Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods

SOAS Law School offers an intensive 2-week preliminary module in Law and Legal Method which is taught in September.

The purpose of this module is to provide students wishing to study law at postgraduate level in the University of London with an introduction to law, legal method and associated skills and techniques. It is designed primarily for those who do not already possess a law degree but may also be of interest to those who feel they want to get used to studying law in a UK institution.

The module is compulsory for those students taking one of the MA programmes in the School of Law at SOAS unless they gain a specific exemption from the MA programme conveners.

It is not compulsory for those registering for the LLM programme or other Masters programmes at SOAS. However, those students proposing to enrol on the LLM who do not have a law degree or who do not have a law degree from a common law country should consider registering for the preliminary module as this would ease their adaptation to the study of law at SOAS.

Module

The preliminary module runs over a 2-week period immediately before Welcome Week. Classes are held on a daily basis in the morning and afternoon of each week. The module is designed to provide:

  • a general introduction to law, legal method, and legal reasoning
  • an introduction to critical approaches to law including postcolonial and gender critiques
  • an introduction to the core areas of the MA & LLM specialisms taught at SOAS including in Environmental Law, Gender, Human Rights, International Law and Islamic Law
  • training in legal writing skills
  • an introduction to the use of online and other electronic resources
  • an introduction to how best to use library resources at SOAS and elsewhere in London
  • visits to places of legal interest where appropriate

Payment

For SOAS postgraduate Masters Law students there is no extra fee.

For students on other Masters programmes (in or outside SOAS): the preliminary module fee is £350. You can pay via the SOAS online store. Please make your payment.

Those who are not studying a postgraduate degree with SOAS School of Law will need to bring the receipt on the first day so that your library cards may be provided.

If you have any queries regarding this module, please contact: lawstudentsupport@soas.ac.uk

Objectives and learning outcomes

  • To outline the major points of UK, international and comparative law;
  • To show an understanding of legal methods and related skills;
  • To access and use online and other resources to conduct research;
  • To show an understanding of research techniques and study skills for professionals.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.

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