- We equip you with all the key skills required to succeed in the legal sector – including drafting, advocacy, interviewing and negotiation. In addition to these core legal skills we will be engaging with skills that relate to entrepreneurship, creative and problem solving skills as well as developing your business acumen.
- Our tuition reaches the highest professional standards: this is a qualifying law degree, meeting criteria set by the Bar Standards Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority, which puts you on the path to a career as a solicitor or barrister.
- You’ll go behind the headlines to explore how crime can be measured and reduced as well as the challenges of convicting serious offenders.
- There are exciting opportunities for you to benefit from work internships and professional mentoring.
- An extensive programme of fieldtrips are included in your course fee. In previous years students have visited London, The Hague and Dublin.
- Through our new Student Legal Advice Centre, you can gain rewarding practical experience by supporting the wider community and helping people who might otherwise find it hard to access justice support and advice.
- Our enthusiastic teaching team includes experienced practitioners in law and criminology as well as researchers who have an international profile.
For those interested in becoming a solicitor, the route to qualification is changing. At Derby Law School we are working hard to ensure that the necessary changes are made to our undergraduate and postgraduate courses to provide our students with maximum opportunity and flexibility to further their legal career.
Law - your questions answered
In the below video, Head of Derby Law School, Sue Jennings, answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Law at the University of Derby.
By studying our LLB (Hons) with Criminology you’ll gain a comprehensive all-round undergraduate legal education, alongside a thorough grounding in criminology and the challenges facing criminal justice professionals today.
You'll cover every aspect of legal services and engage with all the core professional skills, bringing what you read in the textbooks to life through genuine practical experience. At the same time, you’ll debate major ideas about retribution, rehabilitation and punishment, exploring why people commit crime, why laws are created and broken, the effectiveness of sentencing and punishment, and the impact of crime on victims, communities and wider society.
Flexibility and choice are a cornerstone of this course: our broad selection of optional modules means that you can specialise in areas as diverse as company law, commercial and consumer law, family law, international human rights, child protection, murder, psychopathy, cybercrime and miscarriages of justice.
Professional Recognition
The Derby LLB (Hons) with Criminology meets stringent criteria set by the Bar Standards Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority and covers all the foundations of legal knowledge. As a ‘qualifying law degree’, it offers exemptions from the academic stage of study if you want to progress to become a barrister or solicitor.
Hands-on learning
Derby Law School has an ethos of ‘learning by doing’ to build your employability skills and ensure you’re work-ready on graduation. We offer different variations of real-world learning to take legal education out of the abstract and into reality – from mooting competitions and mock trials to drafting contracts and bail applications.
Work internships enable you to learn more about the legal sector. Through the Law School’s excellent relationship with the local legal profession, some of our students in previous years have had the opportunity to undertake work internships with local Government, local charities, Citizens Advice Bureau, the NHS legal department and the University of Derby Legal Department. The Law School actively supports students in identifying work internships where possible.
A vibrant programme of ‘paid for’ study visits will give you insights into the profession, including fieldtrips to local courts. Previous students have also toured London, including the Supreme Court and the Houses of Parliament and as well as visited The Hague, the legal capital of the world, where you can see the international courts in action. Students have also had the opportunity to visit Dublin to explore a different legal system.
Links with the profession
Contributions from the wider legal community, including regular careers talks and workshops, are central to this course. Through our professional mentoring scheme, practitioners from the legal field will share their perspectives with you. All students on the course are eligible to apply for this scheme. Previous mentors have included serving judges, solicitors and barristers. In some cases this has led to internships, part-time paralegal work and even permanent jobs for our students.
A highlight of our academic calendar is a prestigious black-tie law dinner where you can network with members of the local judiciary and legal profession. In addition, the Derby Junior Lawyers group invites our students to networking events and social opportunities. You can also join our active student Law Society.
Community Legal Advice Service and Pro Bono work
Our Community Legal Advice Service enables you to build your skills in clinical legal practice by assisting with and working on real issues with real clients. You have the opportunity to experience real-world learning. Volunteering in the Centre provides you the opportunity to develop transferrable skills that will assist you in gaining the skills required once you graduate – and not limited to a career as a solicitor.
Through the Centre, you’ll work under the close supervision of a qualified solicitor or other qualified professional to help members of the community in a range of legal areas. The Centre offers assistance in the following areas:
- Family law
- Criminal injuries compensation authority claims
- Immigration
- SEND
- Business
- Housing (for University of Derby students)
The Centre also offers support to Litigants in Person in Family Law matters at the Family Court at Derby. If you are representing yourself in a Family Law matter, a student volunteer can attend Court with you to support you, take notes and following the hearing discuss the outcome of the hearing with you. The opportunities the clinics provide are varied, such as meeting with clients, taking instructions, carrying out research and drafting legal letters.
The Centre was highly commended for the Best Contribution by a Pro Bono Clinic at the LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2021 and was shortlisted for Best Contribution by a Law School at the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards 2022.
The Law School was highly commended for the Best Contribution by a Law School at the LawWorks and Attorney General Awards 2024 for the work of the Centre.
Expert teaching
Our teaching team includes barristers, solicitors, criminal psychologists, sociologists and experienced police officers. Several are still actively engaged with practice, which helps you keep up to date with contemporary issues in justice. Our teaching is also enriched by research covering some of the most pressing issues confronting society today, from slavery to digital privacy.
The LLB (Hons) with Criminology is supported by visiting professors and guest lecturers who are leading authorities in their fields, including a deputy district judge and a coroner. Our celebrated Public Lecture Series also brings influential figures to the University to shed new light on the legal system.
