Huddersfield Law School | llb course | llb degree

The University of Huddersfield is one of the most up and coming Universities in the country. It is only the second university in the country to offer a Masters of Law and Practice course which incorporates the LLB Hons degree. This allows students to pay the standard deferred fees for the 4 years as opposed to paying £7,000 to £10,000 to complete a “stand alone” Legal Practice Course. It was also the first University in the country to provide an online G.D.L.

The university offers a wide range of Honours Degree Courses which can be run full or part-time, including European Legal Studies, continuing it’s tradition of being at the forefront of legal education.

The University has spent over £50m in the last 12 years on new purpose-built buildings for the Student Union and Creative Arts Departments as well as refurbishment of historical building on the campus. This trend is set to continue in 2010 with the new Business School, which will house the Law School.

The Law School was officially opened in 2008 and admits around 120 students a year on its full-time LLB/M Master of Law and the Legal Practice Course programmes, with emphasis on personal tutor arrangements, lectures and access to academic support. It has 26 members of staff of the highest quality including Barristers, Solicitors and a Dr. of philosophy. All staff are available by appointment and pre-set drop in sessions; however all lecturers will see students if they are free to do so and try to help with any enquiries.

Huddersfield Law School has formed a partnership with a number of legal firms of national and international repute such as: Armitage Sykes, Eversheds and Walker Morris to name but a few. These partnerships provide such schemes as mentoring, guest lectures, and legal luncheons and also to give advice.

Lectures are held once a week for all modules in the Law School lecture theatres. They are followed by tutorials held in groups of approx 20 students where they work in groups and individual exercises. These may incorporate such activities as mock trials and/or debates. Lectures and tutorials make up approximately 12 hours a week with a recommended 25 hours per week self study.

In addition to pre-set lessons there is an active Student Law Society costing £5 per year. Here they meet once a week for mooting and debating. They also arrange mooting competitions with other local Universities, social events and the Law Ball.

The Law library is set on an entire floor, some 2,000 sq. mtrs, with an extensive collection of law books, magazines, report journals and statue books. On-line law study access is also available via Metalib electronic resources to Hansard, Lawtel, LexisNexis Butterworth and Westlaw to name but a few.

With an exceptionally eye-catching campus, it lies just within the town of Huddersfield itself and can boast of panoramic views of the Pennines. There is also the added bonus of a canal flowing right through the campus grounds. The University has two satellite campuses in Oldham and Barnsley. The campus is within walking distance of bus and railway stations and the M62 is three miles to the north, with the M1 five miles to the west.

Huddersfield is a thriving West Yorkshire town within easy reach of the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. The University is located on one campus site in the middle of town with easy access to shops, pub, clubs, restaurants. However, if you want more, jump on to a train and you can be in Leeds or Manchester in 20 minutes. The railway station is within 5 minutes walk from the university and offers links to anywhere in the country.

There are also excellent motorway links to the M1 and M62 all within easy motoring distance of the university. If you are looking for some culture, the town is renowned for its Contemporary Music festival, Theatre and large sports stadium.

The University has scored highly for student satisfaction in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 National Student Surveys. Huddersfield was also ranked joint first out of all Yorkshire universities for high quality staff and lectures in the Opinion Panel Research survey in 2007.

Accommodation in the area is excellent. Whether you stay in the universities own halls of residence or choose to rent privately, there is a wide and reasonably priced selection. Halls of residence cost around £78 per week; this includes utility bills, insurance cover and telephone with free internal calls.

Storthes Hall Park, the main purpose-built student village was once a psychiatric hospital. Storthes Hall is some distance from the main University campus, set in the countryside, near Kirkburton on the A629 to Penistone.

A bus service runs between Storthes Hall and the University between 08:00 and 23:30 (all buses are free to residents before 18:00) Ashenhurst Houses is located closer to the main campus, with less than 300 places; it houses a lot less students than Storthes Hall.

There are also four other halls of residence in Huddersfield: Aspley and Little Aspley provided by Opal, both these accommodation located on Firth Street. Firth Point, located on Firth Street, and Snow Island provided by Unite.

There are an extensive range of nightclubs, pub chains and more traditional establishments. However, the favourite place for students to hang out is the students union. Here there is live music, comedy shows and karaoke nights through out the week. Admission is around £2 to £3 and the drinks are very cheap.

Since January 2005, the Students Union can be found in a £4m purpose-built construction behind the Harold Wilson building. The building provides a range of social, leisure and retails facilities. If you wish, you can join the student union for a mere £10 and receive your NUS card.

Societies at the University specialise in everything from the Baroness Hale Law society real ale appreciation and medieval re-enactment. Societies in the 2006-07 terms included the African Caribbean Society, the Christian Union, the Huddersfield University Gaming Alliance, the Motorcycle Club, and the Socialist Students Society.