Law with Politics
Law with politics is a combination that addresses the formal rules and institutions of the legal order alongside the political processes through which those rules are made, contested, and changed. Law provides the technical framework of rights, obligations, and procedures that governs social and economic life. Politics examines how power is distributed and exercised, how legislation is produced, how governments are held to account, and how legal and political institutions interact with the societies they serve.
Together they give you both a rigorous legal education and a sophisticated understanding of law as a political and social phenomenon.
At the University of Hull this four-year programme, which includes study abroad, is recognised by both the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, meaning it provides a qualifying law degree that gives you the academic foundation for professional legal training. You will learn to think like a lawyer, carry out legal research, and apply your knowledge of legal and political science to broad social problems and challenges. The political science component deepens your understanding of the constitutional and governmental contexts in which law operates, and the study abroad element broadens your perspective on how different political and legal systems approach these questions.
Graduates from law with politics programmes pursue legal practice through the vocational routes to qualification as a solicitor or barrister, as well as careers in politics, the civil service, public affairs, journalism, policy research, and international organisations. The Bar Standards Board and SRA recognition means the degree counts towards the academic stage of legal qualification. The political science background adds value in roles where understanding the relationship between law and government is important, including regulatory work, parliamentary affairs, and policy development.
Further study at postgraduate level in law, politics, or public policy is also an option.