University of Sussex
MA in Law

Brighton, United Kingdom

DEGREE TYPE

DURATION

1 year

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

Key Summary

About : The MA in Law offers an in-depth understanding of legal principles and frameworks. This postgraduate programme focuses on critical thinking, legal analysis, and research skills. Students engage with various areas of law, enhancing their knowledge and application of legal concepts. The course typically spans one year full-time or two years part-time, accommodating different study preferences.

Career Outcomes : Graduates of the MA in Law can pursue various career paths, including roles as legal consultants, compliance officers, or policy advisors. Other opportunities may include working in government, NGOs, or further academic research. This programme provides a solid foundation for those looking to advance in the legal field or enter related sectors.

Are you a non-law graduate looking for a law conversion course to get up to speed with a range of legal concepts?

This course offers you the opportunity to gain a Masters in Law so you’re prepared for many different career options. Replacing the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/Common Professional Examination (CPE), this degree focuses on the key areas of the law in England and Wales and provides a solid foundation for preparing for the first stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), or training for the Bar.

During your studies, you’ll develop legal awareness and have opportunities to take part in skills training – such as learning how to moot, interview clients and negotiate – while engaging in informed discussion of the law. You’ll also experience some of the approaches used in vocational legal training such as the SQE.

When you graduate, you’ll be prepared for a range of career options including:

qualifying as a solicitor
qualifying as a barrister
undertaking legal research
undertaking further study.

Accreditation

This course satisfies the academic component / GDL requirements of Bar training (subject to minimum pass marks and number of attempts). This degree acts as a gateway to further qualification as both a solicitor and a barrister. The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) must be taken by graduates wishing to become a solicitor.

This course satisfies the academic component for BSB purposes (subject to minimum pass marks and number of attempts).
This course satisfies the academic component for SRA purposes (subject to minimum pass marks and number of attempts).

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities described in this prospectus. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to government or regulatory requirements, or unanticipated staff changes, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

MA or Graduate Diploma?

If you wish to graduate with the MA, you start work on your dissertation in the spring term and submit it in the summer.

You also have the option to finish your degree before the summer with a Diploma, which will give you the same scope to proceed to the next stage of legal qualification as a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL).

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

Autumn teaching

Advanced Legal Research and Writing
English Legal System and Skills
Equity and Trusts
Public Law

Spring teaching

Contract Law
Criminal Law
Land Law
Tort Law

Spring and summer teaching

Dissertation

Options

Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

Autumn teaching

Constitutional Foundations of the European Union
Dispute Resolution Processes: Theory and Practice

Spring teaching

Business Law
Law of Succession (Spr)
Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.

Check back in January 2024 for the modules running in the academic year 2024/25.