Law PgDip

This course, replacing the Graduate Diploma in Law that we taught for over three years, is an innovative and exciting new course for non-law graduates who wish either to enter the legal profession or to acquire legal knowledge and skills to progress in other careers.

Our Law PgDip satisfies all the requirements of the professional bodies who determine how a non-law graduate can enter the profession but also gives you a postgraduate qualification in law. Upon completion, graduates may top up their qualification up to a masters degree by enrolling in the Legal Studies MA.

The one year full-time or two year part-time course is taught at postgraduate level, and will draw on all the skills you have acquired in your undergraduate degree. It will provide you with the essential understanding of law and legal reasoning required for practice whilst developing the critical thinking and appreciation of legal debate and scholarship that you would expect of a postgraduate degree.

What will you study?

An intensive compulsory five-day induction week for both full- and part-time students introduces you to the substantive law governing the English legal system together with the legal skills you will need to use throughout the course.

These skills are developed throughout the rest of the first semester as you go on to study the Foundations of Legal Knowledge. These are the seven subjects that are essential for your progression into the profession – the law of contract; criminal law; public law; the law governing civil wrongs; the rights and interests over land and property; the principles of equity and trusts; and the law of the European Union.

You will also have the opportunity to study an area of law outside these Foundations subjects by undertaking a research project chosen from a very wide range of areas of law.

Research is an essential part of the day-to-day life of the Faculty of Business and Law, and is embedded in its intellectual activities and development.

Kingston Law School has a strong research reputation covering a range of topics, including criminal justice, dispute resolution and law and education.

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Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list.

Foundation law modules

• Criminal Law

• Criminal Law

  This module will introduce you to the general principles underlying the law; developing your awareness of the major offences in criminal law and introducing you to international criminal law. It will enable you to apply the law to hypothetical scenarios and understand the complex issues which can arise from criminal law.

  
   
• Land Law

• Land Law

  This module studies the doctrines and principles concerning property in English law. It will enable you to develop a critical appreciation of the role of property in modern society.

  
   
• Law of Contract

• Law of Contract

  This module introduces the principles of contract law and enables you to develop knowledge and critical understanding of the rules relating to the formation, content and performance of contract.

  
   
• Law of the European Union

• Law of the European Union

  This module will enable you to acquire a sound knowledge of the constitutional and procedural areas of European Law, including:

  • the relationship between the European Union and its member states;
  • the principles of the European legal system;
  • the role of the European Court of Justice; and
  • how European law affects the individual.

   

  
   
• Public Law

• Public Law

  This module develops your understanding of:

  • the complex nature of a democratic state;
  • the institutions and processes through which the UK seeks to maintain democracy; and 
  • the issues which are changing and affecting these processes and institutions.
  
   
• The Law of Tort

• The Law of Tort

  This module aims to provide an understanding of the principles governing the major torts in English law. It will enable you to apply the principles of law to a range of factual situations.

  
   
• Equity and Trusts

• Equity and Trusts

  This module introduces the general principles of equity and the concept of a trust, and examines the distinction between them. It will enable you to apply relevant legal principles to the solution of factual problems in this field and critically evaluate the solutions proposed.

  
   

Non-foundation law modules

• The English Legal System and Legal Skills

• The English Legal System and Legal Skills

  This module will enable you to gain a sound knowledge and appreciation of the relationship of the courts and institutions within the English legal system.

  It will also develop your ability to acquire and use the legal and transferable skills necessary to find, understand, interpret and criticise the law studied in this course.

  
   
• Research Project

• Research Project

  This module will provide the opportunity to undertake an in-depth independent research project. It will:

  • enable you to extend your knowledge in an area of law, or a legal issue, beyond the foundations of law subjects; and
  • develop your ability to identify a suitable topic for research, select the most appropriate methodology, collect and analyse data, and present results.
  
   

Option modules

• Mooting

Kingston Law School runs a number of postgraduate and post-experience open days. Visit us to find out how we can help you achieve your career ambitions.

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Kingston Law School has strong links with The Law Society (the professional body that represents and regulates practising solicitors in England and Wales), which accredits this programme.

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See what options are available to you on graduating from this course.

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