Bachelor of Law (Accelerated)

at University of Buckingham United Kingdom

The LLM by Research requires an original contribution to the body of knowledge in a particular academic or professional discipline. It will take approximately one year to complete with full-time study and two years of part-time study.

Well-functioning legal institutions are crucial to economic growth, development and more equitable distribution of resources. The connection between the legal system and the success of business has been shown repeatedly in the 20th Century.

The 2-year fast track programme offers a unique blend of business, economics and law covering micro and macro-economics, labour market economics, human rights law, corporate and business law, business management and business strategy.

We regularly host events and seminars where we discuss the latest research from our academics and invite speakers from the world of business and entrepreneurship.

Our academics offer a supportive, diverse and creative environment for you to explore your interests and ensure a successful educational experience. You will join an international community of students, staff and alumni.

A dedicated professional development course runs through the degree covering academic and job market skills. You will also benefit from internships and research opportunities in the Vinson Centre for Economics and Entrepreneurship.

Students taking this programme might be aiming to enter the legal profession by going on to take the Common Professional Examination and later specialise in areas of law such as anti-trust, securities regulation or taxation. Graduates can also move onto several master’s level programmes and is well suited to students who intend to take an MBA degree before entering business.

We are the beneficiaries of a substantial endowment from Nobel prize-winning economist Ronald Coase, who had a major specialism in the interface between Law and Economics and won the Nobel prize for that research. We offer several generous scholarships for students with a passion for Economics and Law. We especially encourage women and ethnic minorities to apply. Coase Scholarship details and eligibility criteria.

The 3 year LLB Law degree is designed for students who can benefit from an introduction to enable them to study at undergraduate level. The first year of the programme provides a foundation to the more specialist ‘core’ subjects delivered in years two and three.

The unique structure of Buckingham’s LLB degree allows our students to become confident, competent lawyers, able to practise almost anywhere in the world after just three years (eight or nine terms) of study.

With an English ‘qualifying law degree’ from Buckingham you will be recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (formerly the Law Society) and the Bar Standards Board as qualified to be exempt from the academic stage of training for entry into the legal profession. Every LLB programme at Buckingham (whether single honours or combined honours) provides our graduates with this qualification.

We can usually accommodate the additional requirements needed for those who wish to practise in other jurisdictions and if you are an overseas student we are happy to discuss exactly which subjects you need to study in order to qualify for your jurisdiction.

During your study for the Buckingham LLB Law Degree  you will become proficient in written and oral presentation, develop and perfect your research techniques and learn to solve problems in a logical and structured way and also acquire the practical skills of oral advocacy

The BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (3-year degree) combines the three important subjects of Philosophy, Politics and Economics. What makes it different to PPE offered in other universities is its integrated character, with a special focus on explaining how human behaviour shapes economic and political institutions.

In the Philosophy strand, you will take an Introduction to Philosophy module and study the Philosophy of Mind. In addition, there will be more specialised modules in political theory: Introduction to Political Theory; Freedom; Evolution and Human Cooperation. And students will receive a grounding in the Philosophy of Social Science.

The Politics element of the degree focuses on area and country studies, with a particular emphasis on political order and security challenges. Those challenges vary from region to region but typically take the form of political violence (war, terrorism and organised crime), mass migration and economic instability. Students are encouraged to approach these problems from a number of disciplinary perspectives. For example, the study of Latin America would consider the historical, cultural and economic determinants of the region’s politics.

The Economics element of the PPE programme covers the core areas of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. But in addition, there is an emphasis on the interaction between Economics and Politics. Students also receive a strong grounding in mathematics and quantitative methods.

Another distinctive feature of the degree is that two modules – in Politics and Philosophy – will be based on a series of lectures by prominent academics and public figures. These are taught in London (travel and other expenses will be covered in the fees).