Extra qualifications
If you have a particular interest in youth justice, the LLB (Hons) with Criminology gives you the chance to achieve an additional professional qualification – the Youth Justice in Effective Practice Certificate (YJEPC) – alongside your degree studies.
The YJEPC is the most widely held qualification in youth justice: since it was launched in 2012, it has been adopted by over half of the Youth Offending Teams countrywide to improve the skills of their staff. Bringing together current theory, practice and evidence, it will not only boost your employability but also help you to make more effective judgements in your future career.
The opportunity to gain the YJEPC is available if you take two specific modules – Working with Young Offenders and Youth Justice.
Study overseas
Along with our international fieldtrips, we offer you the opportunity to spend time studying abroad as part of the LLB (Hons) with Criminology. We have an extensive network of global associates, including strong partnerships with universities in Pisa, Naples, Paris, The Hague and Brno in the Czech Republic. These not only ensure our curriculum is truly international but also paves the way for exchange opportunities.
Time spent abroad is an excellent way to improve your academic experience and enhance your job prospects while enjoying a different culture.
Boost your employability with a placement year
Take an optional placement year to put your skills into practice in a real-world setting. We’ll support you in finding a placement and throughout your time in industry. It’s a great way to gain valuable experience for your CV, build contacts, and explore career options before you graduate.
The LLB with Criminology offers a variety of methods of learning and teaching. Engaging in real or simulated legal practice, you will practise a range of key skills at every stage of the course, including:
- case preparation
- mooting
- interviewing
- negotiation
Our focus on problem-based learning will also ensure you achieve a wide-ranging understanding of criminal and community justice systems. In addition, there is the chance to undertake problem-based research or to specialise through original academic enquiry. We have a Student Research Forum and there are opportunities for you to submit articles to the Derby Law School Journal and student blog.
Through our peer assisted mentoring scheme, students from later years of the course also give helpful guidance and support to first year students.
Showcasing your skills
We give you ample scope to take part in internal and external skills competitions which will raise your profile within the legal profession. ‘Mooting’ – where you present a legal issue against an opposing counsel in a mock court case – forms part of certain LLB modules and you can develop your expertise further through regional and national competitions representing Derby Law School. We have an excellent record of success in these challenges.
In your third year, our annual Legal Skills Triathlon, run in partnership with Derby & District Law Society, will test your advocacy, interview and negotiation skills. You will compete in teams with newly qualified lawyers and will be judged by a professional panel. Some of our students have secured jobs as a direct result of this experience.
In a new venture, we help run a schools’ debating competition in partnership with Derby & District Law Society and Enterprise for Education where you can mentor local secondary school pupils providing them with key debating skills.
How you are assessed
Assessments enable you to develop and demonstrate your legal knowledge and skills effectively. They may include:
- group work
- oral presentations
- written coursework
- examinations
Who you’ll meet
Our teaching team is made up of experts with broad-ranging experience and diverse research interests. It includes:
You will also meet academics from the department of Criminology who teach on the final year optional modules.
By the time you graduate, you will have a clear idea of the value of your LLB (Hons) with Criminology degree and the many different career directions it opens up – and you will be equipped to excel in whatever path you choose. Our graduates could go on to take up roles in private practice, the Crown Prosecution Service, the courts, law centres, the police, probation and prison services, local and national government, and youth offending teams.
Completion of the LLB represents the end of the academic stage of your training. To become a solicitor or barrister, you must then continue to complete the vocational stage of your training.
If you wish to become a solicitor, you will need to complete an LLM Legal Practice Course (LPC), or Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). Our graduates are highly sought after by solicitors’ firms because of their practical skills underpinned by academic rigour.
If you wish to become a barrister, you must take a one-year full-time or two-year part-time Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). Our students are particularly successful at winning substantial scholarships for the BPTC, which is testimony to the calibre of teaching we offer.
Even if you do not want to become a legal practitioner, you will find that the LLB with Criminology is a valuable qualification and will act as a stepping stone to careers in broader areas. Legal skills will ensure you can make a strategic contribution in many professions including banking, commerce, industry, HR, politics, government, publishing and education. They will also prove helpful if you want to launch your own business.
Further study
If you would like to take your studies to postgraduate level, the Derby LLM is a masters degree offering maximum flexibility, choice and opportunity.
If you would prefer to pursue your Criminology studies at masters level, we also run acclaimed MSc qualifications in subjects such as Criminal Justice and Criminology, Forensic and Criminal Psychology, and Criminal Investigation. These will expand your knowledge into more specialist areas and help accelerate your progress to senior and leadership roles.
As a graduate of the University of Derby, you may benefit from an alumni discount on your postgraduate course fees if you continue to study with us.
may apply to students who meet certain criteria.
These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2026 entry.
| Requirement | What we're looking for | | UCAS points | 112 |
| A Level | BBC |
| T Level | Merit |
| BTEC | DMM |
| GCSE | GCSE Maths and English Grade 4/Grade C (or above) or equivalent qualification |
| Access to HE | Pass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits: 45 at Level 3 with a minimum of Distinction: 15, Merit: 24, Pass: 6 |
| English language requirements | IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area) |
These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2027 entry.
| Requirement | What we're looking for | | UCAS points | 112 |
| A Level | BBC |
| T Level | Merit |
| BTEC | DMM |
| GCSE | GCSE Maths and English Grade 4/Grade C (or above) or equivalent qualification |
| Access to HE | Pass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits: 45 at Level 3 with a minimum of Distinction: 15, Merit: 24, Pass: 6 |
| English language requirements | IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area) |
Teaching hours
Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.
Course updates
The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.
If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.
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