Hi, my name is Chiedza and I am studying a combined degree in Law LLB with Politics with the intent of doing my bit to make the world a better place. I’m writing today to inform you about my course, what it involves, how it works and why I love it.

The first thing I’d like to explore is the meaning behind LLB, something that initially confused me as I was researching law degrees and what it took to study them. When applying for a law degree there’s something very important to consider: would you like to become a barrister or would you like to become a solicitor? Essentially, what kind of lawyer would you like to be?

To start your barrister journey you need to study Law LLB, but to start your solicitor journey you can study either BA or LLB. A barrister tends to perform advocacy roles, particularly representing clients in court whilst solicitors on the other hand do a great deal of the research and legal work in an office or law firm. Despite media representation, both roles are incredibly important to the legal world. At the moment I do hope to work as a barrister in the future however I am keeping my mind open and taking on opportunities as they come.

When applying for university I did initially plan on studying law alone, however my A Level studies magnified my intense interest in modern day diplomacy and political history to the point that it felt absurd to cease learning about it. So here I am studying two things I love. In order to be a qualifying law degree, my course is mostly law - as such, I have 3 law modules and one politics module. This is the case for my studying as a student who started in 2020, it may not always be this way as the criteria for law degrees changes from time. The modules go as follows: English Legal System and Methods, Contract Law, Criminal Law and Politics in the Modern World. At the moment I only have 3 contact hours each week. Every week I have a Law seminar and a Politics seminar.

This may sound like a very easy going degree due to fewer contact hours than some, but do not let that fool you! Like every degree, Law with Politics requires a lot of work. From required readings, case readings, problem questions, assignments, projects and coursework, that time between contact hours is crucial to keep up to speed with the pace of the course. I guess I spend around another 19 hours a week on average studying. Some weeks this can be more, but I make sure to have a healthy work-life balance.

The reason I chose this course is because I love to study people, how the actions of one person can affect another’s life and how we can learn from that. What I love about my studies is that it can be both very by the book for example learning specific cases and how they even centuries later relate to the actions of humans today, then it can be very dynamic and contemporary such as when we have discussions and debate about possible solutions and adaptations we can make to laws and policies to make the world more peaceful and fair for everyone.

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Chiedza is a first year undergraduate at Lancaster University, and is studying Law with Politics.

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