This postgraduate research degree is offered by the Centre for Research into Expertise Acquisition, Training and Excellence (CREATE) hub at the University of Buckingham. The main focus of this centre is the exploration of the drivers of excellence in performance (whether cognitive, creative or practice-based). We are engaged in a number of external collaborative projects in the areas of creativity and performance, and also work with internal colleagues in the School of Computing and the Medical School. Key topic areas we explore include:

• Insight and creativity
• The drivers of performance excellence and expertise development (e.g. in music, theatre, puzzle-solving, board-games and medicine)
• Hobbies, motivations and characteristics of niche populations
• Psychology of music, choreography and dance
• Time perception and those with ‘natural’ time-keeping abilities

This programme leads to the award of an MSc (Research) in the area of the Psychology of Creativity and Performance Expertise. In addition to completing a 25,000 word thesis within a topic area relevant to the hub, you will gain wide knowledge of the broader field through guided self-study topic areas and research skills workshops. This will mean that you develop an in-depth knowledge of the psychology of creativity and performance expertise, which is informed by current issues and advanced research.

As a result of your studies, you will develop a strong knowledge base and core transferable skills which will enable you to become an independent researcher in your field, and will provide you with a solid foundation for further study and/or employment.

The three-year BA International Studies degree with integrated foundation is designed for students who need additional preparation prior to undergraduate level study. The first year of the programme is intended to provide a foundation in both knowledge and academic skills for the more specialist subjects in years two and three. Students’ progression onto the BA International programme is subject to regulations for the Foundation Stage of three year degree programmes.

An important feature of the modern world, which is widely recognised and commented upon by businesses, journalists, politicians and teachers alike, is its increasing interdependence and internationalisation. Your ability to read this message on the World Wide Web is itself a manifestation of the power of ideas to transcend national boundaries with great rapidity and at low cost. Technology has proved to be an agent which encourages co-operation across national boundaries. Technological developments in transport, telecommunications and computing have encouraged economic changes such as the decline in barriers to trade, the internationalisation of financial markets, the rise of global companies, and a massive increase in the volume of international trade in goods and services.

These trends have been accompanied by political developments such as the rise of regional trading groupings of countries, international efforts to agree about common legal and technical rules to govern business dealings, arguments about tax competition between countries, as well as increasing concern about the environmental consequences associated with world economic development. Enormous social tensions arise as these international forces come into conflict with long established ways of doing things in every country. Political and social systems are in a continuous process of adjustment to an increasingly open world.

Th eBA International Studies degree programme at Buckingham gives you an opportunity to learn about these fundamental problems. With students coming to Buckingham from over 80 countries, it is an ideal environment to learn about matters of international concern and to discuss them with people from differing cultural backgrounds. The programme is inter-disciplinary and covers economic, political, legal, historical and cultural dimensions. Graduates from the BA International Studies degree will have acquired a knowledge of economics sufficient to analyse and understand the global marketplace; a familiarity with political systems in a range of different countries; and a good historical understanding of how the international framework has evolved over time.

Students wishing to pursue careers in the media, journalism, international business, politics, diplomacy or education will find the programme particularly attractive.

Launched in January 2006, our BSc Business Enterprise BBE is the first undergraduate Venture Creation Programme (VCP) at a university anywhere in the world. This means students are required to start and run a business as part of their degree, this is not your typical degree programme as this programme is split between real-world application and theoretical knowledge.

The BSc Business Enterprise (BBE) Programme will interest you if you want to:

• Start and develop your own new business at the same time as studying for an honours degree.
• Make a positive contribution to the strategic development of a family business or other small or medium enterprise.
• Develop an entrepreneurial or “can do” approach to life to enhance your future career anywhere.

Students pitching to the Buckingham AngelsThis course provides the opportunity for you to ‘pitch’ for ‘seed-corn’ capital of up to £5,000, enabling you to start and run your own business as an integral part of your honours degree.  We offer a range of business subjects that will help you to establish your business and develop your qualities of entrepreneurship, management and innovation.

In the first semester, you will learn how to create an effective business plan. This will form the basis of your ‘pitch’ to obtain your ‘seed-corn’ capital from our investment panel ‘Buckingham Angels’.

