In year 1 you will learn the fundamentals of law, and the relationship between practice and theory. You will tackle case studies and learn the process of legal reasoning, as well as the role of law in society through Public Law, Contract Law, and Tort Law.
In years 2 and 3 you will take more advanced modules, specialising in particular areas such as Criminal Law, Nationality, Immigration and Asylum, Commercial Law, and Employment Law (to name a few).
A law degree will also equip you with essential research skills, highly valued by all employers. These are taught on the Advanced Legal Research module and can be further developed by undertaking Independent Study or Dissertation modules.
As well as legal research skills, we also teach you practical skills like advocacy and communication. These practical techniques are developed in a range of modules and are the focus of the Communication Skills for Lawyers and Law in Action modules. Additionally, you can take part in mooting competitions, client interviewing competitions, Law Society events, and other extracurricular activities.
Specialist Pathways
Employers value graduates who have in-depth knowledge of a particular area of the law. For this reason we offer two specialist pathways as well as our standard pathway. The specialist pathways are available to you in your second and third years and allow you to graduate with a named qualification in either Criminal Justice or Commercial Law and are aimed at enhancing your career prospects in those fields.
Study modules
As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the module list you choose from may vary from that shown here.
Year 1
Compulsory modules
- Foundational Legal Skills
- Legal Method
- Contract Law (double honours)
- Public Law (double honours)
- Tort (double honours)
Years 2 and 3
*indicates an alternative compulsory module
- Advanced Legal Research*
- Commercial Law
- Communication Skills for Lawyers
- Company Law
- Computer Law and Intellectual Property
- Crime and Society
- Criminal Evidence
- Criminal Law (double honours)
- Dissertation (double honours)
- Employment Law
- Equality Law
- Equity and Trusts (double honours)*
- European Union Law (double honours)
- Family Law (double honours)
- Independent Study Module
- International Human Rights Law
- International Law and Institutions
- International Trade Law
- Land Law (double honours)
- Law and Religion in the 21st Century
- Law, Environmentalism and Society
- Law in Action (double honours)
- Legal Theory and Critique
- Medical Law
- Nationality, Immigration and Asylum
- Understanding Criminal Justice
Modules in detail » Module diagrams »
Work placements
You may have the opportunity to undertake a work placement module as part of your degree through our Law in Action module. The module involves participating in a placement equivalent of approximately 28 days’ work experience. This may operate as a block of six consecutive weeks, or as one day per week depending upon the requirements of the placement organisation.
This placement module is designed to enhance your practical legal knowledge and wider transferable skills. A key focus of the module is to provide a transition from the study of law as an academic discipline, to the practice of law, and equivalent activity, in ‘real world’ contexts.
The work placements are facilitated by the university; however students are responsible for their own travel and associated costs. Most travel costs are minimal as placements are organised to be within easy reach of the campus or in local Oxford. Placements in the surrounding area, such as Witney or Abingdon, will require bus travel which can amount to between £3-8 for a return ticket.
Acceptance onto the Law in Action module is competitive and only a limited number of places are available, all subject to the availability of external placements, so not all students who apply to it are guaranteed a place.
Study abroad
You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Brookes. Most exchanges take place in the second year.
Studying abroad provides an amazing opportunity to add value to your studies by:
- increasing your employability within an international market
- boosting your language skills
- building your confidence in adapting to new situations
- improving your knowledge of different cultures.
While on exchange you will gain credits which count towards your degree.
We have more than 100 partner universities around the world. Funding is available through the Erasmus scheme, and also via some international programmes such as the Santander Student Awards.
There is also a European work placement programme which gives you the chance to work abroad as part of your studies.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.
Additional costs
Most modules included a recommended textbook. All recommended textbooks can be found in the library, however many students find it easier to buy their own copy. Textbook costs will vary dependent on which modules you take, as well as whether you buy the books new or second-hand. Full reading lists for all Law modules, along with links to book costings can be found in the library portal.
As a Law student you will be given the opportunity to take part in mooting and client interviewing competitions. The School of Law regularly enters teams into external competitions and has performed consistently well at both national and international level. Should a student need to attend national or international competitions, the Law school will cover any incurred travel expenses.
Programme changes
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published
on the website. For more information, please visit our
Changes to programmes
page.