Monday, November 15, 2010

Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact us if you cannot find an answer to your query here.

  
Q. What are the application deadlines?
A. All applications from Home and EU students should be made before 15 January 2011 to guarantee equal academic consideration. The official UCAS deadline for applications from overseas candidates is 30 June 2011. However, due to intense competition for places we would encourage candidates to also apply before 15th January 2011. Applications received after this date will be treated on a case by case basis, depending on availability. The Department of Law does not accept UCAS Extra applications anddoes not go into clearing.

Q: What are the standard entry requirements?
A. Candidates for our LLB course who are studying A levels are required to have grades AAA. IB applicants must have an overall grade of 36 with 6, 6, 6 at Higher Level.

For more information see our Entry requirements pages
Q: What do you look for in a personal statement?
A.

  • Keep the content simple and clear but appropriately formal and academic
  • Use plain English. It is a popular misconception that lawyers use fancy and flowery language. Precision in expressing ideas is best achieved by using accurate and ordinary words.
  • Use short sentences (15-20 words)
  • Check grammar and spelling
  • Avoid quotations, or use them sparingly and for a specific purpose. Remember, it is your personal statement. If you use quotations think about why, and do not let them speak for themselves. Make sure you have demonstrated explicitly why you are quoting. Integrate them into your argument.
  • Make sure you write a reasoned and coherent statement justifying your application. Use the statement to show you can build an argument and back up your statements with evidence. Asserting a 'passion' for law, particularly if you have never studied it, is an extravagant and intriguing claim. It might be better to consider if it is a passion. But if it is, you need to justify your claim in a way that the reader can assess it.
Include information about your non-academic interests and accomplishments, skills and achievements.
  • Use the statement to explain anything unusual about your application. For example, if you are a mature applicant, indicate (a) what skills and qualities you have acquired since being in full-time education; (b) why you are seeking to return to education. If you are re-sitting A levels, make this clear.
  • Take care when using humour. Humour is subjective. It is probably best avoided.
  • This is your personal statement. It is therefore important that you do not copy or include other people's words without appropriate acknowledgement. To do so may have an adverse affect on the outcome of your application. And remember that UCAS will be screening your application and reporting its findings to the universities to which you have applied.
Q: How are decisions made?
A. Decisions are based on the application as a whole. We pay close attention to a candidate's academic profile, the quality of the personal statement and academic reference. We do not normally interview candidates. Each year we have more applications than we have places available. So even if you have been predicted to achieve the grades that we normally ask for, it does not guarantee that we will make you an offer.

There is a different selection process for Access and Foundation students
Q. Will I be considered for a place if I do not have any legal work experience?
A. Legal work experience is not essential. We are most interested in learning about your commitment and enthusiasm to the study of law as an academic discipline. This can be demonstrated in any number of different ways, which may include legal work placements, court visits or through engagement with topical issues that have recently been in the news. We will also be interested to hear about any relevant non-legal work experience that you have undertaken.

If you have legal work experience you may wish to comment on any insights you gained and explain how and why it increased your desire to study law. 
Q: I wish to check on the progress of my application. Who do I contact?
A. Please email the college Admissions Office - Jenny, Sam or Sonia will be able to assist you.
Please email just ONE of the following members of staff (not all).

Q: How many places do you have each year?
A. We have approximately 215 places available on our undergraduate Law courses. We receive in the region of 3,000 applications each year.

Q: Can I apply directly to the Department of Law?
A. No. All applications should be made through UCAS. They can be contacted on 0871 468 0 468 (or 0044 871 468 0 468 from outside the UK), or via their web site www.ucas.com.

Q: Am I required to take the LNAT test?
A. Queen Mary does not currently require applicants for the undergraduate law courses to sit the LNAT test. The academic and other information that applicants provide enables us to make our selection and ensure that we admit candidates from all backgrounds and meet our commitment to widening participation. We regularly review our position on LNAT, and our admissions policy may change in the future.

Q: Do you consider applicants offering re-sits or staggered A levels?
A. The Department of Law does accept applications from students who are re-sitting A levels. However, in such cases we may decide not to make an offer, or we may ask you to achieve higher grades than our standard entry requirements.

Q: What are your English Language requirements?
A. Applicants who are from a non-English speaking country are required to have one of the following qualifications:

  • IELTS at band 7.0
  • TOEFL 610
  • CBTOEFL 253
  • IBTOEFL 100
  • WELT BBB
  • ILEC (International Legal English Certificate) level C1
  • CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) level B
  • CAE (Certificate in Advanced English) level A
  • Pearson Test of English (Academic) level 68
Candidates studying the International Baccalaureate who achieve 6 or above in Higher Level English arenot required to have an additional English Language qualification.
If you are planning to take an alternative English Language qualification please contact us to determine if it's acceptable and what result you will need to meet our entrance requirements.
Can I send extra documents in support of my application?
A. Some applicants may find it difficult to include all of their qualifications in a UCAS form (especially those with non-standard qualifications). If you would like to send academic transcripts, please post them to the Admissions Officer, along with your UCAS ID number, to:

Department of Law
Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road
E1 4NS 

Q: Do you accept transfer students?
A. It is not our policy to encourage transfers into any of our programmes, although we do sometimes consider applications for direct entry into the second year of the LLB programme in exceptional circumstances and as a matter of discretion. It may also depend in part upon the reason for the request and the compatibility of the two programmes. Applications into the third year will not be considered under any circumstances.
It is a standard pre-condition of any application that the applicant's qualifications match the entrance requirements of the programme (AAA at A level, or the equivalent). We would also look at achievement so far in the applicants current degree programme and may also attach an academic condition relating to performance in assessments being taken if we do decide to make an offer.
Students who are studying on the University of London programme are required to achieve 50 per cent or more in all first year modules to be considered for direct year two entry on our LLB course.
Transfer students are also required to make their application through UCAS.

