Study Law and graduate with a university degree

Law at Stirling is based in the 18th century Airthrey Castle.

As well as the LLB qualification, we offer two BA (Hons) degrees: one in Business Law and one in Law.

What are the advantages of studying law as a BA? Firstly, it means you develop even further the intellectual skills needed for what is a demanding yet rewarding subject. These include autonomy, determination, intellectual curiosity, clear thinking and concise expression. All are highly valuable, whatever profession you pursue.

Secondly, it’s also a chance to study a range of subjects reflecting the importance of law in all areas of society. For example, our Business Law BA enables you to develop a thorough understanding of the way law and regulation shape and influence the business world. Similarly
the BA Law enables you to understand how law interacts with society.

UCAS Codes
BA (Hons) in Business Law (UCAS M221)
BA (Hons) in Law (UCAS M110)

Year 1

Highers BBBB.
A-levels BBC.
IB Diploma with a total of 32 points.
HNC or HND with Bs in graded units.

Access courses and other UK/EU and international qualifications are also welcomed.

Year 2

HND in Legal Services Bs in graded units.

General entrance requirements apply.

International students can study our Undergraduate Certificate if they do not possess the necessary entrance requirements to be admitted directly to Year 1 of an undergraduate degree course.

Other information

If examinations are taken over two sittings, or there are repeats or upgrades, the entrance requirements may be higher.

Required Subjects

English Standard Grade (2), Intermediate 2 (C), GCSE (C) or equivalent. Applicants with English Standard Grade (3) will also be considered, although alternative entry conditions may be made in this case.

information on possible sources of funding

Full-time (three modules per semester).
Part-time (one or two modules per semester).

Teaching is delivered via lectures and seminars. You will undertake independent research supervised by a member of staff, presenting a substantial dissertation on a legal topic of your own choice in your final year.

• Macfadzean D (ed), Introduction to Law and Business Law (2nd edn, 2009), DUP
• Himsworth C.M.G. and O'Neill C.M. , Scotland's Constitution: Law and Practice (2nd edition, 2009), , Tottel 
• Hepple, B, Equality: The New Legal Framework, Hart, 2011
• Davidson and McGregor, Commercial Law in Scotland, (2nd edn., 2008) Thomson W Green,  
• Sutherland, E. Family Law Basics, (2nd edn, 2008), W Green
  

(For a Combined Honours degree the higher entrance requirements of the subjects usually apply.)

Accountancy; Business Studies; Criminology; Economics; Finance; History; Human Resource Management; Marketing; Philosophy; Politics

Our BA courses have been developed by leading academics with strong research profiles and a commitment to excellence.

You have the opportunity to study abroad through Stirling's well-established connections with several international universities.

The School has a strong reputation for excellence in research. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, five percent of our research was judged to be ‘world leading’, 35 percent of ‘international excellence', 30 percent of’ international quality’, with the remaining 30 percent of at least national quality. Staff research is used for the benefit of students in teaching.

The BA degrees offer strength and depth in law while allowing you to take advantage of the Stirling system which is designed to allow students to take second and third subjects in Year 1 and Year 2. If doing Single Honours, you then specialise entirely in law or business law but those on Combined degrees develop both law and their second chosen specialism together. This variety is a key feature of the BA degrees here. It means that even if you choose to do a single Honours degree, you will also study other subjects: the range available includes languages, management, economics, criminology, psychology, politics, the environment and much more. This gives our BA students the great advantage of a diverse and varied education and the ability to place legal studies in a wider social or business context.

Study with the people who have written the books: The individual law and business law modules have been designed by staff who publish and research in key areas linked to the module. For example, both courses begin with An Introduction to Law and Business Law and the Course Director has written a key chapter in the textbook which accompanies the module and which was written with the specific requirements of this programme in mind. If you do Business Law you will go on to use the key textbook co-written by our Professor Davidson and if you do Law then you will be using a key text in family law written by our Professor Sutherland.
Develop your research potential with our excellent research staff: the course offers a wide range of Honours options in Years 3 and 4 too and these are taught by staff who are experts in their field. You will often use their original research in your own research into subjects as diverse as child law, environmental law, commercial arbitration, labour law, European law, discrimination law and sports law.

The culmination of your Honours degree is the dissertation process in the final year of the Honours courses which allows you to get your teeth into a topical subject in law and to develop your own research skills even further. We have supervised dissertations in a wide range of subjects from the banking crisis to father’s rights to the regulation of genetically regulated crops and all points in between.

Students on these programmes go on to work in a wide range of careers. For example, those who graduated in 2009 were surveyed and reported employment as:

• Sales and marketing executive
• Conference events co-ordinator
• Business growth manager
• Revenue and benefits officer
• Trainee accountant
• Factoring consultant
• Book manager
• Tutor
  

Employers include:

• Aviva Insurance
• Clackmannanshire Council
• The Royal Bank of Scotland
• Glasgow City Council
• NHS Forth Valley
• Govan Law Centre
  

Tikus Little qualified as a solicitor in 1993 and joined the University in 2003 as a teaching fellow. She has taught on many aspects of the BA courses, including contract, company and insurance law and published on contract law.

With a background in business, the Director has been keen to ensure that students develop both a sound knowledge of legal principles but also key soft skills such as the ability to solve problems, write well, give confident presentations and work in a team. This commitment to enhancing the employability of our students has led to initiatives such as group work, presentations and essay writing skills being embedded in the course.

Our graduates have successful careers in management, banking and financial services and accounting.

Graduates wishing to enter the Scottish legal profession must take a professionally accredited LLB as a second degree. You’ll be eligible to take the two-year Accelerated Graduate LLB in our School. Those wishing to practise law in England and Wales must complete a postgraduate conversion course.