Law preparation
Welcome to Surrey Law School.
Congratulations on choosing to study law at Surrey and on becoming part of a vibrant learning, teaching and social community. We look forward to welcoming you in person soon, but in the meantime we have provided the following tips for you to prepare.
Important notice
Students should note that due to the structure of all LLB programmes in 2024-2025, it is imperative that students arrive on campus in time for teaching to commence in semester one. This is because the Legal System module (LAW1053) is frontloaded and will be taught and assessed within the first three weeks of semester one. The Legal Systems module is worth 15 credits and is a core module which all students are required to pass in the first year. It is essential for students to secure a solid foundational grounding in the key concepts and practices of the legal system before embarking on more specialist modules and as such, we have devoted the first three weeks of semester one to intensive study and analysis of the legal system. Starting semester one late will mean missing out on substantive core content and will adversely impact on assessment for this module and understanding in other modules and we urge students to bear this in mind when making preparation to arrive in Surrey. It is therefore imperative that you arrive on time for your first week of teaching.
What we recommend
Even before you arrive on campus, you are already part of Surrey Law School. We pride ourselves on being a welcoming, accessible, relaxed, and caring community of staff and students. Whichever of our programmes/pathways you have chosen, the number one recommendation for success in your studies is early and sustained engagement with both the academic and social aspects of the School. This includes engagement with the overall subject of your studies: the law. Preparing effectively will put you in the best position to succeed in your studies and your success (however you choose to define it) is our overriding aspiration. Our tips will help you maximise the early opportunities for achieving this.
Top tips
Adopt an active and enquiring mindset
Recognise at this stage that success involves an active partnership between staff and students and seek out opportunities to optimise your part in that partnership. Degree-level learning requires students to take responsibility for their studies and advance preparation is part of this. This said, we will give you all the teaching and direction that you need once you arrive – for now this advice is about putting yourself in the best position to embrace that opportunity when it arises.
Engage with our resources
Before you arrive (shortly after the University registers you as a student), you will be sent various account and log-in details. As soon as you receive them engage with opportunities offered including the following:
- University email account: important information will be sent to you on this account – you should get into the habit of checking at least once a day
- SurreyLearn: this is the University’s virtual learning environment. This is where many of your teaching materials will eventually be found. While there will not be much there initially, do take time to have a look around and familiarise yourself with the structure and format of the environment
- Library: take a tour of the Library and locate the subject resources section for law to find the various research resources/databases that are available to you
- Social media – follow us on Facebook, Twitter but in particular on Instagram.
Consider some advance reading to help contextualise your studies
This could be a guide for the study of law (such as The Successful Law Student ’An Insider’s Guide to Studying Law’, by Imogen Moore and Craig Newbury Jones, (OUP); or a guide for the skills that law students will require (such as Legal Skills, by Emily Finch (A member of School staff) and Stefan Fafinski (OUP)); or a guide that introduces the law and its component parts (such as What About Law? Studying Law at University, by Catherine Barnard, Janet O'Sullivan, and G J Virgo (Bloomsbury)); or a legal autobiography (such as Spider Woman – A Life by Lady Hale [former President of the UK Supreme Court] (Vintage)). Alongside this you should be watching and reading the news via good quality media outlets and seeking to identify the myriad ways in which the law is present in many of the items reported.
Make arrangements to attend welcome activities
Welcome Week is the formal introduction to University life. In particular, it provides a schedule of events during which the School and University will communicate key information that will be of use throughout your studies. It is the first opportunity for staff and students to engage in person and to foster that sense of community that we pride ourselves upon. As well as meeting staff, it is also the first chance to meet fellow students. It is not an exaggeration to say that long-term relationships will be made at this time. Attendance is the simplest and most effective way to engage and make a successful start to your degree.
Familiarise yourself with staff research and expertise
Take an opportunity to see what academics in Surrey Law School are doing in their research and check out our world-class research centres, including the Surrey Centre for International and Environmental Law (SCIEL), Surrey Centre for Law and Philosophy, Surrey Law and Technology Hub, and the Environmental Regulatory Research Group. Your lecturers will bring their research expertise into the classroom and you will have the chance to participate in a lively series of academic talks and events throughout your degree.
Don’t overdo it!
There will be plenty of time for sustained effort over the course of your degree. As well as considering these tips you should enjoy the time and space that you might currently have before you start. There will be times when you will be required to work hard and times when you will feel under some ‘healthy’ pressure to get things done, however, you should never feel overwhelmed, and now is certainly not the time for this. Now is as much about thinking (contemplation) as doing. Specifically, it is about expectation, optimism, and excitement for what the future holds.
We look forward to meeting you and your fellow students very soon.