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Law and policing

Take the first step in your legal career

Key Information

This undergraduate pathway will provide students with the necessary skills to begin studying at level 4 in courses related to Law, Policing and Criminology.

Key information

Undergraduate course

Duration

  • Foundation (4 Years)
  • First Year (3 Years)

Intakes

  • January
  • May
  • September

Location

  • Cambridge
    Chelmsford

Law and policing overview

Students will be introduced to the core skills necessary to succeed in higher education, including thinking critically, researching and referencing appropriately, demonstrating appropriate numeracy and ICT skills, and communicating effectively verbally and in writing.

Students will also be introduced to specific concepts related to their degree programmes including an introduction to the English legal system, business law, criminal law and the criminal justice system and ethics. Real-world examples of the law in action will be highlighted, and students will practice applying the law to case studies.

Pathway progression

Successful completion of this pathway will lead to the award of the following from ARU:

Please see our International and UK course matrix for entry point, intake and study location information.

Course structure

Interactive Learning Skills and Communication (ILSC)

Interactive Learning Skills and Communication (ILSC) will help you to develop your academic, research, communication, and literacy skills in preparation for your undergraduate degree. ILSC covers reading, writing, speaking, and listening and will give you an understanding of institutional culture, practices, norms, and expectations of UK higher education. You will develop transferable skills such as effective communication to support ongoing study, career, and professional development skills.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information Communication Technology (ICT) provides you with the practical computer skills needed for university. In this module, you will cover fundamental topics surrounding the use of technology and discuss these together with societal and ethical perspectives. This will allow you to reflect on and discuss the main challenges facing society and consider the implications of your technology use. This module requires no previous technical experience and will introduce you to practical ICT skills that will be needed for academic success across many areas of higher education. By the end, you should have sufficient proficiency in the Microsoft Office productivity suite for planning and producing presentations, using functions, and writing formula to display, formatting and analysing quantitative data, and producing written assignments to a standard appropriate to higher education.

Critical Thinking

This module aims to enable you to participate in and practice independent learning tasks for deeper thought and investigation as needed for Higher Academic pursuits. You will participate in a Socratic Discussion based around Conspiracy Theories and Source Checking to encourage presentation and debating skills. You will be encouraged to invest in strategies that will deepen understanding and interpretation of processes, motives, argument, rationale, credibility, and possibilities which will then be applicable to a range of studies. You will also undertake research, based on an issue related to your degree programme, to review the main points of examining an argument in depth. You will then learn to create a personal response that analyses the content of the issue under study.

Composition and Style

Composition and Style teaches a structured introduction to all aspects and stages of the academic writing process. This module is vital for providing you with the knowledge required for the preparation and completion of written assignments within university and to university standards. This includes research and note-taking; structuring work; drafting and redrafting; editing and proof-reading; achieving an effective academic style; referencing; writing effectively under differing conditions; using feedback on your written work and grammar and punctuation. A considerable proportion of this module focuses on writing processes, and more specifically how these processes correspond to the different creative stages of writing.

Ethics

Ethics is all about making decisions based on what you consider to be correct and not correct which is a discipline that is fundamental for students in higher education. Within this module, you will discuss the complexity of ethical theory and will investigate the status of several major ethical theories and claims and consider some practical ethical issues which are impacted by these theories. You will be encouraged to use critical thinking and research to discuss descriptive, normative, and analytic approaches to ethical problems and you will also look at how ethics is applied within the humanities, technology, business, medical and legal contexts.

Fundamentals of Law

Fundamentals of Law will present you with some of the fundamental aspects of the Legal System. You will be introduced to legal concepts and rules and the machinery involved in the introduction, application, and enforcement of laws. You will cover concepts of law, constitution, state institutions, Legal Sources, and Human rights. You will also explore and critically assess the value of legal rules, processes and institutions and develop skills of communication, interpretation, reasoning, and analysis in relation to a variety of legal situations.

Business Law

This module has been designed to present you with some of the fundamental aspects of Business Law. You will be introduced to legal concepts and rules and the machinery involved in their introduction, application, and enforcement. You will explore and critically assess the value of legal rules, processes, and institutions and will cover topics such as: intellectual property, business structures, business transitions, business liability, and employment law. You will also develop skills in communication, interpretation, reasoning, and analysis which are crucial in Business Law.

Criminal Law

This module will present you with some of the fundamental aspects of criminal law, concentrating on the principles of criminal liability relating to a range of criminal offences. You will be introduced to the legal concepts and rules and the machinery involved in their introduction, application, and enforcement. You will explore and critically assess the value of legal rules, processes and institutions and develop skills of communication, interpretation, reasoning, and analysis in relation to Criminal Law. You’ll also examine and analyse case studies to understand the relevant legislation, case law and key organisations in relation to the offence and identify the lines of defence.


Related links

For more information about intake semesters and campus location please see our course matrices.

Find out the academic entry requirements for our courses listed by country. Unless stated, requirements are standard across all courses.

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