Law

Law is the study of the rules and principles that govern relationships between individuals, organisations, and the state, and of the institutions and processes through which those rules are made and applied. It is an intellectually demanding discipline that trains close reading of complex texts, logical reasoning, the identification of relevant principles from detailed facts, and the ability to construct and evaluate arguments with rigour and precision.

At the University of Chester this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, which provides the academic foundations and legal literacy needed before you engage with the main law degree. The foundation year is designed for students who have the intellectual ability and interest to study law but who would benefit from a bridging period before degree-level study, making the programme accessible to a wider range of backgrounds than a three-year law degree alone.

In the main degree you will study the core areas of English law, including contract, tort, criminal law, constitutional and administrative law, land law, and equity and trusts, alongside jurisprudence and a range of optional modules reflecting the full breadth of the legal system. You will develop the capacity to read cases and statutes carefully, to apply legal principles to new fact situations, and to communicate legal reasoning clearly and precisely, in writing and in oral advocacy.

Law graduates go on to careers as solicitors, barristers, legal executives, and in-house counsel, as well as in business, the civil service, politics, journalism, human rights, and international organisations. The analytical and communication skills developed in the law degree are valued across many fields, not only in legal practice. Many also continue to postgraduate study in law or to professional legal qualifications.