School of Law

This course offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of law and society. The course is suitable for those working in a range of fields, including the legal profession, as well as for those with an academic interest in this topic. The course provides an approach to legal studies that is innovative in the UK context. The purpose of the programme is to enable students to gain an understanding of law and legal institutions from an interdisciplinary social science perspective. It focuses on the wide range of research which is covered by the term law and society, from empirical studies of the workings of law to cultural studies of law. The course will enable students to think critically about the wide range of research methods and approaches that are used by those interested in law and society.

The course is taught in blocks of study (building on our successful experience in teaching postgraduate blocks) enabling those in employment to study on a part-time basis. Students are required to take an introductory module in law and society and will then be allowed to choose individually from the wide variety offered by the law school, including those on the LLM in Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights and the MA in Human Rights, Globalisation and Justice. Postgraduate students will find a range of support structures, including: research training; accessible staff supervisors; good library resources; access to postgraduate study rooms; and access to IT and legal research tools. This course builds on existing strengths of the Law School research and teaching.

Keele hosts a wide range of seminars, workshops, lectures and visiting fellowships. Many of these activities are available without charge to Keele students.

Research in law and society has sought to understand, explain and challenge the boundaries between law and the social and cultural context in which it operates. The introductory module will introduce students to the range of research methods that have been used in law and society scholarship broadly conceived. Key themes will include the meaning and complexity of legal issues, the relation between law and social relations, the impact of legal change, and the ways in which law can be deployed for change. Whilst the aim of law and  society research has been to use the social sciences to cast light on the workings of law and its limits, the methods used have been very varied. These have included, for example, empirical approaches, feminist methods, and cultural criticism. The module will introduce students to the difficulties that arise in selecting appropriate research methods and explore the potential and possibilities of different approaches to the role of law in society. This will prepare students to undertake three further modules from the range on offer in the law school.

The course is open to all graduates with a first or second-class honours degree. International students whose first language is not English must have IELTS 6.5 or equivalent.

The course involves both a taught and a research component. The teaching occurs in four intensive modules taught over three days. This structure has proved very successful at Keele in other postgraduate contexts, and particularly benefits part-time students who wish to study in a collegiate, supportive and vibrant academic environment.

The LLM requires 180 credits, made up of four 30-credit modules (120 credits) and a 60-credit dissertation. The award may be achieved either full-time or through a more flexible part-time programme. If taken full-time, the course can be completed within one year, with submission of the Masters dissertation by the end of September. Students taking the course part-time may complete the four taught modules in Year one, with submission of the dissertation by September a year later, completing the whole programme in 2 years. For additional flexibility, students taking the course part-time may have up to four years to complete the four taught modules, with submission of the dissertation by September of the year after the fourth module, completing the whole programme in between two and five years. Some students may not wish to complete the whole course but may be interested in taking just one or two modules. If this is the case, you should contact the Course Director.

Assessment of the taught modules is by means of coursework. This requires a written assignment of 5,000 words for each module. The pass mark is 50% and students must pass each of the modules in order to progress to the dissertation.