Course overview
This fascinating and widely recognised undergraduate law degree with the optionality of studying criminology lends itself to prospective students who wish to obtain a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD), whilst developing knowledge of criminal behaviour and its origins.
The course covers a wide range of challenging and thought-provoking legal topics, including Contract Law, Law of Tort, Land Law, Equity and Trusts and a number of substantive and optional law modules. The addition of modules in criminology makes this programme truly unique, offering the opportunity to develop social science skills and knowledge. Topics such as crime and society, justice and punishment and criminal investigation will introduce sociological, legal and economic theories that will complement the legal knowledge you gain.
Studying both Law and Criminology will allow for a combined understanding of these two challenging disciplines, broadening your knowledge and also the range of transferable skills you will develop.
Developed and taught by subject experts in both disciplines, this course provides an excellent opportunity to enhance your career development and improve your employability. You’ll be prepared for employment in a wide variety of fields as you will acquire a solid grounding in both legal and criminological principles while embracing all the subject-specific abilities, intellectual skills, practical professional skills and general transferable skills outlined by the QAA subject benchmarks.
The LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology is a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) approved by the relevant legal professional bodies and is the first step if you are considering practising law professionally.
Job outcomes
Careers in:
- HR
- Civil Service
- Accountancy
- Criminal Justice
- Legal Services
- Police
- Probation
- Prison Service
Study method
- Online
- Blended
- In-class
Awards

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Duration study load
- 48 months – part-time
Entry requirements
1. Academic Entry Route
In order to satisfy the Academic Entry Route requirements for the LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology degree you must have the following qualifications as a minimum:
- Three A-levels, or equivalent; plus
- If English is not your first language, IELTS (academic) 6.0 or equivalent.
- If you do not hold an IELTS or equivalent qualification, we require students to pass a free online English test
You are required to pass your initial assignment set during the first 21 days of the course in order to continue with your studies.
2. Work Experience Entry Route
To apply for the LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology degree via our Work Experience Entry Route you must meet the following criteria:
- GCSE Maths and English at grade C or above, or equivalent
- Three years’ relevant work experience; plus
- If English is not your first language, IELTS (academic) 6.0 or equivalent
- If you do not hold an IELTS or equivalent qualification, we require students to pass a free online English test
You will be required to pass your initial assignment set during the first 21 days of the course in order to continue with your studies.
Course features
All of our courses have regular start dates throughout the year. Our academic year is organised into modules, typically with a one- or two-week break between modules and a structured three-week break for the Christmas period. Students will receive a course timetable during the application process.
Assessment
We adopt an assignment-based approach to assessment instead of exams. LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology assignments is based on real-life work experience and assessed by tutors on an ongoing basis.
You are always aware of your current provisional grade right from the start of the programme, allowing you to evaluate the success of your current study methods and clearly identify areas to improve.
We believe that this transparency gives you the information you need to make the most of your course. We achieve this by:
- Showing your marks clearly in your grade book, which can be viewed whenever you log onto the learning platform
- The rapid turnaround of work assessed to ensure that your grade book is always up to date
- Assessing your work throughout the module rather than waiting for the end of year exams
- Ensuring you have regular contact with your student adviser
- The simplicity and transparency in the design of our assessment criteria
We also have a policy of ensuring that the work submitted by students is authentic. As well as the fact that all work is frequently assessed, we use a well-established electronic monitoring system to check for plagiarism.
On successful completion of your LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology degree, you will be invited to attend a graduation ceremony at the University of Essex, Colchester campus.
Delivery
As we are a 100% online university, we utilise a virtual learning environment instead of a traditional campus. The system tracks and manages the learning process in real-time and provides you with immediate access to your learning materials.
This learning platform allows both students and tutors to actively take part in real-time conversations and you can listen to, and view, live lectures and seminars over the internet. All courses are delivered in English only.
Subjects
The LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology is made up of the following modules and, upon completion, is equal to a total of 360 credits.
- Student online learning orientation
- Introduction to online legal information
- Researching legal issues
- Reading statutes
- Reading cases
- Academic honesty/originality checking
- Legal writing 1: legal essays
- Legal writing 2: Problem questions/problem solving (Problem-solving, application and critical thinking)
- Applying Law in practical situations: presentation, mooting and negotiation
- Introduction to substantive criminal law
- Actus reus 1: Principles
- Actus reus 2: Concurrence
- Actus reus 3: Causation
- Mens rea
- Homicide 1:
- Homicide 2
- Non-fatal offences against the person 1
- Non-fatal offences against the person 2
- Sexual Offences
- Theft 1: Actus reus
- Theft 2: Mens rea
- Robbery and Burglary and Criminal Damage
- General defences 1: Automatism and insanity
- General defences 2: Intoxication
- General defences 3: Mistake
- General defences 4: duress, duress of circumstances and necessity
- General defences 5: Inchoate offences
- Introduction and theory of contract
- Offer and acceptance
- Intention to create legal relations
- Consideration
- Promissory estoppel
- Certainty
- Privity and third parties
- Terms
- Unfair terms
- Misrepresentation
- Mistake
- Duress and undue influence
- Frustration
- Illegality
- Remedies 1: Principles of compensation
- Remedies 2: Severity of breach and relationship with damages
- Remedies 3: Assessment of damages
- Remedies 4: specific performance and injunction
- Introduction to tortious liability
- Negligence: Duty of care 1
- Negligence: Duty of care 2
- Unit 4: Negligence: Duty of Care 3 – Public Authorities and the Ambulance Service
- Negligence: Breach of duty
- Negligence: Proof of Breach of Duty
- Negligence: Factual causation
- Negligence: Legal Causation/Remoteness of Damage
- Negligence: Pure economic loss
- Negligence: Psychiatric Injury
- Occupiers’ liability 1 – visitors
- Occupiers’ liability 2 – non-visitors
- Private Nuisance
- Public Nuisance
- Defamation: General Principles
- Defamation 2: Defences
- The Rule in Rylands v Fletcher
- Vicarious Liability
- Introduction to the EU: History, enlargement, sources of EU law and institutions
- Legislative processes
- Supremacy of EU Law; Direct effect; Subsidiarity and proportionality principles
- Protection of fundamental rights
- Introduction to the internal market
- Free movement of goods
- Free movement of services and freedom of establishment
- Free movement of workers and European citizenship
- Proceedings before the ECJ: references for preliminary rulings, actions for annulment, actions against EU institutions
- Proceedings before national courts, and recent challenges faced by EU
- Introduction to Equity and trusts
- Nature and classification of trusts
- Express trusts: certainties
- Express trusts: formalities
- Express trusts: constitution
- Variation of trusts
- Secret trusts
- Implied and resulting trusts
- Constructive trusts
- Trustees, powers and duties: 1
- Trustees, powers and duties: 2
- Breach of trust
- Fiduciary duties
- Third party liability
- Charities
- Tracing and proprietary remedies 1
- Tracing and proprietary remedies 2
- Equitable remedies
About University of Essex Online
Online learning is a cost-effective, convenient and flexible way to enhance your career. Our quality-assured distance learning courses allow you to work towards your qualification in a unique virtual learning environment and still have access to all the support and facilities you would expect to receive on campus.
University of Essex Online courses are delivered by Kaplan Open Learning, an experienced online learning provider, part of Kaplan International Pathways. The University and Kaplan have developed their partnership since 2007 in order to offer high-quality online courses.