Program Overview

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Law with Criminology - LLB (Hons)

2026/27 Full-time Undergraduate course

Award:

Bachelor of Laws with Honours

Faculty:

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

School:

School of Law

Campus:

Derry~Londonderry campus

UCAS code:

M1M8
The UCAS code for Ulster University is U20

Start date:

September 2026

Overview

Exploring the intersection of law and criminology to understand crime and the justice system from both legal and social perspectives.

Revalidation

The University regularly ‘refreshes’ courses to make sure they are as up-to- date as possible. In addition it undertakes formal periodic review of courses in a process called 'revalidation’ to ensure that they continue to meet standards and are current and relevant. This course will be revalidated in the near future and it is possible that there will be some changes to the course as described in this prospectus.

Summary

An Ulster University Law degree provides excellent career opportunities across a diverse range of sectors. Law graduates are highly sought after by employers for their critical thinking, communication and research abilities. The School of Law at Ulster University is committed to excellence in teaching, research, and professional development. This degree offered at our Derry~Londonderry campus is a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD), which explores the intersection of law and criminology, equipping students with the knowledge to understand crime, its causes, and the legal frameworks that govern justice.

Studying Law allows you to combine the academic study of legal theory, with practical real-life scenarios. Criminology as the minor subject also opens opportunities for challenging yet rewarding careers in organisations with a criminal justice focus, across the private, voluntary and statutory sectors.

Over the course of three years, you will study twelve law modules including Public Law, Land Law, Contract Law and Criminal Law, along with six Criminology modules including Crime and Criminal Justice, Crime and Deviance and Prisons, Punishment and Power. A broad range of optional modules gives you the opportunity to pursue what interests you most.

Ranked in the top 15 by the Times Good University Guide (2025) and achieving 90% student satisfaction in the 2024 National Student Survey, the School of Law is a vibrant, high-performing academic community where ambition meets opportunity.

Ulster University Law students benefit from the insight and guidance of an internationally recognised team of researchers, contributing to an academic environment that was rated 100% world-leading or internationally excellent for research environment (REF 2021). The school has three unique centres of excellence, including the multi award winning Ulster Law Clinic, the Transitional Justice Institute, the Centre for Legal Technology, it also supports many other exciting research projects, which you could be a part of.

The friendly atmosphere of our Derry~Londonderry campus offers an intimate learning environment in the heart of the city. Located in the North West of Northern Ireland and a short distance from County Donegal, Derry~Londonderry is ideally situated for exploring some of Ireland’s most dramatic landscapes. Ongoing investment has provided state-of-the-art teaching, research and support facilities for students and staff. Law students have access to our Moot Court and can avail of podcasting facilities to help support their studies.

About this course

Associate awards

• Diploma in Professional Practice DPP
• Diploma in International Academic Studies DIAS

Attendance

Each module of study usually involves a weekly two-hour lecture and one-hour seminar. In addition, students are required to undertake substantial directed independent learning. Generally, three modules are studied per semester on the full time programme.

Start dates

• September 2026

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Attendance and Independent Study

As part of your course induction, you will be provided with details of the organisation and management of the course, including attendance and assessment requirements - usually in the form of a timetable. For full-time courses, the precise timetable for each semester is not confirmed until close to the start date and may be subject to some change in the early weeks as all courses settle into their planned patterns. For part-time courses which require attendance on particular days and times, an expectation of the days and periods of attendance will be included in the letter of offer. A course handbook is also made available.

Courses comprise modules for which the notional effort involved is indicated by its credit rating. Each credit point represents 10 hours of student effort. Undergraduate courses typically contain 10, 20, or 40 credit modules (more usually 20) and postgraduate courses typically 15 or 30 credit modules.

The normal study load expectation for an undergraduate full-time course of study in the standard academic year is 120 credit points. This amounts to around 36-42 hours of expected teaching and learning per week, inclusive of attendance requirements for lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical work, fieldwork or other scheduled classes, private study, and assessment. Teaching and learning activities will be in-person and/or online depending on the nature of the course. Part-time study load is the same as full-time pro-rata, with each credit point representing 10 hours of student effort.

Postgraduate Master’s courses typically comprise 180 credits, taken in three semesters when studied full-time. A Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) comprises 60 credits and can usually be completed on a part-time basis in one year. A 120-credit Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) can usually be completed on a part-time basis in two years.

Class contact times vary by course and type of module. Typically, for a module predominantly delivered through lectures you can expect at least 3 contact hours per week (lectures/seminars/tutorials). Laboratory classes often require a greater intensity of attendance in blocks. Some modules may combine lecture and laboratory. The precise model will depend on the course you apply for and may be subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. Prospective students will be consulted about any significant changes.

Assessment

Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.

Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.

Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.

