Southampton Solent law school | llb course | llb degree

Southampton Solent University is one of two universities within the city. It is spread over two campuses within the centre of the city. Southampton Solent is a developing academic centre, having previously been Southampton institute until 2005. As such, it is one of the youngest universities in the UK.

The law department is situated away from the main campus building, with the library located on the main campus. The library itself is a multi-floored building with a separate section containing the law library. This is well stocked and has electronic cataloguing to enable you to find books, journals and cases very quickly.

Once you become a student at Solent University you will also be given access to a variety of electronic law databases (such as lexis nexis) which will allow you to look up cases and statutes online. Tuition will also be given in using these databases. This can be done either on or off campus. As a result, it is possible to look up and research cases all from the comfort of your own bed!

The law building still has internet access in a computer room down stairs and a computers with internet access in most seminar rooms. This is ideal for networking electronic presentations, where projectors can be used to show power point presentations. These lecture theatres also have projectors for slide presentations.

Staff within the department are all experts in their fields with many of them having published journals or books on their specific area of law. There is a very healthy student:staff ratio within the department allowing for a lot of personalised teaching and solid support.

The main lecture rooms hold around 150 students (the intake at the start of the degree course) but as the degree progresses this decreases, with only around 60 – 70 students being in the final lectures. Seminars on average will be for around 20 students. These seminar groups will be the same in the core subjects so you will develop a good group of friends.

Teaching is done with a one hour lecture and seminar on each subject each week. The seminars will give you the chance to discuss what had been covered in the previous seminar in smaller groups and are an excellent tool for learning.

You will have 10 to 12 hours of supervised learning in the first two years, with this going down to 8 hours of supervised learning in the final year if you choose to do a dissertation. However, you are expected to prepare for each seminar which will take approximately 2 hours.

Regardless of which university you study at, law is an expensive subject with at least one book to buy for each topic costing around £20 - £35. However, next to the university building is Blackwells book shop. They buy and sell second hand books as well as brand new ones.

It is important to prepare early with the books you need and you may be able to pick up a second hand book at a bargain price. You can also sell back your old books at the end of each year. This can be done through Blackwells or using message boards on the university website.

Southampton Solent does not own much in the way of halls, and what they do own is very expensive due to its location in the city centre. If you have friends going to the same university, it would be advisable to try and find private housing with them away from the city centre.

The location for this university is right in the centre of a busy town as opposed to other universities where their campus is located away from civilisation. University is an excellent opportunity to makes new friends, with Solent attracting students from a variety of walks of life and all over the world.

It also operates an Erasmus programme which gives foreign students the chance to study at Solent as well as Solent students the chance to spend a year studying law abroad. This is an excellent opportunity, but only one for those brave enough and with a strong grasp of another language.

There are a wide variety university groups of varying interests for students to join. Specifically related to law is the mooting society. This gives students a chance to practice their advocacy against other universities. Solent Universities mooting society has an excellent reputation and has beaten many other universities all over the country, even taking part in moots against international teams.

Southampton has a very busy night life, and you will never be short of places to go whether it be for a meal or for a heavy night of drinking. However if live music and gigs are more your sort of thing, Southampton is home to the Joiners arms pub, which has seen a variety of acts play there on the way to bigger things, for example, Nirvana, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand and The Arctic Monkeys. Walkabout in Southampton also offer a rock night every other Thursday night.

Law is a difficult career to get into and it is important to find a University with links to firms that can help you on your way. Southampton Solent has made a concerted effort to established strong connections with local and national firms and its students are reaping the benefits.

There are all of the usual benefits you would expect from a fully serviced careers centre; CV workshops, interview and application advice, one-to-one sessions and presentations from potential employers. As with everything, students have to be motivated to use it, but if willing, there is more than enough help at Solent to get you that all-important job.