Europe’s biggest law school launches De Broc; but silent on student numbers
University of Law officials continued to play their cards close to their chest regarding the institution’s unexpected dive into the crowded business school market.
It was announced last week that this September the university is to launch three undergraduate courses under the flag of the De Broc School of Business.
The move is a step beyond its recent relationship with Liverpool University, which saw Europe’s biggest law school offering joint undergraduate programmes in law with business and management.
While that scheme targeted law students, the De Broc move is instead an audacious plunge into an already crowded market. ULaw will be bidding for the attentions of pure business students, and not just law students looking boost their CVs with a bit of business knowledge.
The move heralds the end of the one-year-old Liverpool deal, with a ULaw official telling Legal Cheek that De Broc’s “courses are aimed at career-minded business undergraduates”.
But ULaw will so far not be tempted into anything other than marketing-speak in relation to the course. The official continued:
De Broc will leverage what ULaw does really well — great employability, high contact hours, emphasis on practical application — for business students who want to finish their education business-ready.
As to the rationale behind a law school jumping into an crowded pool — already populated, indeed, by its main competitor, BPP — the ULaw official was again in platitude mode.
There is a place in the market for a business school focused on supporting the aspirations of career-minded students,” said the ULaw official. “And our success in educating career-ready lawyers means we are, in many ways, uniquely positioned at this time to launch De Broc. Because of this we are hugely excited to fill this gap in the market.
The three De Broc undergraduate courses — business management, business and marketing, and business and finance — will be offered at ULaw’s branches in London Bloomsbury, Leeds and Manchester.
De Broc — the name is understood to be that of the Norman family that once lived in Guildford manor house that is now ULaw’s headquarters — will also offer a “junior enterprise scheme”. That will place students on “professional project work” internships with companies “within the school’s extensive business network”.
According to ULaw, professional accreditations from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and exemptions from the Chartered Management Institute will be built in to the course material.
Speaking last week, John Latham, ULaw’s president and chief executive, said:
After more than a century providing professional legal education, it’s a natural step for us to broaden our appeal with a business school. De Broc’s innovative, practice-focused degrees offer an unmatched opportunity for students to enjoy a quality university experience that will get their professional lives off to a strong start.
Previously:
The University of Law has been sold for the second time in three years [Legal Cheek]
