Study law and graduate with a university degree

The Stirling LLB is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates, which are the professional bodies for Scots lawyers.

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Year 1

Highers AABB.
A-levels ABB.
IB Diploma with a total of 36 points.
HND with Bs in graded units.
Access courses and other UK/EU and international qualifications are also welcomed.
Examinations over two sittings will be considered.

In addition to academic qualifications, personal statements and references will also be considered. The School of Law is committed to widening access to Higher Education and to the legal profession.

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 the first year 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.

Preferred subjects

English Higher Grade B. History, Politics or Modern Studies at Standard Grade (2), GCSE (C) or equivalent.

LLB (Accelerated Graduate Course) UCAS M115

An Honours degree in any subject/discipline. Good general degrees are also considered.

information on possible sources of funding

The LLB (Honours) is available as a full-time and part-time degree course.

Tikus Little

The main aims of the LLB are to:

• provide substantial in-depth knowledge and understanding of:
  • the principles, concepts, values and substantive rules of the Scottish legal system
  • the wider context within which the Scottish legal system operates
  • the main legal institutions and procedures of the Scottish legal system
• develop problem-solving and legal research skills, as well as more general transferable intellectual skills which are of value in the practice of law and a wide range of careers
• provide the in-depth knowledge and understanding needed to progress to further studies in law and a career as a solicitor or in multi-disciplinary areas involving law
• provide graduates with knowledge, understanding and skills that will provide added benefit to them as individuals, to the Scottish legal profession, and to society as a whole

Semesters 1 – 5

During the first five semesters, you are introduced to the fundamental areas of law. Core modules include:

• Public Law and Legal System
• Law of Contract
• Law of Delict 
• Family Law 
• Criminal Law 
• Company and Commercial Law 
• Evidence
• Property Law 
• Trust and Succession Law 
• Jurisprudence

Semesters 5 – 8

From Semester 5 onwards, you can select advanced modules from a range of specialist legal topics, including:

• Legal Research Methods
• Labour Law
• Intellectual Property Law 
• Information Technology Law 
• Environmental Law 
• International Trade Law 
• Competition Law 
• Sports Law 
• Child Law 
• Prejudice, Discrimination and the Law 
• Collective Labour Law 
• European Law

Teaching on the LLB is delivered via a combination of lectures and seminars. Assessment is by examination and coursework. You will undertake independent research supervised by a member of staff, presenting a substantial dissertation in your final year. Throughout the LLB, you are encouraged to undertake independent reading both to supplement and consolidate what is being taught and learned and to broaden your individual knowledge and understanding of law.

If you are interested in studying for the Stirling LLB, a good introduction is Hector MacQueen's book Studying Scots Law, (3rd edition) (LexisNexis Butterworths).

Graduation with the Stirling LLB will enable those who wish to practise law as Scottish Solicitors to apply for places on one of the postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice courses run by a number of Scottish universities; this is the next stage in the process of qualifying as a solicitor in Scotland. It should be noted that entry to any of the Diploma courses and then obtaining a training contract with a firm of solicitors are both highly competitive: it should not be assumed that obtaining an LLB will lead automatically to a career as a lawyer. Those wishing to practise law in England and Wales will have to complete a postgraduate conversion course.

Increasingly, LLB graduates are choosing to pursue careers in areas such as banking, insurance, accounting, the civil service, the police force and education. The LLB is widely recognised as a rigorous degree that develops important skills, and is valued highly by employers.

Skills you can develop through this course

• Writing: you will learn how to construct well argued, well structured essays and reports which aim to get your points across as succinctly and clearly as possible.
• Speaking: LLB students take part in moots (legal arguments) and presentations during the degree to develop confidence in public speaking and legal debate.
• Problem solving: you begin learning how to solve legal problems from Day 1 and develop a problem solving toolkit during the degree.
• Legal research: law is a fast moving and dynamic subject and employers expect law graduates to be able to find and keep up to date with the law. You will undertake lots of activities to equip you to do that.
• Analysis: graduates need to be able to think, to question and to challenge, not simply regurgitate information and this degree includes many opportunities to develop critical thinking and analysis.    
• Team working: you will work with others in presentations and moots, sharing ideas and skills with colleagues and learning the dynamics of group work.
• Personal organisation and Initiative: this challenging degree requires you to manage a heavy workload and meet deadlines, culminating in the management and completion of a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic of your choice. 

Widening your horizons

The Law School runs a number of career events and activities throughout the programme:

• Annual Careers in Law seminars showcase the wide range of career opportunities for law graduates and allow you to speak to alumni and other invited speakers on their experiences
• Mini Law Fairs are held regularly throughout your degree to allow you to find out more about career opportunities
• We organise seminars and workshops on interviews, CVs, internships, placements and psychometric testing with the Career Development Centre.
• We issue weekly newsletters to all law students which  includes a ‘Focus on Careers’ section and publish a range of guides including ‘Getting a Traineeship’, ‘Developing your Career and CV’ and more. 

Key facts about last year’s (insert title) graduates:

Drawn from the DLHE data shown on the Unistats website e.g. %age in employment or further study, %age of those working in professional/managerial position, and average starting salary. 

Where are our graduates now?

Many of our graduates go on to study the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice which is the next step towards qualification as a solicitor or advocate in Scotland or go on to take Masters degrees to develop  their expertise in particular areas.

Those who have gone on into Scottish legal practice have gone to firms such as:

• Katani and Co
• Brodies LLP
• Balfour & Manson LLP
• ACH Shoosmiths
• Cowan Douglas Law
• DWF Biggart Baillie
• Digby Brown LLP

And are practicing in all areas of law including property, criminal defence, private client, commercial and corporate law.

Graduating with a LLB does not necessarily mean that you have to progress into the legal profession.  A LLB is a solid foundation upon which to base a career in a variety of different fields. Currently some of our graduates are working in roles such as: 

• PR Account Executive
• Assistant Language Teacher
• Recruitment Consultant
• Tax Adviser
• Business development Manager
• Financial compliance manager