Universities and Online Degrees Guide

Nelson Mandela University

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws in Law and Legal Studies is offered by Nelson Mandela University.

Program Length: 3 YEARS.

Bachelor of Laws offered by the Nelson Mandela University at the Faculty of Law

Purpose of the learning programme
This qualification has been approved in terms of the new Higher Education Qualification Sub-Framework (HEQSF).

The LLB degree prepares students for entry into legal practice, into a wide range of other careers which require the application of law, and for post-graduate studies in law. The purpose of the LLB is to offer a broad education that develops well-rounded graduates with:

A knowledge and appreciation of the values and principles enshrined in the Constitution;

A critical understanding of theories, concepts, principles, ethics, perspectives, methodologies and procedures of the discipline of law;

Ability to apply the above appropriately to academic, professional and career contexts; and

Capacity to be accountable and take responsibility in academic, professional, and relevant societal contexts.

The purpose of this generic LLB qualification is to assist employers, professional associations, curriculum developers and learning-programme providers, education and training bodies, accrediting bodies and moderators, and students and their families, to understand factors determining the level and nature of the LLB qualification. 

The term ‘generic’ is not synonymous with ‘general’. The term generic means that the essential minimum-required outcomes and their assessment criteria have been identified in an abstract way, and are not linked to a preconceived curriculum (content). The qualification, therefore, sets a minimum standard of outcomes with which all LLB qualifications of at least 480 credits within the ‘career-focused track’ of the NQF would have to comply for accreditation.

This qualification does not seek to make all LLB degrees identical but rather to provide a framework within which providers can be innovative and stakeholder-driven in a liberated way.

Further aims of the qualifications are:

To produce law graduates who have a systematic and coherent body of knowledge and an understanding of relevant concepts and principles; a high level of cognitive and other generic skills including problem-solving and the practical application of principles; written and spoken communication, numeracy and computer literacy; and competence in applying knowledge through basic research methods and practice.

To provide law graduates with sufficient depth of knowledge and skills for continued and lifelong personal intellectual growth, including postgraduate study.

To provide suitably qualified law graduates having initiative, responsibility, and the requisite ethical standards to participate in promoting the administration of justice and the development of legal institutions in South African society.

To provide the South African community with lawyers who are empowered to accept their responsibility towards the realisation of a just society based on a constitutional democracy and the rule of law within an international legal order

Duration: The qualification shall extend over at least four years of full-time study.