University of BradfordUniversity
School of Management
Awarding and teaching institution: / University of BradfordFinal Award: / Graduate Diploma in Law (Common Professional Examination)
[Framework for Higher Education Qualifications level H]
Programme title: / Graduate Diploma in Law
Programme accredited by: / The Joint Academic Stage Board
Duration: / 1 year full time; 2 years part time
Subject benchmark statement: / Law
Date produced: / March 2011
Introduction
The Bradford Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) is suitable for both recent non-law graduates and more experienced students from diverse backgrounds who wish to change or develop their careers. Successful completion of this challenging and rewarding course, which packs the equivalent of almost two years of a full-time LLB into one year of full-time study (or into two years of part-time study), will qualify you to begin the vocational stage of training as a solicitor or barrister by taking the Legal Practice Course or Bar Professional Training Course. It can also be a valuable qualification for students who wish to enhance their employment opportunities in law-related fields other than legal practice itself (see Careers & Employability below).
Our Bradford GDL combines a personal, friendly ethos with an academically rigorous, professional approach. All our GDL lecturers are full-time members of our academic staff who provide a rich combination of experience in academic and vocational legal teaching, research and professional legal practice. The academic team and our students enjoy excellent administrative and pastoral support. Our students develop a close working relationship with the GDL team over the course of their one or two years of study and can take advantage of the benefits of our legal mentoring scheme (see Student Support and Guidance below).
As a graduate diploma approved by the University and accredited by the Joint Academic Stage Board of the legal professional bodies, the Bradford GDL requires a minimum of1640 study hours and is worth 160 credit points at Honours level.
Programme Aims
The GDL is designed for non-law graduates to (1) provide an academically rigorous programme of legal education that will equip you for the vocational stage of legal training and (2) provide a sound foundation for you to develop the legal knowledge and competencies necessary for a career in legal practice. In addition, the University of Bradford embraces the Unesco principles of education for sustainable development (ESD). The ESD core values of respect for the dignity and human rights of all people and of commitment to social and economic justice, cultural diversity, and mutual respect are embedded in the design and delivery of our programme and clearly identified in the programme’s module descriptors.
Our GDL therefore aims to:
1foster a sound knowledge and understanding of the prescribed areas of law (the Seven Foundations of Legal Knowledge subjects, the English and Welsh legal system and process, and an additional subject area);
2ensure an appreciation of the relationship between national and European Union law;
3develop your appreciation of the social, political and economic context that shapes the development of the law, including human rights, in the UK and Europe;
4enable you to analyse legal problems in order to provide authoritative solutions;
5enable you to conduct effective legal research, using both print and electronic resources to identify statute and case law (and influential secondary materials);
6develop, in a legal context, the range of your previously acquired skills that contribute to effective academic study, problem solving and communication;
7develop your competence in the law-related use of IT&C and appreciation of its actual and potential value in law and legal study;
8enable you to apply knowledge and skills learned in one legal context to another;
9develop your capacity for critical assessment of the law in its political, social and cultural contexts; and
10encourage you to reflect on fundamental social concepts, such as justice, liberty and rights, and on the contribution that law makes to the advancement of these concepts as social principles.
Learning Outcomes
These indicate what you will have learnt and be able to do on successful completion of the GDL.From day one you will be introduced to our legal institutions and sources and begin to acquire knowledge and understanding of the legal principles which underpin the compulsory areas of substantive law that you will study. As the course progresses, you will have to demonstrate your achievement of the required learning outcomes (LOs) through a series of formal assessments, culminating in your final examinations. You will have the chance to develop your legal understanding and monitor your progress through tutorials and personal tutor sessions and you will have the opportunity to take formative (practice) assessments before both coursework and examinations. Each of the GDL modules is designed to help you develop a number of the programme LOs and a table showing which LOs are explicitly developed and assessed in which modules can be found at Appendix 1. For a more detailed explanation of how specific GDL LOs are developed and assessed in specific modules you should refer to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategies below.
Personal and professional development (PDP) forms an integral part of the GDL, with an emphasis on reflective learning.Your PDP will be developed and formally assessed in the Foundations of Contract Law and through the GDL personal tutor scheme, for which you will be required to submit reflections on your progress.
The GDL learning outcomes are:
Knowledge and Understanding
On successful completion of the programme you will be able to:
1identify and discuss critically the concepts, principles and rules constituting the areas of law studied;
2deploy a critical grasp of the legal system and process, and of the interrelationship between different areas of law in a municipal and European context;
3identify the sources of UK, European and human rights law and appreciate the political, social and economic context of law reform;
4appreciate the limits and uncertainties of law.
