Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Complement your law studies with an understanding criminal behaviour and the processes of criminal justice. On this degree you’ll learn about competing perspectives of crime, how social order can be challenged and maintained, and how the world deals with the crimes of the powerful — such as genocide and war crimes. You’ll develop your knowledge of the law and legal frameworks too, which builds an ideal foundation for a career in the police or prison services. You'll apply your learning throughout the course with real world scenarios or live client work, and gain practical experience with opportunities such as the Community Lawyer module.By taking an optional paid placement year before or after your final year of study, you'll graduate with a year of industry experience too.

- Enrich your study of law by developing your understanding of criminal behaviour and criminal justice - Apply your learning in community settings to gain real-world legal practice skills- Have confidence in your learning with our research expertise in areas such as data protection, policing and financial crime- Benefit from teaching shaped by expert staff who have been practicing lawyers and criminologists, and who understand how the legal landscape is changing- Be able to obtain module exemptions from the Professional Qualification in Probation- Benefit from our partnership with Barbri, the world’s largest legal exam preparation experts, if you choose to do your Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) after graduation- Have the opportunity to apply your learning in a paid placement year before or after your final year, where you can apply your knowledge in a criminal justice organisation

The route to qualifying as a solicitor has changed for new applicants.If you accept an offer on this course after 21 September 2021 you'll need to take the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) after you graduate to qualify as a solicitor. The content and mode of assessment of many of our modules provide a good foundation for further specific SQE preparation.If you completed or started this course, accepted an offer of a place, or paid a non-refundable deposit (international students only) before 21 September 2021 (inclusive) you can choose to take either the new SQE or the Legal Practice Course (LPC) after graduation.

If you're not sure you meet the entry requirements, or need some help to get uni-ready, then we offer this course with a foundation year to bring you up to speed. When you successfully finish, you'll get a guaranteed place on this course.

When you graduate you'll be ready to take your next step to train as a solicitor, a barrister or a Chartered Legal Executive. It's worth noting that Chartered Legal Executives can now become judges, coroners, advocates and partners in law firms.Law degrees are in the top 10 degrees for employability. You'll graduate with a wide range of transferable skills that will make you very employable across a range of other sectors.