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Law with American Studies (with a study abroad year)

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B-A,A,B

You should also have a broad range of GCSEs 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.

Pass Diploma with at least 39 level 3 credits at Merit or above including 24-27 credits at Distinction. The Access to HE Diploma should be in the Humanities, Social sciences or Business.

We take the EPQ into account when considering your application and it can be useful in the summer when your results are released if you have narrowly missed the conditions of your offer. We do not routinely include the EPQ in the conditions of your offer but we sometimes offer alternative conditions that include the EPQ. If you wish to discuss this further please contact Admissions at [email protected]

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32-34

This score should be from the full IB Diploma.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD-DDM

The BTEC Level 3 National Extended diploma would normally be in Business, Health & Social Care, Public Services or Uniformed Protective Services. You should also have a broad range of GCSEs 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B,B-A,A,A,B,B

Pass T Level in Legal Services with an overall grade of Distinction including grade B in the Core Component.

UCAS Tariff

128-153

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

American studies

Law

**2nd in the UK for American Studies (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023)**

**4th in the UK for American Studies (Complete University Guide 2024)**

**About the course**

In this LLB, you’ll develop your knowledge of the connection between US and UK legal systems. You will also explore the history, politics, culture and literature of the Americas.

On your year abroad, you’ll experience a new culture and legal system first-hand. We’re proud to have more prestigious American partner institutions – including UC Berkeley and Georgetown – than any other programme in England.

You’ll be taught by research-active faculty and become part of a vibrant community with an active student law body. We have links with leading law firms, who sponsor our student competitions in national and international mooting, criminal advocacy, client interviewing, negotiation, mediation and legal debating. We also have a supportive group of alumni providing career advice for current students.

Successful completion of any of our law courses will provide you with a qualifying law degree.

**Accreditation**

- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

- Bar Standards Board (BSB)

**About Sussex**

Sussex graduates change the world. Our students become the leaders of the future, making discoveries, improving lives and changing things for the better.

Study with us to join a welcoming and inspiring community of staff and students from more than 140 countries.

**Location**

We shape the world from a fantastic campus on the UK’s beautiful south coast.

We are the only UK university surrounded by a national park, so you can step off campus to explore the hills and woodlands of the South Downs. The vibrant, colourful and creative seaside city of Brighton & Hove is just nine minutes away.

With Brighton voted the happiest city in England for students, (Student Living Survey, Sodexo, 2018) there can be few better places to study.

Modules

See the modules you will study by year by going to the 'view course details' link.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£21,500
per year
International
£21,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Sussex

Department:

Law

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

69%
Law

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

American studies

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
33%
Male students
67%
Female students
96%
2:1 or above
1%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

Law

Teaching and learning

71%
Staff make the subject interesting
84%
Staff are good at explaining things
70%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
63%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

69%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
60%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

68%
UK students
32%
International students
34%
Male students
66%
Female students
82%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

American and australasian studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
71%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

36%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
10%
Media professionals
7%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

Just 615 UK students graduated with American studies degrees in 2015, so it's one of the smaller subjects in terms of student numbers and has lost numbers in recent years. Most graduates stay in the UK once they graduate - quite unusual for graduates in languages and studies of overseas cultures - and about one in six go into further study, mostly to take Masters degrees in subjects like journalism, languages, teaching and law. Graduates tend to go into any general graduate jobs, in industries such as education, advertising, social care and media and publishing. There might not be many jobs that specifically require a degree in American studies, but the skills you learn are useful in many roles.

Law

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£19,760
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
81%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

39%
Legal associate professionals
14%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
9%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

Law graduates tend to go into the legal industry, and they usually take similar routes. Jobs are competitive — often very competitive - but starting salaries are good and high fliers can earn serious money - starting on over £24k in London on average. Be aware though - some careers, especially as barristers, can take a while to get into, and the industry is changing as the Internet, automation and economic change all have an effect, If you want to qualify to practise law, you need to take a professional qualification — many law graduates then go on to law school. If you want to go into work, then a lot of law graduates take trainee or paralegal roles and some do leave the law altogether, often for jobs in management, finance and the police force. A small proportion of law graduates also move into another field for further study. Management, accountancy and teaching are all popular for these career changers, so if you do take a law degree and decide it’s not for you, there are options.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

American and australasian studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£21k

£21k

£25k

£25k

£28k

£28k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Law

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

£27k

£27k

£37k

£37k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

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Nearby University
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Same University
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UCAS Points: 128-153

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here