Criminal Law

This module will provide you with an understanding of the practical operation of criminal law and its sometimes contradictory underpinning theories.

Year 2

Property Law 2

This module provides you with a full understanding of the nature of trusts, the equitable rules regarding charities and wills, the responsibilities of trustees and their control of trust property. Emphasis will be placed on principles and ethical values underpinning this area of law and their policy implications.

Tort Law

In this module you will critically consider tort law in the context of the policies, objectives and values of the society in which it is embedded. The module focuses on the major areas of tort law to be found on standard syllabi, although the relevant law is considered in its social context and measured against stated or perceived objectives, as well as certain jurisprudential theories, such as the various species of ‘rights-based’ theories.

Legal Research Skills and Application for Graduates

This module will introduce you to different aspects of legal research and give you the opportunity to prepare a piece of advanced research that will develop your legal research skills at postgraduate level.

European Union Law

This module aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the constitutional and institutional framework of EU law, and to serve as an introduction to the substantive law of the European Community. It is intended to equip you with the foundational knowledge necessary to understand the more specialist areas of EC law you may encounter in your future career, and enable you to understand the interaction between national, supranational and international levels of law.

Programme Structure and Modules

NB. In the summer vacation, students will have the opportunity to acquire legal experience, for example, through vacation placements and mini pupillages. Those whose performance is outstanding may be offered work placements by the School of Law.

Teaching

For all foundational subjects, teaching consists of weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars in groups of up to ten students. Lectures provide a broad introduction to each subject area and are taken alongside LLB students who are covering the same areas of law as part of their degree programme. They are meant to provide a basic introduction to each subject and students will be expected to supplement this by reading set cases, textbooks and other materials. 

In addition MA Law students will attend fortnightly seminars for each module designed specifically for this programme. The seminars develop the introductory understanding provided by the lectures and are taught at a postgraduate level. Preparation and participation in them will give you experience in Masters-level research and discussion. 

In the seminars students will engage with topics of current interest and in doing so explore the practical application of concepts discussed in lectures and the difficulties that may arise in practical situations. Students will be asked to read set materials critically, to research current issues and to prepare presentations on set topics. Problems arising from practical situations will also be discussed and remedies should be suggested and critically analysed by students. 

The Legal Skills module is an introduction to the programme; it explores the resources available for the study of law, and develops skills necessary for finding, reading and using them. The module on Legal Research Skills and Application for Graduates consists of six seminars introducing you to the realities of postgraduate legal research.

Assessment

Seminar presentations will be formatively assessed and students will be given feedback on their performance by seminar leaders. Summative assessment will be by coursework, which will count towards 25 per cent of the final mark for each module, and by final examination, which will count towards 75 per cent. 

As for all postgraduate programmes, the pass mark for each module will be 50 per cent. Students obtaining an overall mark of 60 per cent or above will obtain a degree with merit, and those obtaining an overall mark of 70 per cent or above will obtain a degree with distinction. Marking criteria will be available in the student handbook.

Library Resources

The Library has a substantial collection of materials, textbooks, monographs, journals and anthologies relevant to the study of the foundational subjects. This includes texts suitable for the study of these subjects at postgraduate level. An effective Library induction will be provided in the first year of the programme through the Legal Skills module.

Computing

In addition to general student resources, the School of Law provides students with access to a bank of standard desktop computers with flat monitors within one of the Law student common rooms. 

These PCs have access to a standard office suite, for word-processing and spreadsheet work. All these computers are enabled for Internet and email and are available for students during normal office hours throughout semester time. The computers available to students provide the latest Microsoft Office packages. The IT resource room is Internetand email-enabled to allow access to the ULearn system (an online learning environment aimed at providing wider access to teaching material and enhancing students’ teaching and learning experience) and online library resources. 

The neighbouring School of Management building has wide wireless network, which is available for student use 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Industry Links and International Relevance

Surrey’s MA Law programme will provide students with an internationally recognised Masters qualification. As a QLD, it will allow students to proceed to a legal practice course or the Bar vocational course and then towards qualification as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales. Successful students will therefore have the opportunity to practise their profession in one of the world’s largest centres of commerce and finance and to represent their clients in one of the most prestigious court systems. 

Students whose performance on the programme is outstanding in their first year may be offered an eight-week placement with the New York City Council during the summer vacation, subject to availability. This placement will be an unpaid internship, but will give successful students the opportunity to develop essential skills, and will provide them with work experience that will enhance their attractiveness to potential future employers.

Detailed Programme Information

The programme is a QLD tailored to graduate students who would like to study the foundational subjects at a more advanced level and with a focus on research and current developments. Because the programme is spread over two years students should have ample opportunity to research these subjects in depth and should, at the end of the programme, be knowledgeable about fundamental legal concepts and principles, critically aware of important legal issues and new insights, and capable of self-direction and originality in tackling and solving legal problems. 

Students will also have the opportunity to develop their research skills through the Legal Research Skills and Application for Graduates module which is designed specifically for this programme. Thus students completing this programme will be capable of critical evaluation and analysis of advanced legal materials, of formulating research questions and of presenting findings and conclusions in a logical and systematic way. 

The focus on research and problem solving should provide students with important skills that will be highly valued by future employers. In addition outstanding students may also be given the opportunity (subject to availability) to develop these skills further through a placement opportunity during the summer vacation between the first and second years.

Placements

Work placement opportunities may be made available during the summer vacation between the first and second years to MA Law students whose overall performance is outstanding. Furthermore students on the programme will benefit from careers advice and activities provided by the School of Law and by the University.

Research Topic

Having been introduced to research methodology and concepts, you will undertake research in a subject of your own choosing and write a paper of 7500 words on that subject. 

You will be supervised by a member of academic staff with knowledge of your chosen subject area. This research topic not only develops your research skills and understanding of legal sources but also allows you to explore areas of interest to you not provided in the core curriculum.