Course specification and structure
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PGCPELAW - Common Professional Exam

Course Specification


Validation status Validated
Highest award Graduate Diploma in Law Level Masters
Possible interim awards
Total credits for course 240
Awarding institution London Metropolitan University
Teaching institutions London Metropolitan University
School Guildhall School of Business and Law
Subject Area Law
Attendance options
Option Minimum duration Maximum duration
Part-time Evening 2 YEARS  
Full-time 1 YEARS 3 YEARS
Part-time 2 YEARS 6 YEARS
Course leader  

About the course and its strategy towards teaching and learning and towards blended learning/e-learning

This course provides students with the necessary exemptions to proceed onto either a Legal Practice Course or a Bar Vocational Course.

The Joint Academic Stage Board, which acts on behalf of the Law Society and the General Council of the Bar, has approved this course as providing the academic stage of training for solicitors and barristers.

Course aims

The general aim of the CPE course is to provide non-law graduates with an academically rigorous programme of education in law which is designed to assist those who undertake it to prepare for entry onto the Vocational Stage of legal education and training and to acquire a sound foundation upon which to develop both the legal knowledge and the competencies required for their subsequent careers in legal practice.

Course learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding
The student is expected

• to acquire a sound knowledge of those seven areas of law which are considered by the professional bodies to be fundamental to any study of law and of at least one other area of law;

• to acquire a knowledge and understanding of the legal system and process;

• to acquire an appreciation of the relationship between national and community law

Cognitive/intellectual skills
On completion of the course, the successful student will be able to:

• analyse legal problems and provide a range of solutions to them;

• develop in a legal context a range of skills previously acquired which contribute to academic study, solving problems and communicating effectively;

• transfer and apply knowledge and skills learnt in one legal context to another;

• develop a capacity for critical assessment of the law;

• develop the ability to work with, and recognise the potential of, information technology in the context of the law and legal study

• the processing and application of legal and factual information;

• the analysis of legal problems and the provision of a range of solutions.

Practical skills
On completion of the course, the successful student will be able to:

• demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the areas of law studied, of the legal process and the inter-relationship between different areas of law in a national and European context;

• identify, find and use a range of sources of legal information, including information technology, to assist in legal study and to extract the essential points from the information;
• analyse legal information and apply it to the solution of problems.

• communicate legal information efficiently both orally and in writing;

• assume responsibility for the continuing development of his or her own legal education and competence.

Key/transferable skills including employability and professional practice
The overall curriculum is designed both to ensure that students have a thorough grounding in the key foundation subjects in law which are required of the professional bodies, and also develop in the students certain key skills which are essential to ensure competence in the legal profession. These skills are embedded in the curriculum and developed within each unit. The key skills are:

• to communicate ideas, principles, theories and information effectively both by oral and written means

• to make effective use of research facilities, in the form of books, written reports and computer data-bases

• to be able clearly and cogently to analyse problems and to reach and present justifiable conclusions

• to become active and reflective legal thinkers and practitioners

• to listen effectively and communicating information effectively both orally and in writing;

• to investigate and research legal information (using original sources) and the extraction of the essential points from that information;

• to transfer and apply knowledge and skills learnt in one legal context to another;

to develop a capacity for critical assessment of the law; of their own views; and of the arguments of others.

Principle QAA benchmark statements

N/A

Assessment strategy

Skills are assessed through seven examinations and six pieces of coursework.

Organised work experience, work based learning, sandwich year or year abroad

N/A

Career opportunities

On graduation, you'll be eligible to undertake either the Legal Practice Course or Bar Professional Training course, from there you can proceed either to a training contract with a firm of solicitors or a pupillage in a barrister's chambers.

The Common Professional Exam (CPE) is a well-recognised route to a legal career, and many employers in the legal field actively favour postgraduate students who have a proven expertise outside the area of law.

Success on the CPE will also enable you to apply to take an LLM if you wish to pursue an academic career or simply to expand your legal knowledge.

Entry requirements

You will be required to have:

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Tier 4 student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

Official use and codes

Approved to run from 2013/14 Specification version 1 Specification status Validated
Original validation date 01 Sep 2013 Last validation date 03 Oct 2013  
Sources of funding HE FUNDING COUNCIL FOR ENGLAND
JACS codes M200 (Law by Topic): 100%
Route code CPELAW

Course Structure

Stage 1 Level 07 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
LL3101 Obligations A (Contract) Core 24 NORTH AUT+SPR WED PM
          NORTH AUT+SPR WED AM
          NORTH AUT+SPR MON EV
LL3102 Obligations B (Tort) Core 24 NORTH SPR MON PM
          NORTH SPR MON EV
          NORTH SPR WED PM
LL3103 Public Law A (Constitutional and Administrative) Core 24 NORTH AUT+SPR MON PM
          NORTH AUT+SPR MON AM
          NORTH AUT+SPR WED EV
LL3104 Public Law B (European Union Law) Core 24 NORTH SPR WED EV
          NORTH SPR MON PM
          NORTH SPR WED PM
LL3105 Property Law A (Land Law) Core 24 NORTH AUT+SPR THU AM
          NORTH AUT+SPR TUE PM
          NORTH AUT+SPR TUE EV
          NORTH AUT+SPR THU PM
LL3106 Property Law B (Equity and Trusts) Core 24 NORTH SPR THU AM
          NORTH SPR TUE EV
          NORTH SPR THU PM
LL3107 Criminal Law Core 24 NORTH AUT+SPR THU PM
          NORTH AUT+SPR THU EV
          NORTH AUT+SPR TUE PM
          NORTH AUT+SPR TUE EV
LL3108 Extended Essay Core 24 NORTH AUT+SPR NA  
LL3109 Assessed Essays Core 24 NORTH AUT+SPR NA  
LL3110 Case and Statute Analysis Core 24 NORTH AUT+SPR NA  

Stage 1 Level 07 January start Not currently offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
LL3101 Obligations A (Contract) Core 24        
LL3102 Obligations B (Tort) Core 24        
LL3103 Public Law A (Constitutional and Administrative) Core 24        
LL3104 Public Law B (European Union Law) Core 24        
LL3105 Property Law A (Land Law) Core 24        
LL3106 Property Law B (Equity and Trusts) Core 24        
LL3107 Criminal Law Core 24        
LL3108 Extended Essay Core 24        
LL3109 Assessed Essays Core 24        
LL3110 Case and Statute Analysis Core 24