Alternative to University of London - Northumbria University

[financialandtaxguy]

If you had a bad experience at the University of London (External Degree Program) as I did, you may want to explore and research one of their competitors in England, Northumbria University.  Totally distance and online legal education leading to a LLB which is equivalent to our JD.  You will notice in the chart provided by "passaroa25" topic name "Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements," foreign law school graduates are mentioned and can sit for some of the States' bar exams. 

The LLB program costs at Northumbria are very reasonable at 3900 british pounds (approx. $6300) for the entire four years.  Here is the link http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/academic/law/courses/ug/llbol/prog_structure/?view=Standard

[passaroa25]

The school looks good, but what about having to memorize two justice systems to take a state's bar exam?

[financialandtaxguy]

The school looks good, but what about having to memorize two justice systems to take a state's bar exam?

Remember, most of our common law came from England.  The experience I had at the University of London was very thorough, from the history of the legal system in England, the different levels of courts and how they work, and lots of free legal references online, to how to argue your case with practical wisdom.  The problems I had with their program were the requirements to memorize case citings verbatum (aside from knowing the case content) and only one exam at the end of the year (i.e. no homework, midterms, or other assessments) to decide your fate for the year - ridiculous!  The grading of the exams were very subjective where the essay required the student to express a lot of his or her own opinion, but the grader grades your opinion???

I also could only use a registered US college (registered with U of L) to go take my exams, over two hours driving one way, not very convenient as there are attorneys, judges, and other colleges nearby that could have been used for proctors.  Maybe I'm whining too much because I put a lot of time into the studies only to walk away at the end of the year with failing marks, which U of L has some expectation of those results and that's why they allow you to keep extending, but only to go through the same system again the following year!  I suggested taking a look at Northumbria, because they may be different in their approach to legal education.  By the way, the costs for either college is very, very, reasonable, about $2800 US dollars per year.

You get a good taste of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is the "constitution like" document for all of their member countries, which has helped their citizens protect their freedoms similar to our constitution but not as Christian based as our US Constitution.  Remember I posted a link on my other topic I started "Helpful Online Law Learning Resources - Free!," which takes you to the European Court of Human Rights website, with video recorded cases you can watch oral arguments.  It's good exposure for any serious student of law to see what another large free world justice system is doing.

From what I have read (you can google it or look at what you posted), most of the U of L graduates take an LLM program here in the USA before sitting for the Bar, but they don't have to in some states, as long as your LLB from a common law country qualified you to become a lawyer in that respective country.  I would say that a Bar Exam Prep Course would suffice for those LLB graduates from UK/England and similar common law countries.

It would be nice to see responses from students that actually were successful at U of L, Northumbria, or any other foreign online law program!

[passaroa25]

I think that many schools give students a hard time because they don't want to be perceived as being too easy. I didn't think that you were whining.  I thought that you were stating the cold, hard facts of what it is like to deal with yet another online law school that wants to have a reputation of being another Harvard law school.  It would behoove those of us looking at any online law school to study for a year before enrolling.  I know that is hard to do.  But it will give us a better chance at passing any end-of-year exams.  I studied with the University of Leicester.  I went all the way through with passing grades in their MBA program.  And, after 3 revisions, the school decided it didn't like my dissertation.  I spent $10,000 for nothing.  The University of Leicester also has an online law school.  I didn't look into it because $10,000 was all I had.

[financialandtaxguy]

Another reason I would not recommend the University of London is because they do teach Sharia Law, and I am more adamant about not supporting that now than I was in the past.  I don't know how many times England will shoot themselves in their feet, because many terrorists were being harbored in England due to their previous lax policy on immigration.  To offer Sharia Law is like committing societal suicide.  I don't think Northumbria offers Sharia law, but I'm not absolutely sure.

[financialandtaxguy]

I recently read that Northumbria is the largest law school in Northeast England and has a good reputation for distance law school education.

[lucianp]

I also started with U of L.  I am not sure that it was a wise move.  The books were good but anonymous grading and no feedback makes it difficult to know whether you are learning
1) the law or
2) U of L grading game

Does anyone know whether the degrees awarded at Northumbria are by the law school or University? I have seen nothing but positive posts from students there.

[jonlevy]

In the US, UofL would be only one with name recognition.

[Maintain FL 350]

In the US, UofL would be only one with name recognition.

My understanding is that while a standard University of London degree would qualify the holder to take the bar in a few states (CA, NY, and maybe a few others), the U of L online degree would not. Is that correct?

[lucianp]

Thanks.  I agree with you about the name recognition.  Globally, I think people would indeed more likely recognise LLM.  But do they recognise the academic differences?  ( e.g.  it is a university award generally and not from a law depart or law school).  There is also no real research involved ( no thesis or research papers)  However it does follow a recognized curriculum just like the individual colleges.

The same seems true of MBA's today.  There are so many flavors and access seems easy.  Many of the administrative assistants in my last job had MBAs and it was really hard to tell which ones add value to one career.

As far i can tell, the U of L external LLB would not, in general,  qualify for NY Bar exam. There has been a lot of discussion around this on other sites.


I can say that my interactions with Northumbria have been  very impressive.  Whilst not a top 10 or even top 25, they have a unique approach to distance learning. 


Thanks again for rejuvenating this discussion.  I hope it is of value to others.