Law Program Teaching

I would like to know more about the general instructional structure of Durham's law program in relation to class size/lectures/discussion.

On UCAS they mention Durham law uses small group teaching, but I can't seem to find any solid details that outline how this is done.

Mainly I'm interested in comparing the amount of small group discussion vs Lectures against Oxbridge and other highly ranked Law unis.

As I understand it, Oxbridge has multiple small group contact hours per week and most instruction is done through small group discussion format whereas other universities like Exeter for example rely more on large lectures. But, I would like to see specifically and exactly where Durham stacks up. If anyone has any insight or can point me in the right direction!

Thanks in Advance

Hiya

The law course involves both lectures and small group teaching referred to as seminars/tutorials. There are various tutors and each of them is assigned a specific number of students. Those students are divided into groups of 5-8 and that's how many people you will find in your seminars/tutorials.

Seminars are usually a way for you to run through a number of questions based on the topics taught in lectures. You are given 2-3 questions to prepare in advance along with resources to prepare for them and with the guidance of the tutor, everyone provides their input on those questions in the seminars. You can also clarify any doubts you have regarding those topics while in the seminar, or during the tutor's office hours.

You usually get 5 seminars for each module spread over Michaelmas and Easter terms. But lectures are held each week, 10 in Michaelmas and 10 in Easter. It can vary for some modules in the later years but this is standard in the first year.

Hope that clarifies it but feel free to ask any further questions!

-Himieka

Thank you for the information! So I suppose that roughly works out to a 4 - 1 ratio between lectures and seminars for each module?

Yep that's right

-Himieka

Do you think the number of contact hours is sufficient for learning?

And I know this might sound overly ambitious since I know I’ll be strapped for time once uni actually starts, but are tutors willing to mark extra formatives students may write?

I think they're adequate- at university, you'd be expected to do much of the reading and researching by yourself anyway and lectures are just the starting point of your learning. You wouldn't wanna get caught up too much listening to standard forms of lectures when you can actually make more of your time by learning the way that suits you the best. Ofc the professors, tutors and your academic advisor would be there to help you along the way.

Some tutors and professors have told us many times that they're happy for us to send them our essays or answers to past problem questions for a quick check, and maybe even receive some more detailed feedback during office hours. But this can vary on their workload as well, and some may not be that willing to do this. However, from my experience, barely anyone would turn you away if you email them about it or book office hours with them so it should be fine.

-Himieka

Thanks for the reply!

How are the strikes affecting your learning? I’m not really updated on what’s going on with the uni staff strikes in the U.K. and would like to know more before firming.