Key facts
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11thin the UK for graduate prospects
Source: Complete University Guide 2024
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16thin the UK for research output
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Strong links with the law profession
including influential law firms and chambers, and a bespoke employability programme
Overview
About Southampton Law School
We are a law school global in our reputation, networks and horizons. We are grounded in our locality and responsive to the major challenges facing humanity.
We pursue solutions to global challenges at international, regional, national and local levels. We treat these as opportunities to achieve excellence. This infuses our research culture and approach to education. We equip our students with the skills needed to engage in the fundamental questions facing society.
Our courses are challenging and inspiring. They provide students with the legal knowledge, critical thinking and communication skills needed to succeed in the legal profession. We aim to develop graduates who are curious, critical, ethical and environmentally responsible.
Our proximity to London gives us access to major law firms and other organisations. This means we can offer our students opportunities for networking, internships, and professional growth. As leading experts in our fields, our academics collaborate with a wide range of national and international stakeholders, policy makers and legal organisations.
Research
Our academics are recognised experts in their field. Our work covers a wide range of specific areas, and approaches, within legal scholarship. It includes:
- close doctrinal analysis of legal developments
- application of socio-legal, arts and humanities, philosophical and political science approaches to the law
- direct engagement with urgent policy questions
We are proud of our high quality research. The Research Excellence Framework 2021 judged 81% of our research outputs to be world-leading or internationally excellent.
Global collaborations
Our academics regularly work with stakeholders including:
- government departments
- international bodies
- law reform organisations
- charities
- Inns of Courts
- international law firms
- leading policy makers
We are also involved with a range of national and international collaborative research activities. Recent projects have been funded by the ESRC and the Leverhulme Trust.
Research centres and institutes
Our research centres underpin our research culture. Reflecting our areas of critical mass, the centres engage in a lively programme of research seminars, work-in-progress sessions and engagement with stakeholders. We also hold annual public lectures. Our research centres are:
- Centre for Global Constitutionalism
- Centre for International Law and Globalisation
- Centre for Justice Studies
- Centre for Private and Commercial Law
- Institute of Maritime Law
- Law and Technology Centre
- People, Property and Community
- Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality and Law
Research facilities
We have extensive law library collections at the University’s Hartley Library. In addition, we are home to the Philippa Kaye Library, an award-winning specialist maritime law library.
Our commitment is to excellence, research-led, and small group personalised learning.
All of our courses reflect the importance of global challenges, delivering curious, engaged, articulate, ethical, culturally aware, enterprising, problem-solving, as well as socially and environmentally responsible graduates.
Professional courses
Our Institute of Maritime Law runs the Maritime Law Short Course for practitioners. The institute has provided innovative maritime law training to delegates from around the world for the last 48 years. The course was the first of its kind worldwide. It is the only comprehensive residential course available on maritime law in the UK and at the international level.
This short course combines a top-quality learning environment with world-leading expertise. It fuses academic excellence and practical insight provided by our leading scholars, industry professionals and legal practitioners. This ensures an in-depth dissection of the legal issues affecting today’s shipping industry, as well as a crucial pragmatic advantage for the delegates.
Our courses
Research, engagement and enterprise
Read about our research in more depth and learn about our partnerships.
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Law research
Explore our wide-ranging research and learn about its real-world impact.
Our research community
Explore the work of our research centres and institutes, each devoted to a particular specialism in law.
People
We are a research intensive, innovative and value-driven global Law School with a strong focus on pastoral care.
Our academics are producing cutting-edge research, and influencing national and international debate, on pressing global challenges.
Fostering learning through research led and small group teaching is an important hallmark of the successful approach Southampton takes to education.
Work with us
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Jobs at Southampton
We are committed to expanding our portfolio through recruiting leading scholars and high quality early career researchers. We are also committed to delivering high quality legal education. Find out about opportunities within Southampton Law School.