Subject-Specific Skills
On successful completion of the programme you will be able to:
5identify, find and use an appropriate range of primary and secondary legal information sources to assist legal study and support legal analysis;
6identify, evaluate and apply the essential, relevant legal information from those sources;
7identify and analyse legal issues raised by complex and novel problem situations, applying relevant legal principles to produce logical, appropriate and creative solutions.
Personal Transferable Skills
On successful completion of the programme you will be able to:
8process large amounts of information quickly and apply that information to the evaluation and solution of individual problems;
9use language accurately and communicate information and analysis effectively and appropriately, orally and in writing, in a range of different contexts;
10take responsibility for the continuing development of your education and competence by identifying your personal and professional development skills and reflecting on these to improve your performance as a learner;
11listen effectively and respond appropriately and effectively;
12work effectively independently and with others;
13apply knowledge and skills learned in one context to another;
14reflect critically on your own arguments and performance and those of others.
Curriculum
The GDL is delivered over a period from September to June (including examinations) of 36 weeks full time and 72 weeks part time (over two academic years). The programme of studies for the full- and part-time courses respectively is mapped out below.
You will study the seven Foundations of Legal Knowledge Subjects, the English Legal System (as Legal Sources and Institutions: LSI), Legal Research (as Legal Research Methods: LRM) and one further subject as an eighth area of legal study. LSI is studied as a course prerequisite during the induction programme (following directed pre-course reading) and further developed in the course of the LRM module delivered in the first semester of both full-time and part-time programmes. For your eighth area of legal study you will choose one of the final year subjects from our LLB programme (currently Immigration & Asylum Law is the available option), or undertake a supervised legal research project on an area of law that is not covered by the Foundations.
Code / Unit Title / Semester (and PT Year) / Type / Credits3905M / Legal Sources & Institutions / 1 (1) / Core / 0
3019M / Legal Research Methods / 1 (1) / Core / 10
3020L / Foundations of Contract Law / 1&2 (1) / Core / 20
3015L / Foundations of Criminal Law / 1&2 (2) / Core / 20
3013L / Foundations of Equity & Trusts / 1&2 (2) / Core / 20
3014L / Foundations of European Union Law / 1&2 (2) / Core / 20
3016L / Foundations of Property Law / 1&2 (1) / Core / 20
3018L / Foundations of Public Law / 1&2 (2) / Core / 20
3022L / Foundations of the Law of Tort / 1&2 (1) / Core / 20
3017M / Legal Project / 2 (1) / Option / 10
3021M / Immigration & Asylum Law / 2 (1) / Option / 10
Assessment Regulations
This Programme conforms to the CPE rules of the Joint Academic Stage Board (JASB) set out in Appendix M, Annexe 1, of the JASB Handbook 2010, which can be accessed at .
The GDL assessment regulations are provided to students in full in their student handbooks. In relation to certain broad regulatory issues, such as the ‘Definition of Terms’, regulation of examinations, of boards of examiners and rules on submission of assessed coursework, our GDL rules conform to the standard University Assessment Regulations for Postgraduate Programmeswhich are available at:
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However, the JASB rules for the GDL are significantly different from standard postgraduate regulations for taught courses at both the University of Bradford and other universities in the UK, and it is therefore the JASB rules on which our assessment regulations have to be primarily based.
Our GDL assessment regulations can be conveniently summarised as follows:
The pass mark for each element of assessment is 40% and you must normally pass each element of assessment (with one exception – see Resits and Compensation below).
LSI is assessed by multiple choice question examination at the end of the induction programme (there is an opportunity to resit, but you must pass to continue on the GDL). LRM is assessed by a practical legal research exercise at the end of your first semester, while your additional legal subject is assessed by either an assignment or an examination at the end of the course (FT) or your first year (PT). The Foundations are assessed either by a combination of coursework (30% of total mark) and examination (70% of total mark) or by end examination only.
Classification of awards
Successful completion of the GDL entitles you to the award of a pass, commendation or distinction. All assessments count towards your final classification with the exception of LSI.
A distinction is awarded automatically to candidates who pass all assessments at the first attempt and achieve an overall average of 70%. The Examination Board has the discretion to award a distinction to candidates who pass all assessments at the first attempt, obtain 70% in at least half the subjects that count towards the award, and achieve an overall average of at least 67%.