During the following 18 months, you will be establishing and ‘growing’ the business, at the same time as developing your academic knowledge in-depth across the range of business subjects needed to obtain an honours degree in Business Enterprise.

You will encounter the canon of great authors, from Shakespeare onwards, but you also study themes like Film, Gender, and Empire. In other words, the degree combines traditional and contemporary aspects of the subject. Buckingham’s unique tutorial system makes for highly personalized teaching. If you’d like to try out a tutorial, come along to one of our free taster sessions.

What is Buckingham English?

• It is an encounter with the complexity and beauty of great literature
• It aids you on your journey to becoming a professional-level writer, able to write fluently and well in any context
• Like philosophy, it teaches you to argue and debate your ideas
• As a central liberal arts subject, it is a clear space to address the big questions of meaning and existence

We don’t think that formal essays are always the best way of assessing how students understand a subject, so you will find that you have opportunities to write a book review, reportage, poems and short stories, even part of a screenplay. You will learn a number of skills, not least how to write fluently and persuasively. As a result, our graduates go on into a range of careers in media, teaching, publishing, academia, business, and marketing.

BA English Literature Single or Flexible Honours options
Make your degree as unique as you! If you choose BA English Literature (Single or Flexible Honours) you’ll have the freedom to tailor your English Literature degree to reflect your interests and passions by combining it with a wide range of other subjects taught here at the University. This means that when you graduate you will have a highly personalised degree that will suit you and your aspirations perfectly.

If you choose Flexible Honours you have the freedom to select up to a third of your modules from the whole range of what is taught at the University. This means you can mix and match lots of different subjects ?with English Literature or focus solely on English Literature. At every stage, your Personal Tutor will be on hand to advise and guide your choices.

BA History is one of the five most popular subjects among UK university students, and with good reason. Having a historical perspective enables people to make sense of today’s rapidly changing world. Employers like it because history teaches you to think for yourself, to work under pressure, and to construct a coherent argument from the evidence. Historical research has never been more exciting than it is today, with the internet making available so many treasures from the archives.

This BA History programme has been carefully designed and fine-tuned by Buckingham’s team of experienced and high-calibre historians. It offers an outline and conceptual modules which concentrate on the period from 1800 to the present day – though we do study some earlier periods too from the 1500s onwards too.  It covers, in particular, empires, the rise in political polarisation, World Wars and the shaping of our modern political systems, whilst considering the relationship between ideology and the historical process.

Students progress to study the history of history and to reflect on historical method. In the last part of the course, we study historical documents and texts and develop research and writing skills through a long essay and a dissertation. So the programme not only teaches history; it also teaches you to think historically and to research and write history.

History Flexible (BA) Honours option
Make your degree as unique as you! If you choose BA History (Flexible Honours) you’ll have the freedom to tailor your History degree to reflect your interests and passions by combining it with a wide range of other subjects taught here at the University. This means that when you graduate you will have a highly personalised degree that will suit you and your aspirations perfectly.

If you choose Flexible Honours you have the freedom to select up to a third of your modules from the whole range of what is taught at the University. This means you can mix and match lots of different subjects ?with History. At every stage, your Personal Tutor will be on hand to advise and guide your choices.

BSc Psychology with Applied Computing looks at the ever-larger role that computers are taking in our everyday lives and the increasing number of jobs in the Information Technology sector. Aadegree covering psychology and IT is a very wise choice. The area of human-computer interaction is an example of an overlap between the two disciplines.

The BSc Psychology with Applied Computing programme is carefully designed to suit the varied needs of different students from different backgrounds and with different career objectives, in the IT and psychology fields.

By choosing to study BSc Psychology with Applied Computing at the University of Buckingham, you’ll benefit from a committed team of lecturers who genuinely care about the people they teach. Students will learn through Buckingham’s unique tutorials, which are in addition to lectures and seminars. These sessions ensure that you are not just a face in the crowd, your tutors will get to know who you are and encourage you to engage in debates and discussions. During tutorials you will develop your knowledge about psychology and computing and regularly practice skills that are important for employability.