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The University of Southampton
Southampton Law School

Chinese Applicants

The University of Southampton Law School is a fantastic place to study law. Develop your legal knowledge in the country in which common law began and experience a different way of life. Studying abroad expands your world, giving your network of friends, colleagues and professional contacts that will benefit you for life.

The Law School is located in the middle of the main campus. The campus borders on Southampton Common – which provides over 300 acres of open green space that is great for walking, running, cycling and picnicking. Global food is provided in cafes and restaurants on campus. There are many Chinese restaurants and supermarkets near campus which can meet your need for tastes from home.

University halls of residence are close to the main campus and they constantly provide a safe and comfortable living environment to students. The Uni-Link buses are convenient for students to travel between halls of residence, the main campus and the city centre. Southampton is around a 1-hour train or 2-hour coach journey to London. The location of Southampton provides easy access to elsewhere in UK and travel to other countries.

Information for students from China

Click below to find out more about studying at Southampton Law School.

Support for Students

Support for Chinese students at Southampton Law School is second to none amongst UK universities. We provide extensive support at all stages – from your application, to departure to the UK to study within the UK, to work after you graduate.

Southampton Law School provides free in-sessional language support to Chinese students in the form of seminars and one-to-one writing advisory sessions. The language tutors are retired solicitors who have rich experience in legal writing and speaking.

Southampton Law School also provides Chinese students with the “Understanding Common Law” course at the beginning of the academic year to bridge any knowledge gaps regarding the main features of common law.

Southampton Law School also offers students the possibility of seeking guidance from a Chinese personal tutor who can provide information regarding study skills and living environments at the University.

Southampton Law School also appoints two Chinese student mentors who not only represent the students’ voice but also help the junior students with any difficulties during their study. The student mentors will share their experience of studying law with new students and promote communication between students.

Student Population

In recent years, Southampton Law School has been a popular choice for many Chinese students. The cohort of 2015 students consisted of students coming from various Chinese law schools, including specialised maritime universities (Dalian Maritime University and Shanghai Maritime University), comprehensive law schools (China University of Political Science and Law, East China University of Political Science and Law and Southwest Political Science and Law) and other Chinese and English institutions (Fudan University, Xiamen University and Swansea University, for example).

This cohort also represents different backgrounds. The applicants that the Law School has accepted include undergraduates, postgraduates and lawyers with extensive working experience alike. Southampton Law School is a great place to meet people with diverse experiences and backgrounds, as well as students from all over the world.

Law Society and Law Alumni Network

The Southampton Law Society organises many interesting events, such as mock interviews and presentation competitions, which provide necessary and useful skills in job hunting, as well as supporting your ambition of becoming a successful lawyer.

The Law Society also holds many fun activities, such as club nights, pub crawls and a Christmas party. You will enjoy your life at Southampton Law School for both studying and extra-curricular activities.

Faculty and Courses

Maritime law is one of the most famous and excellent majors at Southampton Law School, representing its long and glorious history. The book Carriage of Goods by Sea by late, Southampton-based, Professor John Wilson, has become the most popular textbook for students who study maritime law all over the world. The Southampton Institute of Maritime Law is also a world leading centre for research and training maritime and commercial law.

There are numerous other legal research centres and groups at the University of Southampton, such as the Institute for Law and the Web (ILAWS), Health, Ethics and the Law and the Insurance Law Research Group.

There are many excellent professors and lecturers at Southampton Law School who are recognised national and international experts in the full range of law areas. You can read more about their backgrounds here .

Dr Jenny Jingbo Zhang is the key contact person for Chinese Students at the Law School. Dr Zhang undertook her undergraduate studies at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law in China, before obtaining her LLM and PhD degrees from the University of Southampton. Dr Zhang is now a lecturer in Commercial and Maritime Law at Southampton, as well as a member of Institute of Maritime Law.

Research Collaborations

Southampton Law School has built stable relationship with two leading maritime universities in China: the Dalian Maritime University and Shanghai Maritime University. Every year, around 20 students from these two universities come to Southampton Law School for their final year of undergraduate study. Most of them continue to read their LLM at Southampton upon graduation.

Southampton Law School is also developing links with the Law Schools at Xiamen University, Tsinghua University and East China University of Political Science and Law.

Southampton Law School hosted the English-Chinese Insurance Law Conference in 2013 and English-Chinese Law Conference in 2014. The leading academics invited to speak at the conferences were from Tsinghua University, Dalian Maritime University, Shanghai Maritime University, and East China University of Political Science and Law etc.

