Newcastle University Undergraduate programs
Global Legal Studies LLB
Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
LLB
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 24,400 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
The challenges the world faces need global responses. From climate change to technological innovations, legal systems are adapting to address issues that transcend domestic borders.
On our Global Legal Studies LLB you'll develop an understanding of the complexities of law in a global context.
In addition to developing a strong grounding in the UK legal system, you'll develop a foundation in comparative law techniques, and an understanding of EU law, international law and its institutions.
On our four-year course you'll gain a strong legal foundation with a global perspective. Choose from a wide range of global facing optional modules, allowing you to pursue your interests in specialist legal areas such as:
- Global intellectual property law
- Environmental law, and
- International human rights law
With a focus on law in a global context, you’ll:
- Gain an understanding of the nature of law and its multi-disciplinary development.
- Develop expertise in analysis, legal research and legal argumentation.
- Study key topics across EU and international law, and draw on experiences in other jurisdictions through comparative law perspectives.
- Gain disciplinary insights into different legal systems and legal cultures from around the world.
- Interact with leading experts across the fields of global public and private law and delve into specialist subjects on how law responds to contemporary challenges.
You'll spend year three at one of our prestigious international partner universities. This means you’ll graduate with an LLB and can draw on the experiences and skills developed during your international exchange year, strengthening your prospects with graduate recruiters.
Stage 1
In Stage 1 of this programme, you will be introduced to Global Law. You will develop an overview of the challenges facing the international legal system and the institutions working within it. You’ll review case studies from Newcastle Law School researchers, focussing on environmental challenges and technical innovation.
During Stage 1 you’ll study compulsory modules where you’ll be introduced to the foundations of legal studies. Stage 1 modules provide you with the skills and legal techniques to develop your legal thinking and expression.
Compulsory Modules
- Legal Institutions and Method
- Constitutional Law
- Contract Law
- Administrative Law and Human Rights
- The UK and EU Law
- Introduction to Global Law
Stage 2
In Stage Two, there are a number of core modules that progress from Stage 1 and complete the foundations of legal knowledge, helping you to further develop your legal skills.
During Stage 2 you’ll also study a compulsory module in Global Private Law where you’ll be introduced to international private, transnational private, comparative tort and comparative contract law, and a compulsory module in Public International Law.
Compulsory Modules
- Land Law
- Criminal Law
- General Principles of Tort
- Equity and Trusts
- Public International Law
- Introduction to Global Private Law
Stage 3
You’ll spend Stage 3 of your degree studying at one of our international partner institutions and you’ll complete an individual-directed global research project, drawing on what you have learnt in your year abroad.
During the exchange year abroad, you’ll have the opportunity to increase your understanding and awareness of different legal systems, gain intercultural perspectives, and to demonstrate organisational ability, teamwork, and the ability to adapt, and to operate in a different culture.
Stage 4
Stage 4 will allow you to select modules from a range of optional modules, plus a compulsory module in Global Constitutional Law.
You will take 100 credits of optional modules. Up to 40 of these credits can be non-Law modules (highlighted with an * below), subject to DPD approval. This will enable you to take up a subject relevant to your career goals, or academic interests.
Compulsory Modules
- LAW3053: Global Constitutional Law
- Global Top 130 University - QS World University Rankings 2025
- 65% increase in research power since 2014 – Research Excellence Framework 2021
- 42% of our research is classified as 4* world-leading research – Research Excellence Framework 2021
- Top 25 in the UK and Top 100 in the world for sustainable development – Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024
- Top 200 for Law – Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2025
- Global Top 170 University - Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024
The Global Legal Studies LLB will prepare you for a career in the globalised legal space.
Law firms are going increasingly global, operating across many jurisdictions, and working with clients around the world. A Global Legal Studies LLB will help you respond to these demands of law in practice.
You'll learn through a combination of:
- lectures
- seminars
- interactive workshops
In lectures, you should engage with the delivered content. You'll do this through note-taking and active participation in the large group format. The subject specialists provide a guided path through the module to support student learning and understanding.
In seminars and workshops, you'll discuss legal issues. You'll work through problem questions or debates regarding the effectiveness, desirability or clarity of law in a particular area in small groups. Discussions will be wide-ranging, such as:
- the likely outcome of a scenario concerning the breach of contractual terms in a construction contract
- the ways in which the legal profession are adapting to changing cultural and ethical standards
- what the study of literary works can tell us about the way that law is perceived by society
To get the most out of these sessions you'll prepare individually. Independent study and research are central to the skills required of a law degree and in many of the professional careers desired by law graduates. The emphasis on the following skills are essential for excellent degree outcomes:
- self-guided study
- engagement with a wider body of legal and academic materials
- a genuine curiosity
Law is about reflection, debate and argumentation. Student engagement with seminars and other interactive sessions are fundamental to this.