Q: Do you accept applications from Access and Foundation course students?
A. We welcome applications from suitably qualified and motivated mature applicants (those over 21 years old) for whom we have up to ten places per year. It will be important to determine that you have the academic ability to manage and thrive on one of our intensive academic programmes, where the standard mode of assessment is by an unseen examination. In addition to your academic profile, we will also consider skills and qualifications acquired since you were last in full-time education. We will also look for evidence of your commitment to study law at degree level.

Q: What is the selection process for Access/Foundation students?
A. We generally have a different procedure for selecting students who live in the UK and who are gaining entrance on the basis of an Access or Foundation course (other than the Queen Mary International Foundation Programme). We hold all such applications (except those for which there are compelling grounds to decline). In February/March, we compile a shortlist, take up second references, and invite short listed applicants for interviews. We may also ask students we interview to submit a short essay on a specified subject which they may be asked to discuss in the interview. We also ask candidates to submit up to two samples of marked coursework. Offers are made on the basis of the information supplied at the time of interview and an applicant will generally be required to obtain 60 credits as a minimum, and obtain at least 45 level 3 credits at Distinction (the Department of Law may also specify level 3 subjects in which we require a Distinction).

Q: Is the Senior Status course a professionally qualifying Law degree?
A. Yes. The two year Senior Status LLB is a programme for advanced students (those with a degree in another discipline). It is primarily designed for graduates who wish to obtain a professionally qualifying degree and is a fast tracked version of the three year LLB.

Q: What happens if I miss the terms of my offer?
A. In cases where applicants narrowly miss the conditions of an offer when they receive their results, we will consider whether we can still confirm the place. This will partly depend on consideration of the individual application, and also if we have any places available. On the basis of what has happened in recent years candidates should be aware that due to intense competition for places it has been possible to confirm a small number of places where applicants narrowly missed the terms of their offer.

Q: I did not meet the conditions of my offer - but my examinations were affected by extenuating circumstances; or my exam papers are being re-marked. Will I lose my place? 
A. Not necessarily. Candidates whose exam performance has been affected by extenuating circumstances (e.g. illness) should contact the Department of Law as soon as possible. The Department of Law will confirm places of students who meet the terms of their offer, provided they obtain the necessary grade by a date set by the Department: please email law-reception@qmul.ac.uk for more information. In addition applicants must notify the Department that they are having papers re-marked, otherwise we will not able to offer you a place for 2011.

Q: Does the Department of Law have any open days?
A. Yes. We regularly have open days throughout the application period/cycle. Open days in the Department of Law are on an invitation basis only to students who have received offers from us. The College also has general open days.

Q: Does Queen Mary offer any part-time or distance learning undergraduate degrees or the graduate diploma in law (CPE)?
A. We do not offer any part-time or distance learning undergraduate degree programmes; nor do we offer a graduate diploma (CPE course) in law (although non-law graduates may be interested in our two-yearSenior Status programme).

Q: Are your undergraduate programmes qualifying law degrees?
A. The three-year LLB is recognised as a qualifying law degree by both branches of the legal profession in England and Wales, and allows the appropriate exemptions from professional examination requirements.
The two-year LLB is an accelerated version of the three-year course, for non-law graduates of an approved university.
In addition to these qualifying law degrees, we offer English and European Law and BA Law and Politics which are both recognised as qualifying degrees by the Law Society.

Q. How many study hours is there a week?
A. In their first year students studying for an LLB or BA Law and Politics typically have 12 hours of contact time per week. Each module normally has two hours of lecture supplemented by a one hour weekly or fortnightly tutorial. Students studying on the Senior Status LLB will generally have 15 hours of contact time per week. The Department expects students to dedicate around 30 hours a week to private study.

There is a similar pattern of study in subsequent years, although contact arrangements may vary in particular optional modules; and there is a greater emphasis on independent learning by the time you reach the final year of your degree programme.  
All students are required to be available from 09.00am to 18.00 from Monday to Friday as timetables may alter.
Q. What are the term dates?
A. 2010-11

  • Semester 1
    • 22 September to 17 December 2010
    • Winter vacation: 20 December 2010 - 7 January 2011
  • Semester 2
    • 10 January - 1 April 2011
    • Spring vacation: 4 - 29 April 2011
  • Semester 3 - Examination period
    • 3 May - 11 June 2011 (2 May is a bank holiday)
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