Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods

Key information

Start date
End date
Duration
Term 1
Module code
15PLAC162
FHEQ Level
7
Department
School of Law, Gender and Media

Module overview

SOAS Law School offers an intensive 2-week preliminary online module in Law and Legal Method which is taught in September.

The purpose of this module is to provide students wishing to study law at postgraduate level in the University of London with an introduction to law, legal method and associated skills and techniques. It is designed primarily for those who do not already possess a law degree but may also be of interest to those who feel they want to get used to studying law in a UK institution.

The module is compulsory for those students taking one of the MA programmes in the School of Law at SOAS unless they gain a specific exemption from the MA programme conveners.

It is not compulsory for those registering for the LLM programme or other Masters programmes at SOAS. However, those students proposing to enrol on the LLM who do not have a law degree from a common law country should consider registering for the preliminary module as this would ease their adaptation to the study of law in a common law country or of many areas of commercial or international law.

Module

The preliminary module runs over a 2-week period immediately before the week of registration. Classes are held on a daily basis in the morning and afternoon of each week. The module is designed to provide:

  • a general introduction to UK, legal theory and international law
  • an introduction to a core area of English and Welsh Law
  • training in legal methods & legal skills
  • training in research techniques and study skills
  • an introduction of the use of online and other electronic resources
  • an introduction on how best to use library resources at SOAS and elsewhere in London
  • visits to places of legal interest where appropriate

There is no formal assessment for this module, but attendance is compulsory for those wishing to register on the MA programmes in the School of Law at SOAS.

Payment

The preliminary module fee is £350.

For MA in Law students, the fee will be included in your tuition fee.

Students on LLM or other Masters programmes (in or outside SOAS) can pay via the SOAS online store. Please make your payment.

Those who are not studying a postgraduate degree with SOAS School of Law will need to bring the receipt on the first day so that your library cards may be provided.

If you have any queries regarding this module, please contact: lawstudentsupport@soas.ac.uk.

Objectives and learning outcomes

  • To outline the major points of UK, international and comparative law;
  • To show an understanding of legal methods and related skills;
  • To access and use online and other resources to conduct research;
  • To show an understanding of research techniques and study skills for professionals.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.