Teaching and learning

Find out more about how you will learn, and how to get started.

Lectures and tutorials 

Studying at the University offers a much more independent lifestyle than you may have experienced at school. We expect all our students to take responsibility for their own learning and we firmly believe that the more you put in, the more you will get out of your time here.

We aim to deliver the highest quality of teaching and learning to our students. Methods of teaching and learning in the Law School vary from subject to subject but, in general, formal lecturing provides the teaching framework in years one and two, complemented by small group tutorial sessions.

First year students usually have two or three lectures in each subject per week, plus a regular tutorial. The size of the lectures in some courses may be more than 200, but in other courses the numbers are much smaller. Tutorials usually comprise 12 to 15 students and this gives you an important opportunity to engage directly with your tutor.

Lectures provide the guidelines to the subject matter and outline the foundations on which you must build. Tutorials provide the opportunity to develop themes or discuss problems, often on the basis of written work.

Lectures and tutorials are replaced at honours level by two-hour seminars in which you will be expected to discuss and explore topics in greater depth. While Ordinary courses tend to focus on building your knowledge and applying that knowledge to problem-solving, Honours is more concerned with critical analysis, structured and coherent argument, and independence of thought.

Self-study is also an important part of the law degree: you will be expected to prepare for classes from week one of first year, and the more reading you do, the more you will develop your knowledge and understanding of law. Students are also encouraged to form small study groups with your peers, to review lectures and prepare for tutorials or seminars.