Subject Benchmark Statement: Law
Publication date: 08 Mar 2023
Law
Subject Benchmark Statement
Subject Benchmark Statements describe the nature of study and the academic standards expected of graduates in specific subject areas. They show what graduates might reasonably be expected to know, do and understand at the end of their studies.
Below you will find the full Subject Benchmark Statement for Law. Alongside it, we have also published a summary designed to provide a short and accessible overview of the main Statement for students, employers and academics.
Subject Benchmark Statement: Law - the basics
Publication date: 08 Mar 2023
About this subject
The study of Law involves the acquisition of legal knowledge, general intellectual skills and certain skills that are specific to the discipline. It provides students with knowledge and understanding of key legal concepts and insights into the relationship between law, culture and society. In doing so, it develops students’ general intellectual skills and qualities of mind by applying these to legal issues and contexts. An understanding of the importance of values and ethics, in theory and practice, is also key.
Law graduates are prepared for a range of careers and are employable not only in regulated legal practice but also in a variety of highly skilled and analytical roles. This includes humanitarian work, business, finance, politics, education, journalism, public policy, public service, and social services in the UK and internationally.
Professor Chris Ashford – Chair of the Advisory Group
Professor of Law and Society, Northumbria University Newcastle
This new Statement is a permissive framework for legal educators, developed by a diverse range of academics alongside students and employers. It continues to make clear that studying Law at undergraduate level is an academic matter, whilst also noting that the variety of academic and legal skills Law students encounter.
In developing this Statement, we have been conscious of shifts in sector experiences and norms, and the ongoing evolution in thinking across a number of key agendas, for example equality, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability as central to programme design. We also highlight the increasingly diverse and innovative options for student assessment.
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