Law with Quantitative Research - LLB (Hons)

Course structure

Duration: 3 years full-time (standard route), 2 years full-time (Senior Status route)

The LLB Law with Quantitative Research methods is carefully designed to take you from a basic level, with no assumed prior knowledge of quantitative methods, to a complete package of practical quantitative skills, all while gaining a thorough grounding in law.

Your quantitative research studies are completed alongside a complete grounding in law, with scope to specialise with advanced optional law modules in Stages 2 and 3.

The course structure below gives examples of the kinds of module you can expect to take during the programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

Converting to a Quantitative Research Minor after Stage 1

Students studying other undergraduate programmes in Law may convert to LLB Law with Quantitative Research after Stage 1 (subject to completion of the compulsory first year Law modules and consultation with the Director of Studies for Law or their nominee).

To catch up on the quantitative research skills learned in the first year of a quantitative research minor, converting students must attend and pass the Quant GROUP Summer School, in the summer after Stage 1, in order to be eligible to convert.

• Stage 1
• Stage 2
• Stage 3

Teaching and assessment

Kent Law School emphasises research-led teaching, which means that the modules taught are at the leading edge of new legal and policy developments. Kent Law School is renowned nationally for research quality, being ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. All of our research-active staff teach so you are taught by influential thinkers who are at the forefront of their field. We also have one of the best student-to-staff ratios in the country, which allows small, weekly seminar-group teaching in all of our core modules, where you are actively encouraged to take part.

Most Law modules are assessed by end-of-year examinations and continuous assessment, the ratio varying from module to module, with Kent encouraging and supporting the development of research and written skills. Some modules include an optional research-based dissertation that counts for 45% or, in some cases, 100% of the final mark. 

Assessment can also incorporate assessment through oral presentation and argument, often in the style of legal practice (such as mooting), and client-based work and reflection through our Law Clinic.

For the Quantitative Research modules, in addition to learning through lectures, seminars, workshops, project supervision, and statistics classes, you have opportunities for hands-on research in the ‘field’ through placements and field trips. Most modules are assessed by examination and coursework in equal measure.

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

• attract and meet the needs of both those contemplating a career in the legal professions and those motivated primarily by an intellectual interest in law and legal issues
• provide a sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the principal institutions and procedures of the English legal system
• provide a sound grounding in the major concepts and principles of English law, the law of the European Union, and the European Convention on Human Rights
• develop a critical awareness of law in its historical, socio-economic and political contexts, and to introduce students to a range of different theoretical approaches to the study of law
• offer a range of modules covering the foundations of legal knowledge, as defined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board, which will enable students who successfully complete them to obtain a qualifying law degree
• offer a range of options to enable students to study some selected areas of areas of law in depth
• provide teaching which is informed by current research and scholarship and which requires students to engage with aspects of work at the frontiers of knowledge
• offer the opportunity to acquire direct experience of legal practice and to critically reflect on it through participation in the University Law Clinic
• enable students to manage their own learning and to carry out independent research, including research into areas of law they have not previously studied
• develop general critical, analytical and problem-solving skills that can be applied in a wide range of different legal and non-legal settings
• provide opportunities for the development of personal, communication, research and other key skills appropriate for graduate employment both in the legal professions and other fields
• provide a pioneering educational opportunity within the UK context combined with student engagement in a range of disciplines, enabling students to progress into high-level careers and related postgraduate opportunities
• provide students with the statistical and analytical tools to independently and successfully conduct advanced quantitative research
• help students make persuasive arguments using quantitative research, and to critically assess the arguments made by others within legal and non-legal settings
• help students link theoretical knowledge with empirical enquiry, so that they understand how to conduct and critique social research in the real world.  

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

• the principal features of the English legal system, including its institutions, procedures and sources of law
• the concepts, principles and rules of a substantial range of English legal subjects, including an in-depth knowledge of some areas of law and, depending on options, an in-depth knowledge of the law of the European Union, international law and comparative law
• the relationship between law and the historical, socio-economic and political contexts in which it operates
• a range of theoretical and critical perspectives that can be applied to the study of law
• a cross-disciplinary approach to qualitative and particularly advanced quantitative reasoning and the application of these methods to the analysis of complex societal problems
• the principal sources of social sciences information and data relevant to law and socio-legal studies.