Calculation of the Final Award

The class of Honours awarded in Bachelor’s degrees is usually determined by calculation of an aggregate mark based on performance across the modules at Levels 5 and 6, (which correspond to the second and third year of full-time attendance).

Level 6 modules contribute 70% of the aggregate mark and Level 5 contributes 30% to the calculation of the class of the award. Classification of integrated Master’s degrees with Honours include a Level 7 component. The calculation in this case is: 50% Level 7, 30% Level 6, 20% Level 5. At least half the Level 5 modules must be studied at the University for Level 5 to be included in the calculation of the class.

All other qualifications have an overall grade determined by results in modules from the final level of study.

In Masters degrees of more than 200 credit points the final 120 points usually determine the overall grading.

Academic profile

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 60% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (19%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (22%) or Lecturers (57%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic and learning support staff (85%) are recognised as fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advance HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.

Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.

Standard entry conditions

We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.

A level

BBB

Applied General Qualifications

Applied General Qualifications

RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma (2016 Suite)

Award profile of DDM

RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Diploma (2016 Suite)

Award profile of DM plus A Level Grade BRQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Certificate (2016 Suite)

Award profile of D plus A Level Grades BB

We will also accept smaller BTEC/OCR qualifications (i.e. Diploma or Extended Certificate / Introductory Diploma / Subsidiary Diploma) in combination with A Levels or other acceptable level 3 qualifications.

To find out if the qualification you are applying with is a qualification we accept for entry, please check our Qualification Checker - our Equivalence Entry Checker.

We will also continue to accept QCF versions of these qualifications although grades asked for may differ. Check what grades you will be asked for by comparing the requirements above with the information under QCF in the Applied General and Tech Level Qualifications section of our Entry Requirements - View our Undergraduate Entry Requirements

Irish Leaving Certificate

120 UCAS Tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at higher level) to include English at H6 if studied at Higher level or O4 if studied at Ordinary Level.

Irish Leaving Certificate UCAS Equivalency

• View tariff point chart

Scottish Highers

Grades BBBCC

Scottish Advanced Highers

Grades CCC

International Baccalaureate

We welcome applicants presenting with the International Baccalaureate with an overall profile to include a minimum of 26 points (13 points at higher level) to include Higher or Subsidiary level in English Language (grade 4 or above).

Access to Higher Education (HE)

Ulster is delighted to accept applicants presenting with an Access programme. If you are taking an Access course that is validated by Ulster or QUB, your offer will be expressed as a percentage. If you are taking one of the QAA Access to HE Diploma’s, you will be asked to achieve a certain number of distinctions, merits and/or pass grades out of units totalling 45 credits.

Overall profile of 65%, to include 65% overall in Level 3 modules (120 credit Access Course) (NI Access Course)

Overall profile of 60 credits with 24 distinctions and 21 merits (60 credit Access Course) (GB Access Course)

GCSE

For full-time study, you must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements for admission to a first degree course and hold a GCSE pass at Grade C/4 or above in English Language.

Level 2 Certificate in Essential Skills - Communication will be accepted as equivalent to GCSE English.

English Language Requirements

English language requirements for international applicants
The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.

Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.

• English language requirements
• Your country

Additional Entry Requirements

Acceptable alternative qualifications include:

Pass HND with overall Merit to include 60 distinctions in level 5 credits.

Pass HNC with overall Distinction to include 90 distinctions in level 4 credits.

You may also meet the course entry requirements with combinations of different qualifications to the same standard as recognised by the University.

Careers & opportunities

Career options

Ulster graduates have gone on to study law at postgraduate level both at Ulster University and other institutions (e.g. Masters courses such as the LLM, or doctoral studies); others are now in practice as solicitors or barristers, having completed the Certificate in Professional Legal Studies. Others have pursued careers in related areas such as the business and finance sector, human resources, politics and the community sector.

Professional Recognition

Accreditations reflect the excellence of our teaching, research, and knowledge exchange and ensure our programmes realise the highest expectations. By studying at Ulster University you’ll gain insight and be at the forefront of current industry practices, while our many accredited degree programmes open doors to the world’s top professional organisations, making you more attractive to future employers and giving you a competitive edge in the job market.

Bar Standards Board

Accredited by the Bar Standards Board for the purpose of a Qualifying Law Degree.

Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

The qualifying law degree is recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for the purposes of satisfying the academic stage of training.

Law Society of Northern Ireland (LSNI)

Recognised by the Law Society of Northern Ireland (LSNI) for the purpose of a Qualifying Law Degree.

Fees and funding

2026/27 Fees

Undergraduate fees are subject to annual review, 2026/27 fees will be announced in due course.

See our tuition fees page for the current fees for 2025/26 entry.

View Available Scholarships

See if you can access financial or other forms of support, including mentorship to excel in your studies.

Search our Scholarships

Additional mandatory costs

It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.

Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.

There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.

Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.

See the tuition fees on our student guide for most up to date costs.