Law

Law is the framework through which societies organise power, define rights, and provide mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of disputes. Studying law is one of the most rigorous intellectual undertakings available at university, developing the ability to read statutory and case law with precision, to construct and evaluate legal arguments, to identify the legally significant features of complex situations, and to reason carefully about the relationship between rules and their purposes. These skills are valued not only in legal practice but across the full range of careers in which careful reasoning and clear communication are essential.

At the University of Nottingham, the law programme attracts students from a wide range of backgrounds and accepts a broad range of qualifications, considering each candidate individually. You will study the core areas of English law required for a qualifying law degree, including contract, tort, criminal law, land law, equity and trusts, and public law, alongside the opportunity to develop specialist knowledge in elective areas of your choosing. Nottingham's law school is research-active, and the rigour of its teaching reflects its engagement with questions at the frontier of legal scholarship.

The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and a work placement, giving you substantial professional and international experience alongside your academic studies. These elements allow you to develop your legal skills in applied contexts, whether in law firms, public bodies, or legal advice organisations, and to engage with different legal systems and traditions through time spent studying or working abroad.

Graduates who wish to qualify as solicitors or barristers proceed to the relevant vocational training routes. Others apply the skills developed through law in careers across the civil service, financial services, compliance, journalism, human resources, policy, and international organisations. The combination of analytical rigour and communication skills that a law degree develops transfers exceptionally well to many professional contexts.

Postgraduate study in law or a related field is also a well-trodden route.