Intellectual skills

You develop the intellectual skills to:

• effectively apply knowledge to analyse complex issues
• recognise and rank items and issues in terms of their relevance and importance
• collect and synthesise information from a variety of sources
• formulate and sustain a complex argument, supporting it with appropriate evidence
• recognise potential alternative solutions to particular problems and make a reasoned choice between them
• independently acquire knowledge and understanding in areas, both legal and non-legal, not previously studied
• demonstrate an independence of mind and an ability to critically challenge received understandings and conclusions
• reflect constructively on your learning processes
• appropriately use quantitative analytical methods – including advanced methods – in handling, analysing and presenting statistical data across relevant disciplines.

Subject-specific skills

You gain the subject-specific skills to:

• recognise the legal issues arising in a complex factual situation
• identify and apply the case and statute law relevant to it
• provide an informed and reasoned opinion on the possible legal actions arising from it, and their likelihood of success
• identify the legal and related issues that require to be researched
• effectively locate and use primary and secondary legal and other relevant sources
• conduct independent legal research using a range of resources, both paper and electronic
• critically evaluate an area of law both doctrinally and in terms of its socio-economic and other consequences
• handle and interpret quantitative evidence in differing intellectual contexts
• construct arguments within law and socio-legal studies using quantitative empirical evidence.

Transferable skills

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• use the English language, both orally and in writing in relation to legal matters and generally, with care, accuracy and effectiveness
• engage constructively and effectively in arguments and discussions of complex matters
• give a clear and coherent presentation on a topic using appropriate supporting materials
• read complex legal and non-legal materials and summarise them accurately
• employ correct legal terminology and correct methods of citation and referencing for legal and other academic materials
• produce work in appropriate formats
• work collaboratively in groups to achieve defined tasks, to respond to different points of view and to negotiate outcomes
• present and evaluate information in a numerical or statistical form
• word-process their work and use a range of electronic databases and other information sources
• make appropriate use of analytical methods – including advanced methods – in handling, analysing and presenting statistical data in diverse real-world settings
• use IT and software to word-process, store, retrieve and analyse quantitative data and conduct various forms of computer-based analysis.

Careers

Graduate destinations

Law graduates can go into a variety of careers. Possible career paths include:

• solicitor or barrister in a private practice
• company lawyer
• legal work within government
• legal work within the charity and NGO sector
• non-legal careers, such as banking, finance and management.

The quantitative skills gained in the LLB Law with Quantitative Research programme help set you apart from the crowd as a multi-skilled graduate able to analyse, interpret and explain quantitative data. These attributes are invaluable in the field of law; the rise in the availability and use of data means that quantitative skills are also increasingly in demand in a range of other fields, including business, finance, government, the civil service, journalism and the media.

Help finding a job

Kent Law School has an active careers programme – leading law firms and prominent members of the legal profession visit the University to meet our students. We also work with employers to create work placement opportunities for our students.

The Law School's dedicated Employability and Careers Development Officer can give you advice on how to:

• apply for jobs
• write a good CV
• perform well in interviews.

You also have access to the University's friendly Careers and Employability Service.

Work experience

Our award-winning Kent Law Clinic gives local people access to free legal advice and representation. As a student, this gives you the chance to work on real cases under the guidance of qualified lawyers. You take on clients and sometimes have the chance to act as the client’s advocate in court or at a legal tribunal.

One of the particular strengths of this programme is the opportunity to complete a quantitative work placement as part of your degree. Workplace experience is highly valued by employers, and the placements offered involve applying quantitative analysis for business and organisations across a range of sectors, giving you the opportunity to add concrete workplace achievements to your CV.

Career-enhancing skills

Our approach to law helps you to develop:

• a detailed knowledge of the law
• sophisticated legal research and writing skills
• practical skills in mediation, negotiation and interviewing clients.

On this programme you also gain and develop advanced quantitative research skills through modules that offer specialist training in cutting-edge techniques, as well as training in how to understand, explain and critique data in diverse real-world settings.

You gain intellectual, analytical and practical skills that are vital to lawyers but also useful in many other professions. These include the ability to:

• think critically
• communicate your ideas and opinions
• manage your time effectively
• work independently or as part of a team.

You can also gain extra skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.

Professional recognition

Our degree programmes contain the foundations of legal knowledge required by the Bar Standards Board to satisfy the academic component of professional training for intending barristers. For entrants in 2020 who wish to qualify as a solicitor, our programmes can lead to the award of a Qualifying Law Degree, validated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. They also provide a strong foundation for students who may wish to take the Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (SQE) in the future.
 
Our critical approach to law and legal practice enables students to develop creative intellectual and transferable skills which prepare them for contemporary legal practice – in the UK and worldwide, and for successful careers in many fields.