Erasmus Students Visiting QUB
Dear Erasmus visitor,
Welcome to Queen's University Belfast, School of Law!
Before you come
It is essential that you read information on living and studying in Belfast. The International Office will write to you with details of accommodation and so on.
Information about selecting modules
Erasmus students should follow any advice that your home university gives you. QUB gives you a wide choice as to modules. However, please note that:
1. The modules available are subject to last minute changes;
2. Some modules tend to be very popular with QUB's home students, and with those visiting on the Erasmus programme. By way of trying to accommodate visiting students, the Law School operates a quota system whereby a set number of places are reserved for those on the Erasmus programme (the quota system works on a "first come, first served" basis, i.e. applications to QUB, once received by Exchange and Study Abroad, are stamped and dated). Students should therefore be aware that they may not always be able to study their first choice courses;
3. While we do not prescribe courses for you, we suggest that it would be a shame to take only courses dealing with International or European Law. These you can study at your home university! At QUB you have the opportunity to study some Northern Irish and English law, and you should consider taking at least one such course.
4. Depending on the length of your stay, you should register for no more than:
· 30 ECTS – one semester
· 60 ECTS – two semesters
5. It is not possible to take more than three modules per semester (e.g. it is not possible to take two modules in semester 1 and four modules in semester 2).
6. You may request to change your course registration but must do so before the end of the second week of the semester.
7. Your selection of modules is also subject to no clashes in your timetable.
8. The following courses are normally available to students coming to Queen's next year. Each of them carries 10 (ten) ECTS credits. Please note that some level 3 option may not always run.
Semester 1
Level 1 Constitutional Law in Context
Level 1 Crime and Criminal Process
Level 1 European Constitutional Law
Level 2 Equity
Level 2 Contract
Level 2 Tort
Level 3 Legal Theory
Level 3 Competition Law
Level 3 Employment Law
Level 3 Environmental Law
Level 3 EU Mooting Law
Level 3 Family Law and Policy
Level 3 International Criminal Justice
Level 3 IT Law
Level 3 Law of Business Organisations
Level 3 Medical Law and Ethics
Level 3 Privacy, Press and New Technology
Level 3 Roman Law
Level 3 Sport and the Law
Semester 2
Level 1 European Internal Market Law
Level 1 Rights and Accountability
Level 1 Criminal law
Level 2 Land Law
Level 2 Contemporary Issues in Property Law
Level 2 Contemporary Issues in the Law of Obligations
Level 3 Evidence
Level 3 Confronting Transnational Crime
Level 3 Contemporary Issues in British and Irish Human Rights
Level 3 Criminology: Theory and Practice
Level 3 Gender and the Law
Level 3 Global Rights and Wrongs: International Human Rights Law in Practice
Level 3 International Trade Law
Level 3 Public International Law
Level 3 Reshaping the NI Constitution: The Transition from Conflict to Consensus
Level 3 Sentencing
Level 3 The Corporation, The City and The World
Level 3 Trade Marks, Merchandising and Unfair Competition
Description of the modules can be found here.
Who to contact?
Exchange and Study Abroad is found on the 2nd floor of the Student Guidance Centre (email: erasmus@qub.ac.uk).
School of Law http://www.law.qub.ac.uk/
The Law School is located at 27-30 University Square, opposite the School of Music. The Erasmus Programme Director for law is Dr Sylvie Langlaude S.Langlaude@qub.ac.uk (0044 28 9097 3420)
The Law School Student Office is located in 27 University Square, and is open from 9.30 to 13.00 and 13.45 to 17.00 weekdays.
When you get to Belfast
Orientation Programme
Exchange and Study Abroad will organise an orientation programme for students arriving in September. They will advise you further of this.
As part of the orientation and registration process, you will be given a QUB email account. It is very important that you use this. Staff members will often rely on this to contact you.
Academic Culture
Please be aware that different jurisdictions and different universities teach in very different ways. At QUB you should note the following features which may be very different to the situation in your home university (or not):
· We stress a "critical" and "contextual" approach to law, i.e. we are not just interested in a dogmatic or exegetical exposition of the law. We want to understand law in its political and social context; and we want you to think for yourselves;
· We place a lot of emphasis on students working by themselves outside of lectures;
· We stress active student involvement in seminars and tutorials;
· Our teaching tends to be done in much smaller groups than in other European universities;
· Many of our classes involve skills-based learning, i.e. you take part in debates, etc.
· Also many of our classes involve the use of information technology (IT). Most especially, we make extensive use of the Queens Online (QOL) managed learning environment.
Courses are organised by “lecturers in charge”. The lecturer in charge is assisted by other lecturers and tutors. At the beginning of each course there will be handouts explaining who runs the course, how long it lasts, what its aims are, how it will be assessed. Read these carefully.
Normally courses are taught by a mixture of lectures and tutorials. Some courses use a seminar format instead. A lecture is a session where all the students are assembled, and the lecturer makes a presentation. A tutorial involves between 10 and 16 students; for this the students are expected to prepare in advance and to come to class prepared to discuss the material they have read in detail.
Assessment
Erasmus students are only assessed by coursework (which is a take-home examination with a deadline set by the lecturer in charge). All coursework involve written work, whether one or two essays or a problem question. Assessments are subject to strict deadlines. At the beginning of each course, please approach the lecturer in charge. Explain that you are an Erasmus student, tell him/her for how long you will be staying, and discuss how to deal with assessment for the course to obtain the appropriate number of credits.