With the aid of staff exchange, there will be further research collaborations in the future.

Law Library Holdings

The University Library has a comprehensive collection of books and journals, both in electronic and print. Students can get access to these resources both in the library and at home.

Law is a challenging subject which contains huge and complex resources. Our library law databases, such as i-law, Westlaw, LexisLibrary and Heinonline etc. provide up-to-date law reports, legislation and journal articles. These resources offer great support and help to students’ study and research.

There are also many books which can help you study in the English and Common Law environment, such as guiding books about how to write an essay, English grammar books as well as Chinese-English dictionaries. There are also online programmes available to students to help develop legal and study skills.

Our librarian will also help Chinese students to locate and effectively use resources by giving an introduction session at the beginning of the semester.

The library is open 24 hours a day, thus allowing students to enjoy more flexible study time.

Alumni

Southampton Law School alumni are an important part of our community – especially those that return to China upon completing their studies. The University of Southampton has established alumni networks in several key cities in China, such as Beijing and Shanghai. This allows graduates of the University of Southampton to keep updated on what is happening at Southampton and provide a network platform for Chinese graduates who are currently practising as lawyers or working in other industries in China.

The Law School is working on developing further specialised alumni groups in China.

Accreditation

There is no accreditation provided for Chinese students. The main three possible future career paths for Chinese students are:

  1. Finding employment in the UK subject to meeting relevant visa requirements. Southampton Law School provides seminars to teach key skills to writing a CV, interviews, etc., as well as information about possible career options through the annual Law Careers Fair;
  2. Continuing their studies, e.g. by means of an LLM or PhD. Southampton Law School provides sessions aimed at explaining the relevant application procedures and relevant career perspectives;
  3. Returning to China. Southampton Law School maintains a close relationship with its alumni, including career choices of those who decided to return to China upon graduation. This information also serves to inform current students’ professional choices.

The Law Society of England and Wales provides further information on how to practise in China .

Courses

China is becoming more frequently involved in international affairs: accordingly the legal profession has been acquiring increasingly important transnational features. Developing a global legal prospective is key to those who wish to pursue and develop a first-class legal career.

Studying at Southampton Law School will give a you great chance to acquire legal knowledge, develop your future career, and - most importantly - provide a global horizon to understand how different jurisdictions work.

To prospective students who wish to learn law in a jurisdiction different from China, Southampton Law School provides a great opportunity to learn about laws in the UK and other European jurisdictions.

In the first and second year of the LLB programme, you will need to complete eight core modules as well as a legal skills programme, including team building and mooting. In the third year, you will be able to choose optional modules and complete a dissertation on a subject that interests you.

As regards postgraduate studying options, for those who want to develop their legal knowledge in a specific area, the LLM programme will develop your legal skills within a structure that will allow you to shape your degree in various specialized areas. In addition, it also gives you a good opportunity to learn about the common law jurisdiction.

All courses at Southampton Law School are delivered through lectures, seminars and tutorials. You can immerse yourself in the knowledge of reputable law experts and engage in legal discussions with English students as well as students from all over the world.

View our prospectus:

For information on how to apply for our postgraduate courses, click here.

Law School Scholarships, Prizes and Funding

The University of Southampton provides a £3,000 reduction in the tuition fees to LLM applicants who achieve a 1st classification (or equivalent) in their undergraduate degree programmes and 10% discount to graduates of the University of Southampton. Find out more about undergraduate funding and scholarships here , and postgraduate scholarships here .

Careers, Employability and Societies

As well as benefitting from outstanding research-led teaching, Southampton Law School students also have the advantage of an extensive careers and employability programme, which is run by our dedicated careers coordinator – who has extensive experience of the legal profession. Our careers and employability programme offers an impressive range of opportunities in which to engage and forge relationships with legal and business professions and gain invaluable work experience.

Find out more about Careers and Employability at Southampton Law School.

Southampton Law School and the University of Southampton offer numerous extra-curricular activities that provide opportunities to develop professional skills and gain valuable experience – as well as providing social and recreational activities to meet new people and enjoy your time at Southampton.

Find out more about:

You can find the list of student societies on the SUSU website here .

The teachers of Maritime Law are excellent. They are not only professional in their theory knowledge but also full of practical experience since many of them are famous solicitors as well.

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