BBBB, preferably including English and other essay-based humanities subjects, taken in one sitting. In exceptional circumstances, Highers taken over two sittings may be accepted, but the entry requirement may be higher. If Highers were taken over several years, applicants must demonstrate that they have the capacity to cope with two Highers in one year, and to cope with taking Highers in several disciplines. |
|---|---|
| A Levels | Two A levels in relevant subjects at BB. AS levels are not acceptable. The applicant has to demonstrate that they could cope with the range of subjects taken in first year. A level General Studies is not normally accepted. |
| HNC/HND | HND in Legal Studies Award with AABB in the Integrative Assessments; or 11 Merit passes; or AAB in the Graded Units. Other HND courses may be considered. A detailed syllabus should be sent when applying. |
| Open University | Two full Open University units amounting to no fewer than 60 credit points in a relevant discipline (comprising one Foundation unit and another unit in Humanities or Social Science) |
| Strathclyde Pre Entry Certificate Course | Award of Strathclyde Pre-entry Certificate with a final mark of 70% overall from three modules including Law, English and one other. Law and English final mark of at least 60% in each. We also welcome applications from applicants who have undertaken a similar Pre-entry Certificate at another university. These will be looked at on an individual basis. |
| Other Qualifications | The Law School may also admit applicants whose qualifications do not conform to the above requirements but who present other evidence that indicates to the academic selector that they have the capacity and commitment to pursue the course of study e.g. Police Sergeant Exams, relevant Paralegal course, other professional qualifications obtained in employment. |
| Graduate entrants (part-time LLB route only) | Successful applicants must have an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Normally, applicants should have a First or second-class Honours degree or an Ordinary degree which demonstrates strong academic achievement. Students who do not meet these requirements may be considered at the discretion of the academic selector and may be asked to sit the Mature Entry Test (see above). All applicants must be at least 21 years old on start date of the course. |
| Mature entry test | If your qualifications are more than five years old, you may be invited to sit the Mature Entry Test (MET). Exceptional candidates who do not otherwise meet the entry requirements may also be invited to sit the MET. In general the more mature the candidate, the more likely it is that the Pre-Entry Certificate course rather than the MET would be the appropriate route for entry. Applicants invited to sit the MET will take the test at Strathclyde University at a mutually convenient time to be arranged. Candidates will be required to write three short essays on a range of topical legal issues under examination conditions. No prior legal knowledge is required. The test is designed to assess your writing and reasoning skills, and your ability to present coherent arguments. A candidate who, in the opinion of the course selector, passes the MET will normally be made an offer. |
Further information
If you wish to discuss our entry requirements further, please telephone +44 (0)141 548 3738 or email hass-courses-law@strath.ac.uk.
Widening access
We want to increase opportunities for people from every background. Strathclyde selects our students based on merit, potential and the ability to benefit from the education we offer. We look for more than just your grades. We consider the circumstances of your education and will make lower offers to certain applicants as a result.
International students
We've a thriving international community with students coming here to study from over 100 countries across the world. Find out all you need to know about studying in Glasgow at Strathclyde and hear from students about their experiences.
Visit our international students' section
Fees & funding
All fees quoted are per academic year unless stated otherwise.
Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.
All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.
Annual revision of fees
Students on programmes of study of more than one year should be aware that tuition fees are revised annually and may increase in subsequent years of study. Annual increases will generally reflect UK inflation rates and increases to programme delivery costs.
| Part-time adult returner | £3,500 Part-time adult returner accelerated stream
|
|---|---|
| Graduate entrant | £4,250 Graduate entrant accelerated stream
|
| Additional costs | No additional costs for law modules and all compulsory material is in the library. International studentsInternational students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information. |
| Available scholarships | Take a look at our scholarships search for funding opportunities. |
Please note:
- fees are payable for each year of study. Fees may be subject to an annual increase
- students can opt to pay their fees in three instalments, due at registration, in December and in March
- the stated fees apply to students from Scotland, the rest of the UK, and the European Union. International students will not normally be granted a visa for part-time study
- students who opt to accelerate their studies will be liable to pay a higher fee
Funding
Adult returners may be eligible for a part-time fee grant from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).
Graduate entrants are not normally eligible for funding via SAAS and may wish to consider Employer Sponsorship or Graduate Development Loans.
Additional advice on funding may be obtained from:
How can I fund my studies?
Dean's International Excellence Award 2023/24
Students from Scotland
If you're a Scottish student, you may be able to apply to the Student Award Agency Scotland (SAAS) for a Part-Time Fee Grant (PTFG) help towards your tuition fees.
For more information on funding your studies have a look at our University Funding page.
Students from England
If you’re a student from England, you may be able to apply to Student Finance England for a tuition fee loan and depending on your circumstances a living cost loan.
Visit the Student Room for more information on Part-Time Funding from Student Finance England.
Students from Wales
If you’re a student from Wales, you may be able to apply to Student Finance Wales for a tuition fee loan and depending on your circumstances a living cost loan.
Visit the Student Finance Wales website for more information on Part-Time Funding from Student Finance Wales.
Students from Northern Ireland
If you’re a student from Northern Ireland, you may be able to apply to Student Finance NI for a tuition fee loan and/or grant, and depending on your circumstances a living cost grant.
Visit the Student Finance NI website for more information on Part-Time Funding from Student Finance NI.
International Students
We have a number of scholarships available to international students. Take a look at our scholarship search to find out more.
Glasgow is Scotland's biggest & most cosmopolitan city
Our campus is based right in the very heart of Glasgow. We're in the city centre, next to the Merchant City, both of which are great locations for sightseeing, shopping and socialising alongside your studies.
Life in Glasgow
Careers
The LLB has an obvious appeal to anyone wishing to develop a career in the legal profession. A law degree is also seen as an equally attractive option for a variety of individuals and employers in areas as diverse as teaching, public sectors, housing, administration, social and welfare services as well as commerce and industry generally.
The LLB degree is both an academic discipline worthy of study in its own right and a qualification paving the way for entry to the Scottish legal profession.
The educational route to enter the legal profession
After completion of an LLB, it is necessary to complete the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice. Places on the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice are limited and are awarded by reference to academic performance.
After completion of the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice, intending solicitors need to undertake a two-year traineeship in a law firm. Applications are made directly to law firms and there is increasing competition for traineeship places each year.
Graduates wishing to join the Scottish Bar, as an advocate, have to do a one year Bar traineeship in a solicitors firm. This is followed by nine months ‘devilling’ (training) with an existing advocate.
Further information
For further information about careers as a solicitor or an advocate, please visit the following websites:
Please also note that gaining an LLB does not guarantee a career as a solicitor or advocate. The LLB is a well-respected degree and considered to be a solid foundation for a number of different career paths.
Apply
We'd prefer at least one academic reference. If this is not possible, references from your current employer or someone who can vouch for the information on your application form will be required. Please note we cannot accept references from friends or family members.
Applicants are also required to submit copies of all qualifications (transcripts and award certificates).
Start date: Sep 2023
(1 year entry)