A group of students sitting in a lecture room, looking at laptop screens.

Available with:

  • Foundation Year


Course Summary

Gain a rich understanding of the key components and fundamentals of Law and Criminal Justice through the learning on this degree.

Chester Law School maintains strong links with local legal professionals and the wider community to enhance our course, ensuring that you make the most out of your time at university. Specialist opportunities such as guest lecturers and an array of co-curricular outreach and pro bono (free legal advice) opportunities can enhance your skillset and transform you into a Law graduate who stands out from the crowd.

Studying our Law with Criminal Justice degree allows you to tailor your studies to your interests. Gain a rich understanding of key concepts in your first year of study and experience our Experiential Law module in your second year. Final-year students have the opportunity to focus their studies on areas of Law that particularly interest them, developing their skills within their chosen specialist modules before they graduate.

Outside of your studies, join our Law Society which hosts a variety of events throughout the year, gain an insight into law in the real world by volunteering with the department’s Legal Advice Clinic, or get involved with Chester Community Law Project, the Law School’s student-led outreach programme which enables volunteers to use their legal knowledge to benefit our local community.

Our team is made up of former practitioners and nationally recognised academic lawyers, committed to helping our students make their career aspirations a reality. 

Why you'll Love it

Study Law at the University of Chester

Study Law at the University of Chester

What you'll Study

This course is designed to give you the skills you need to progress into a range of careers across the legal and criminal justice sectors.

Your modules of study will enable you to critically engage with the inter-relationship between the law and criminal justice system, exploring both criminological theory and the application of criminal justice processes in real-world scenarios. The course will equip you with the academic and practical skills relevant to various professional careers within law, criminal justice, public service and beyond.

During the first year of study, students undertake modules that enable them to develop their knowledge and understanding of the foundations of legal knowledge including the study of:

  • Public Law
  • Property Law
  • Contract Law
  • as well as modules that develop their practical and theoretical Criminal Justice, legal and employability skills.

The second year of study builds upon this foundation, with the study of:

  • Criminal Law
  • Tort Law
  • Law: Practice and Profession
  • as well as Criminal Justice focused modules covering Criminological Theory and Injustices in Society.

In the final block of the second year of study, students benefit from an Experiential Law module, with placement opportunities as well as alternative employability development and community engagement project work opportunities. The Law School has links with the legal sector across the North West to facilitate this. Students may also secure placements outside of the Nort West.

At Level 6, students will apply their skills while undertaking an academic or practical major law project in an area of law or community engagement that interests them alongside their Criminal Justice pathway modules.

The course includes a choice of optional pathways of study, which are focused on areas of law that are common in legal practice to prepare students for a future in law.

This pathway offers students the opportunity to undertake focused study in Advanced Criminal Law and Theory alongside Evidence Law, or alternatively in Human Rights and Social Justice.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

How you'll Learn

The course is delivered through in-person learning in lectures, seminars and workshops. Online learning will also be utilised to support independent study, which will include guided reading and study, group work, and completing assessments.

Students will experience the benefits of block teaching with our course. Focus on two subjects at a time for deeper learning and stronger connections with tutors and classmates. The course adopts student-centred approach and offers tailored support through small seminar groups, fostering social and community learning.

Teaching will be delivered by experienced academics and practitioners in the subject. This will be supplemented by occasional guest lecturers and speakers, where possible and appropriate.

This course is designed to develop highly skilled, confident, and independent graduates. By utilising authentic assessments that embed real-world employment skills, the course ensures that students are well-prepared for their future careers.

There is a broad range of assessment methods so that students are equipped to respond to the different types of tasks they might encounter in the workplace. These will include:

  • coursework in the form of professional reports
  • problem-based assessments
  • letters of advice
  • and presentations.

The methods of assessment on the course will be continuously reviewed to ensure that they adequately prepare students for graduate-level employment.

All teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners, with the fundamental principles of the Chester Future Skills Curriculum at its core - building your subject competence, confidence, and key transferable skills to shape you into a world-ready Chester graduate.

Study a Common First Year

This course shares a common first year with students on the Law and Law, Business and Commerce courses.

This means that you’ll learn alongside students studying a similar discipline, helping to broaden your knowledge and exposure to other concepts, perspectives and professions in the first year of your degree.

As you learn and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll not only widen your social and professional network but also learn new skills that will set you up for success in your industry.

In your second and third years, you will progress to studying more specialist modules within criminal justice, developing your skills to become a World Ready graduate.

law mooting video

Mooting- Law LLB at Chester

Entry Requirements

120UCAS points

UCAS Tariff

120 points

GCE A Level

Typical offer – BBC-BBB

BTEC

BTEC Extended Diploma: DDM

International Baccalaureate

28 points

Irish / Scottish Highers

Irish Highers: H3, H3, H3, H3, H3

Scottish Highers: BBBB

Access requirements

Access to HE Diploma, to include 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 must be at Merit or above

T Level

T Level - Merit

OCR Cambridge Technicals

OCR Extended Diploma: DDM

Extra Information

Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs.

Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.

We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.

English Language Requirements

  • IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
  • Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)

For more information on our entry requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.

72UCAS points

UCAS Tariff

72 points

GCE A level

72 points overall, including grade D in A level

BTEC

BTEC Extended Diploma: MMP

International Baccalaureate

24 points

Irish / Scottish Highers

Irish Highers: H4 H4 H4 H4 H4

Scottish Highers: CCDD

Access requirements

Access to HE Diploma – Pass overall

T Level

T Level: Pass (D or E on the core)

OCR Cambridge Technicals

OCR Extended Diploma: MMP

Extra Information

Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer.  We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs.

If you are a mature student (21 or over) and have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels), then our Foundation Year courses will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in your chosen degree. 

Fees and Funding

£9,535per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2025/26 are £9,535 a year, or £1,590 per 20-credit module for part-time study.

The University may increase these fees at the start of each subsequent year of your course in line with inflation at that time, as measured by the Retail Price Index. These fee levels and increases are subject to any necessary government, and other regulatory, approvals.

Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.

Students from countries in the European Economic Area and the EU will pay International Tuition Fees.

Students who have been granted Settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans.

Students who have been granted Pre-settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans.

£14,450*per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

The tuition fees for international students studying Undergraduate programmes in 2025/26 are £14,450 per year for a full-time course. This fee is set for each year of study.

The University of Chester offers generous international and merit-based scholarships, providing a significant reduction to the published headline tuition fee. You will automatically be considered for these scholarships when your application is reviewed, and any award given will be stated on your offer letter.

For courses with a Foundation Year, the tuition fees for Year 1 are £10,750 and £14,200 for Years 2-4 in 2025/26.

For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section.

Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes. 

Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees. 

If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.

The University of Chester supports fair access for students who may need additional support through a range of bursaries and scholarships. 

Full details, as well as terms and conditions for all bursaries and scholarships can be found on the Fees and Finance section of our website.

Who you'll Learn from

Dr Niel Gillard

Senior Lecturer in Law, Programme Leader for Law, Law with Business, and Law with Criminology
Dr Niel Gillard

Where you'll study Wheeler, Chester

Your future Career

Job prosects

The range of teaching and assessment methods used on the course, as well as the excellent opportunities for self-development, assists students in demonstrating, on graduation, an extensive range of skills that are transferable to a variety of professions.

Progression options

Our graduates have gone on to successful careers as solicitors and barristers as well as other professional roles and further study.

Careers service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.