A commendation is awarded automatically to candidates who pass all assessments at the first attempt and achieve an overall average of 60%. The Examination Board has the discretion to award a commendation to candidates who pass all assessments at the first attempt, obtain 60% in at least half the subjects that count towards the award, and achieve an overall average of at least 58%.
A pass must be awarded to candidates who have passed all assessments and are not entitled to a commendation or distinction.
Resits and Compensation
You are permitted a maximum number of three attempts at each assessment (with the exception of LSI for which you are permitted two). You are only required to resit assessments that you have failed. The maximum mark for a successful resit assessment is 40%.
You may be compensated for a marginal fail (35-39%) in one assessment only provided that you have passed all other assessments and the Examination Board considers you have enough strength elsewhere to justify such compensation.
Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategies
The GDL is designed to support your learning and your achievement of the programme learning outcomes (LOs). Teaching and learning methods include lectures, tutorials, case studies, problem scenarios, research exercises, individual and group presentations, and mooting. There is ample scope for interaction in lectures as well as tutorials and formative assessment opportunities are integrated into the programme so that we and you can monitor your progress. Specifically,formative (‘mock’ or ‘practise’) assessment opportunities are provided in all the Foundation subjects prior to coursework assignments and examinations with further opportunities provided during your four-week revision period before the June examinations.
All teaching and learning is supported by use of Blackboard, the University’s virtual learning environment, which provides access to course materials for each subject area, including module manuals, lecture slides, practise questions and answers, past examination papers and assignments. Each subject area, apart from Legal Research Methods, is supported by a recommended textbook and statute book, while students are required to and do go beyond secondary materials in tutorial preparation and coursework. The emphasis throughout the programme is on getting you to develop, incrementally, a sound knowledge of the legal subject areas and to achieve the five primary LOs as independent learners. This means that you will be able to demonstrate your capacity to understand, research and analyse the law and communicate effectively in tutorial discussions and presentations and in written and oral legal argument. You will also be required to prepare in small groups for a number of tutorials in order to present cases and participate in argument in the form of moots (arguing for the appellant or respondent in an appeal court setting).
In addition to traditional examinations (a minimum 70% assessment by unseen examination is a formal requirement for all GDL programmes) and written courseworkwe have built in opportunities for other forms of assessment. These involve group presentations, assessment by written and oral answers to oral questions in a time-constrained setting (where you are given the relevant legal scenario in advance in order to prepare), and critical self and group appraisals. The range and frequency of the different modes of assessment is set out in Appendix 2 and assessment is covered in more detail in the GDL module descriptors.
Four of the Foundations are assessed by 30% coursework, 70% end examination while three are assessed by end examination only. The reason for this is that assessing all by a combination imposes an excessive burden on students at critical points of the year and interferes with your continuous learning. Requiring six rather than nine coursework assessments over the programme (in four Foundations, Legal Research Methods and the additional legal subject) achieves a manageable balance for your learning and assessment. The three examination-only modules are the Foundations of Equity and Trusts, of European Union Law and of the Law of Tort. Each of these is suited to a single comprehensive assessment. The tort of negligence, for example, now permeates the Tort syllabus to such an extent that it has become problematic to design an assignment that does not overlap with a later examination in terms of subject-matter.
Formal assessments, which combine elements of coursework and examination as indicated above, are designed to test your achievement of the programme LOs. The 14 LOs are developed implicitly across the whole of the programme. More specifically, the LOs classified as Subject-specific Skills will be tested in each of the Foundations. LOs classified as Knowledge and Understanding and Personal Transferable Skills are explicitly developed and tested over the whole assessment schedule in specific modules. For example LO9, accurate and effective use of language and clear, contextually appropriate, written and oral communication of information and analysis is relevant to all subject areas. However, specific opportunities to develop these skills and demonstrate that development through formal assessment will be offered in the context of Legal Research Methods (oral and written), Foundations of Contract Law (written), Foundations of Equity and Trusts (oral and written) and Foundations of Property Law (oral and written), Immigration & Asylum Law (written) and the Legal Project (written).Similarly, the ability to reflect critically on your own arguments and performance and those of others has general academic and professional application. Specific opportunities to develop the skill of critical reflection and demonstrate that development are incorporated into Foundations of Property Law and Foundations of Public Law.
You can see in which modules the LOs are formally assessed by referring to the table in Appendix 1. A more detailed account of the teaching, learning and assessment strategy for each module is provided in the module descriptors. The module descriptors also explain which core aspects of ESD (see Programme Aims above) are embedded in which modules across the GDL.