Law with Foundation Year

Please check the Sheffield Hallam University website for the latest information.

This course is moving into one of our new buildings at City campus. Teaching will be delivered at our Collegiate campus during the 2024/25 academic year while we get our new facilities ready. After that you will study in brand new facilities at City campus.

Course summary

• Develop critical understanding of the law and its practices.

• Explore how justice and order is fostered in societies.

• Gain experience at our Legal Service Clinic and Hubs and work on live client cases.

• Work with law firms and legal and social-justice providers.

• Consider the global reach of law, with opportunities for UK and international placement.

On this course you’ll learn and apply the law practically. You’ll gain valuable experience in at least one of the following settings: the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice , on-campus legal service providers, or with external organisations. While developing excellent legal knowledge and skills, you’ll shape your degree around your interests, values and aspirations – preparing you for graduate careers in and beyond the legal sector.

How you learn
All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

On this course you’ll learn how to understand, critique and create knowledge and information. You’ll also develop and practise key skills and attributes essential for future work – challenging and confirming your personal and professional values to become an active citizen within a diverse society. This approach will prepare you for challenges and opportunities across our global society.

Our award-winning tutors are experts in their fields. You’ll be taught by a range of lecturers who are experienced legal researchers and who have years of experience in the legal profession as solicitors or barristers.

Key Themes
At every level of your course, you’ll have the opportunity to learn the law and the personal and practical skills required to apply the law to a variety of simulated and real-life cases.

You’ll collaborate with legal professionals and rights and justice practitioners to challenge law and its application, engaging with projects and initiatives which are making a difference in Sheffield, nationally and globally. With a thorough grounding in the foundational areas of legal knowledge, you’ll be able to demonstrate what you’ve learned in theoretical and practical contexts.

Applied learning
Your course has been designed to embrace real-world challenges and provide you with the practical skills and knowledge to be successful within your chosen sector.

Work Placements
You’ll have the opportunity to arrange a year-long work placement in between your second and third years. This gives you valuable work experience to prepare you for your future career – and allows you to graduate with an Applied Professional Diploma to add to your CV.

As part of your course you’ll have opportunities to undertake a range of placements with our legal and social-justice service providers. These include major national and international law firms – such as Irwin Mitchell and DLA Piper – and international legal practitioners such as attorneys’ firms, public defenders and miscarriage of justice projects in the USA.

Live Projects
Throughout the course you’ll gain vital industry experience working alongside lawyers and other professionals on real projects.

Social Justice
The department is committed to advocating for those who don’t have or can’t afford representation. You can get involved in a range of legal advice initiatives supporting access to justice including local court help desks, our Refugee Rights Hub and our Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.