Law contact hours
Hello, could someone help me out- I'm struggling to find conclusive information on the contact hours for the undergraduate law courses at these Universities-
Cambridge
Durham
York
Newcastle
Manchester
Thanks in advance
Cambridge
Durham
York
Newcastle
Manchester
Thanks in advance
Reply 1
20
Contact hours don't actually tell you anything significant
It certainly wont tell you which is the 'better' course, or where you will feel happiest.
Degree study is about self-study, library research etc, not just formalised teaching, and most Soc-sci or Humanities subjects wont have as much face-to-face as STEM subjects. And remember, 'contact hours' can be 'sat in a 400 seater lecture hall for hours' not just classroom teaching. And these 'hours' change as you progress through the course. So, trying to deduce anything meaningful from what a Uni tells you are 'contact hours' is a bit futile really.
It certainly wont tell you which is the 'better' course, or where you will feel happiest.
Degree study is about self-study, library research etc, not just formalised teaching, and most Soc-sci or Humanities subjects wont have as much face-to-face as STEM subjects. And remember, 'contact hours' can be 'sat in a 400 seater lecture hall for hours' not just classroom teaching. And these 'hours' change as you progress through the course. So, trying to deduce anything meaningful from what a Uni tells you are 'contact hours' is a bit futile really.
Reply 2
Original post
by hgagshaHello, could someone help me out- I'm struggling to find conclusive information on the contact hours for the undergraduate law courses at these Universities-
Cambridge
Durham
York
Newcastle
Manchester
Thanks in advance
Cambridge
Durham
York
Newcastle
Manchester
Thanks in advance
Hiya, i’m a first year law student at Durham, won’t be much help with the other Uni’s but obviously have insight into Durham. Currently I have around 5-6 hours of lectures per week and 1 or 2 seminars each week which are an hour in length. Whilst this might not sound like a lot, there is a lot of prep which goes into these few hours. My STEM flat mates have around 35 hours of contact per week but my degree balances out with how much independent work is required. Also in terms of the prestige of these Uni’s I would argue that Durham is the next best from Cambridge, not just in terms of Uni rankings but also employability after education, a lot of law firms/chambers will instantly look at the Uni you went to and will make a judgement based upon their prestige and the reputation of the degree/alumni. Hope that helps 😊
Reply 3
Original post
by chloefallows06Hiya, i’m a first year law student at Durham, won’t be much help with the other Uni’s but obviously have insight into Durham. Currently I have around 5-6 hours of lectures per week and 1 or 2 seminars each week which are an hour in length. Whilst this might not sound like a lot, there is a lot of prep which goes into these few hours. My STEM flat mates have around 35 hours of contact per week but my degree balances out with how much independent work is required. Also in terms of the prestige of these Uni’s I would argue that Durham is the next best from Cambridge, not just in terms of Uni rankings but also employability after education, a lot of law firms/chambers will instantly look at the Uni you went to and will make a judgement based upon their prestige and the reputation of the degree/alumni. Hope that helps 😊
You assertion that
"a lot of law firms/chambers will instantly look at the Uni you went to and will make a judgement based upon their prestige and the reputation of the degree/alumni"
is incorrect.
In reality (1) many law firms and sets of chambers recruit university-blind, and (2) recruitment is based on an individual candidate's qualities, not on the university which he or she studied at. Candidates from leading universities often do well because they been well educated.
(edited 11 months ago)
Reply 4
Original post
by hgagshaHello, could someone help me out- I'm struggling to find conclusive information on the contact hours for the undergraduate law courses at these Universities-
Cambridge
Durham
York
Newcastle
Manchester
Thanks in advance
Cambridge
Durham
York
Newcastle
Manchester
Thanks in advance
As McGinger pointed out above, the number of contact hours may not tell you much about the course.
Cambridge would provide contact hours in the interactive small group setting of supervisions. Oxford and Cambridge take the view that the tutorial/supervision model of undergraduate teaching is the most effective model. The expense of that model is probably the main reason why it is not used at other universities. Oxford and Cambridge colleges make a financial loss on the teaching of each undergraduate, but have the endowments and incomes to carry this loss.
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