Law with Foundation Year
Law is the system of rules, rights and obligations through which societies organise themselves, resolve disputes and hold power accountable. A law degree develops the ability to identify legal issues, research and apply relevant rules, construct and evaluate arguments, and communicate conclusions clearly, skills that are central to legal practice but also highly transferable across many professional contexts. The legal system touches virtually every aspect of human life, from property and contracts to crime, family relationships, employment and the relationship between citizens and the state.
The University of Portsmouth's Law with Foundation Year programme runs over four years full time, incorporating a foundation year that provides an accessible and supported entry route for students who are developing their academic preparation. The structure also includes a sandwich year with embedded work placement opportunities and a year abroad, making it one of the most experience-rich law programmes in the UK. The combination of foundation, placement and international study means you gain four distinct phases of development across the programme.
The typical entry tariff is around 120 UCAS points.
You will cover the foundations of English law including contract, tort, criminal law, constitutional and administrative law, equity and property, alongside EU and international law dimensions. The sandwich placement provides professional experience in a legal or law-adjacent organisation, and the year abroad exposes you to a different legal system and academic tradition. Portsmouth's location on the South Coast gives access to a range of legal professional organisations and court settings.
Graduates of law degrees who wish to practise as solicitors in England and Wales typically proceed via the Solicitors Qualifying Examination, while those seeking to become barristers undertake the Bar Training Course. The foundation entry and work placement experience make Portsmouth's graduates distinctive in a competitive legal graduate market. Many law graduates also pursue non-practice careers in business, compliance, human resources, financial services, policy, journalism, politics and public administration, where legal literacy provides a significant professional advantage.
Postgraduate study in law, legal practice or a specialist legal area is available for those seeking to develop further expertise.