The Law Team appreciates that this is a time of change for you. The prospect of university can be somewhat daunting as it is a big step up from your previous education experiences. This might also be the first time you are leaving home and moving to a very different place. To assist with this transition, you will be assigned a personal academic tutor (PAT). Your personal tutor will be your first point of reference for any personal or general academic matters you might have throughout your time at the university. Our very hands-on peer mentors, who are currently students in their second and third years, are also ready to guide you through your journey.

The Department’s members of staff will meet you during the welcome week when you will be invited to join several activities, and you will receive the key information you need to get started with your studies. You will learn a lot about studying at CCCU and be given important information about your law degree, so please engage with as many of the activities as you can. The activities and guidance you will receive this week will hopefully make things a little easier for you as you settle into your studies.

 

Social Media

We have a Facebook page, where you can send a message via messenger to inquire about Law at Canterbury Christ Church University. Like and follow the page Law at Canterbury, to get updated each time new content is posted.

You can also follow our Law and Mooting Society on Instagram, @law_and_mooting_cccu, to get up-to-date information on the activities carried out by the Law and Mooting Society.

The law department also has a blog, Law and Mooting Society. 

You can also keep up to date with what is going on in our Faculty and count down to beginning your studies with us by following us on Instagram

 

We take a modern approach to legal education and aim to be both practically oriented and academically critical. Our areas of expertise include mediation and other means of alternative dispute resolution, through which we provide a different experience from other law degrees. We believe in a flexible and progressive socio-legal education. Studying law at CCCU will provide you with an opportunity to gain a degree that presently satisfies the academic stage of training on the pathway towards becoming a barrister in the England, as well as providing a background towards the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE).

Our law degree will enable you to acquire a wide range of useful employability skills including critical thinking; team working; effective time management; presentation skills; and the ability to identify and construct an argument in both written and oral format. As well as preparing you for a career in the legal profession, these skills will be useful for a much broader range of career opportunities such as the civil service, consulting, personnel management, publishing, politics and teaching.

During the Foundation Year you will complete a mix of Law and General Higher Education study skills modules. These will give you a firm knowledge base for when you progress to Year 1 of your degree studies on completion of the Foundation Year. The Foundation year modules will be delivered by both the Law Team and colleagues from the faculty, who you will also have the opportunity to meet during your Welcome Activities. During the Foundation Year you will complete the following modules:

Semester 1:

Introduction to Law

Contemporary Issues in Politics and International Relations

Academic Skills 1

Semester 2:

Contemporary Issues in Law

Contemporary Issues in Applied Criminology

Academic Skills 2

On passing all of your modules and the completion of the Foundation year, you will move to the next level of study.

Your welcome and induction to the course and the university will be w/c 16th September 2024 - we look forward to meeting you then.

 

Community

On the social side, the Student Union (CCSU) has a huge range of clubs and societies – all of which have unique social calendars of their own and offer endless opportunities to make lifelong friends and discover new hobbies. And you can always create your own society and cultivate your own community!

CCSU will be hosting their Welcome Fayre on Wednesday 18th September 2024. Make sure you keep checking the CCSU website for further details and how to get involved.

We understand that you may be nervous about your first few weeks on campus but rest assured - you'll be joining a nurturing and supportive environment where diversity, equality and individuality are part of everything we do.

You can find out more about our welcoming community and making friends 

If you are an International Student joining us then please see our International Student Support pages for further information and guidance.

 

Although you are not expected to do any reading before you arrive, you will find it easier if you have some background of what to expect studying law or generally about law. Feel free to choose any of these books to familiarise yourself:

The Secret Barrister, The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken (Picador; Main Market edition 4 April 2019)

N. J. McBride, Letters to a Law Student: A Guide to Studying Law at University (4th edition, Pearson 2018)

Catherine Barnard, Janet O'Sullivan and Graham Virgo (eds), What about Law: Studying Law at University (2nd revised edition, 2011)Water B, Klien T, Learning Legal Skills and Reasoning, 5th edn (Routledge, 2021)

OSCOLA Referencing Guide, 4th edn - https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/oscola_4th_edn_hart_2012.pdf

It is also very good practice to understand the news and what is happening in the world. It will help with your studies, and it will help you perform better at interview. Why not start by spending five minutes each day reading BBC Business News? Then, when you get to the University, you can make the most of your free subscription to the Financial Times.