Law with Criminology with Foundation Year
Law with criminology is a degree that combines the formal study of the English legal system with the social scientific inquiry into crime, criminal behaviour and criminal justice. Law provides the doctrinal knowledge of how legal rules are structured, interpreted and applied in courts and other settings, and develops the skills of legal reasoning, problem-solving and professional analysis that legal careers require. Criminology complements this by asking why crime happens, how it is experienced, and whether the systems of policing, prosecution, punishment and rehabilitation that society deploys in response are effective and just.
Together they offer a more complete understanding of the relationship between law and social life than either discipline alone provides.
At the University of Keele, this four-year LLB with foundation year is designed to give you a theoretical and practical understanding of crime and its contemporary issues alongside a firm foundation in law. The foundation year builds your academic skills and contextual knowledge before you progress into the full degree. You will develop key competencies in investigation, problem-solving and critical analysis, with hands-on learning that prepares you for careers in law or related fields.
The criminology dimension enriches your legal training with an understanding of prisons and probation, criminal justice policy and the sociological perspectives on offending and social control.
Graduates with this combination are well placed for careers in law, criminal justice and the broader public and voluntary sectors. Many graduates proceed to qualify as solicitors or barristers through the relevant professional routes, while others move into work in the criminal justice system, including the police, probation service, Crown Prosecution Service, victim support and legal advice organisations. Social work, policy research, criminological research and roles in the third sector are also common directions.
Postgraduate study in criminology, socio-legal studies or criminal justice is a natural further step for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.