Course description
Course overview
As a City graduate, you will be well equipped to complete the professional training required for a legal career or, indeed, a range of careers, particularly those involving the professional appraisal, valuation or management of commercial property. The study of law produces graduates confident of their academic abilities, with valuable skills in logical thinking and analysis of issues. The LLB in Law and Property Valuation will also provide an opportunity to develop other management competencies such as presentation, problem-solving, communication and computer-based skills. These are amongst the qualities sought by today’s employers, and City graduates have excellent employment prospects. Recent national statistics show a 3.7 per cent graduate unemployment rate for law compared with 6.3 per cent for all other subjects.
The combination of subjects offered in the LLB in Law and Property Valuation equips students most specifically for a choice between a career in law, where many opportunities are open to property specialists, or a career as a property professional, where legal knowledge will provide an excellent addition to your CV.
There are up to 20 places available each year on the three-year degree programme. Much of the teaching is shared with single-honours LLB students or students from the BSc in Real Estate Finance and Investment run by the Cass Business School, providing an opportunity for a broader social experience.
Course content
Each year of the programme includes a combination of law subjects and subjects relevant to the property/real estate strand, so students are introduced to both areas at an early stage.
The law components cover the core legal subjects contained in most undergraduate law programmes – law of contract, tort, criminal law, constitutional and administrative law, European law, and land/property law, the latter being taught with a stronger property emphasis than in the single-honours LLB degree.
The property/real estate components cover subjects such as real estate valuation, real estate planning and development, landlord and tenant law, planning law, valuation, taxation and compensation, property appraisal, and real estate finance and funding.
The first year of the programme also includes introductory courses on legal method, computing and financial mathematics, and economics, and an independent project is completed in the third year.
Teaching and assessment
At the start of your programme you will be assigned to a member of staff who acts as a personal tutor and who can offer support and guidance where necessary. Teaching takes the form of lectures, seminars, computer workshops and tutorials. In regular tutorials, you will meet subject tutors as part of a small group to analyse problems and to discuss selected topics. Seminar groups are larger and meet to discuss assigned materials. Lectures involve all students in the year group. You will also spend time on personal study.
Assessment is based on written examinations and/or on coursework, including the individual project in year three. The final degree classification is based on the results gained in the second and third years.
Professional placement and study abroad
You also have the option of a year out between your second and final years either to study abroad or gain valuable practical experience by spending a year working for a leading organisation.
