Overview and entry requirements

The SOAS Law LLB with Year Abroad programme aims to produce highly skilled, civic minded and critically engaged graduates, who can effectively contribute to their communities and societies through the knowledge and skills gained on this course.

In an increasingly interconnected world, law is no longer the preserve of single jurisdictions as legal issues are no respecters of national borders. A SOAS Law degree addresses this need by providing our students with an educational experience that equips you with a distinctive set of skills far beyond what is offered by most traditional Law Schools.

See School of Law

Why study Law LLB with Year Abroad at SOAS

• UK Top 20 and World Top 200 for Law (QS World University Rankings 2021)
• SOAS is unique as the only higher education institution in the UK specialising in the study of Asian, Middle East and North African (MENA) and Sub-Saharan African regions
• This programme will immerse you in the legal traditions and practices of a number of global regions, which will give you a critical understanding of the role of law in the world today
• We specialise in key topics including international and transnational law, human rights, transnational commercial law, environmental law, comparative law and socio-legal method
• In common with other law schools, the degree program will result in our students obtaining a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD), allowing you to pursue a career in legal practice should you wish to do so
• We are specialists in the delivery of more than forty African and Asian languages. Your command of a language will set you apart from graduates of other universities
• You will be able to flexibly structure your programme using our Open Options modules to take advantage of the expertise of our other departments, including the opportunity to learn a regional language

Year 2 entry to the LLB

We will consider applications for transfer direct to the second year of the SOAS LLB from students who are currently studying the first year of LLB programmes at other English or Welsh universities. These applications must be made through UCAS.

Applicants are generally required to meet our standard high school entrance requirements but those who have taken the LNAT test and performed well and/or are working towards at least 2.1 level in their current LLB studies may also be considered. Each case will be considered by the admissions team on an individual basis taking into account all aspects of the application including the personal statement and reference which must be from the current university. The personal stement should include the motivation for transferring.

Students on the University of London External Programme must pass all four papers of the Intermediate examination of the LLB degree. These papers must all be taken on one occasion, and candidates must obtain a total of at least 200 marks overall. Candidates who meet this criterion are not guaranteed admission to the School, as the School considers the whole UCAS application, not just examination results

Explore

• From LLB at SOAS to Vice President of legal tech firm  
• Senior Status LLB two year QLD for applicants with Level 6 qualification or equivalent

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

Structure 

Students take 120 credits per year composed of core and optional modules, which allows for students to design their own intellectual journey while maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals.

In Year 1 students are introduced to the core elements and principles of the English legal system, and provided with the key analytical skills necessary for undertaking a demanding law degree program. During this first-year students’ will also be introduced to elements of legal principles and practice from other countries.

In the second and fourth years our students will be even more fully immersed in the distinctively SOAS program. Our students can choose from a wide array of optional courses that draw on the unique research expertise of our staff. The emphasis we place on choice, and research-led teaching, will allow our students to pursue a number of distinct specialisms as their degree progresses, but whichever path they choose to focus on the courses they study will all be imbued with that distinctive SOAS dimension, that stresses critical engagement and understanding of the role of law in the world at large.

In the third year students study Law or Language modules in a partner university abroad. Those enrolled on a named pathways will choose from partner universities for the pathway.

Year 1

Students must pass All modules in Year 1 to progress to Year 2

Compulsory Module

Year 2

Compulsory Module

AND

Guided Option

Choose a module(s) from List of Modules below to the value of 30 credits

OR

Named Pathways

China

South Asia

Southeast Asia

Students must take up to 30 credits of either language or non-language compulsory modules of the BA Southeast Asian Studies programme Year 1 or Year 2 or other modules ascertained from year to year.

Year 3

Students study Law or Language modules in a partner university abroad. Those enrolled on a named pathways will choose from partner universities for the pathway.

Year 4

Compulsory Module

AND

Guided Option

Choose a module(s) from List of Year 4 Options below to the value of 30 credits

OR

Open Options

Choose related Language or Non-Language open option modules to the value of 30 credits

• Language Open Option Modules
• Non-Language Open Option Modules

OR

Choose a module(s) at another University of London (UoL) if not taught at SOAS to the value of 30 credits

AND

Choose a module(s) from List of Year 4 Options below to the value of 60 credits

List of Modules (subject to availability)

List of Year 2 Optional Modules

List of Year 4 Optional Modules

UoL Options

Up to one 30-credit level 5 or level 6 LLB module in Law taught at another University of London Law School - King’s College, LSE, QMUL, UCL and Birkbeck - subject to approval and provided that a similar module is not taught at SOAS.

Programme Specification

• LLB with Year Abroad Programme Specification 2019/20 (pdf; 228kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

Modules are taught through a combination of lectures and tutorials, usually two hours lecture and one hour tutorial a week. Sometimes, one follows the other in a three-hour bloc. Sometimes, the tutorial is at a different time or on a different day than the lecture.

Tutorials are sessions in which students are expected to present reports and take a lead in discussions.

Depending on the size of the class, some intermediate and final year  modules are less strictly divided between a formal lecture and a tutorial discussion, and instead, the topic is briefly introduced by the lecturer, followed by a seminar discussion.

Contact hours

All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, in modules of 30 or 15 credits. They are taught over 10 or 20 weeks. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study (see Approaches to teaching and learning at SOAS). It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. In the Department of Law, many undergraduate modules have a weekly two hour lecture or seminar. Some modules may also had an additional hour of smaller group classes weekly or fortnightly.  

More information is on the page for each module.

The Independent Study Project (ISP)

This can be taken by final-year students only. Like the Special Subject dissertation, its aim is to provide an opportunity for students to conduct original historical research on their own initiative, to engage in in-depth analysis of particular subjects and to use a range of primary historical sources. It involves no formal classes and is assessed by a single 10,000-word dissertation (including notes but excluding bibliography).

Learning resources

SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Tuition fees

Fees for 2021/22 entrants per academic year

Please note that fees go up each year. 

For full details of undergraduate tuition fees, see our Registry's undergraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

Employment 

The LLB with Year Abroad degree structure provides students with a qualifying law degree for the purposes of both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board and exempts students from the academic stage of legal training.

With a thorough understanding of the legal dimensions underlying many of our global challenges today, our Law students are valued by employers due to their analytical skills, specialist knowledge, and global perspective.

Recent School of Law graduates have been hired by:

PwC LLP
BLM Law
BloombergNEF
British Medical Association
Clifford Chance
DAC Beachcroft LLP
Department for Work and Pensions
EY
HM Treasury
Latham & Watkins
Legal Cheek
Simpson Millar Solicitors
The Economist
Travers Smith
Vodafone
World Cancer Research Fund

Visit our Careers’ section for more information.

Find out about Careers Service

• How to Apply
• UCAS website
• Request a prospectus
• Got a question - use our enquiry form (opens a new window)
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts