Programme Specification
A statement of the knowledge, understanding and skills that underpin a
taught programme of study leading to an award from
The University of Sheffield
1
Programme Title
European Law, Governance and Politics
2
Programme Code
POLT62 (Full-time), POLT63 (Part-time)
3
JACS Code
L241
4
Level of Study
Postgraduate
5a
Final Qualification
Master of Arts (MA)
5b
Position in the QAA Framework for
Higher Education Qualifications
M
6a
Intermediate Qualification(s)
Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) and Postgraduate Certificate
(PGCert)
6b
Position in the QAA Framework for
Higher Education Qualifications
Masters (M)
7
Teaching Institution (if not Sheffield)
Not applicable
8
Faculty
Social Sciences
9
Department
Politics
10
Other Department(s) involved in
teaching the programme
Law
11
Mode(s) of Attendance
Full-time or Part-time
12
Duration of the Programme
1 year Full-time; 2 Part-time
13
Accrediting Professional or
Statutory Body
Not applicable
14
Date of production/revision
November 2008 (Revised April 2014)
15. Background to the programme and subject area
The MA programme is designed for graduates who already have some knowledge of law, European or international
law, governance or politics and wish to deepen their understanding of selected issues, or who wish to transfer in this
area from related disciplines (for example History, Economics, Philosophy). The degree is designed to critically
investigate an exciting interdisciplinary area between law and politics, centring on the theme of European integration.
Students will be encouraged to take intellectual risks and utilise the academic resources of both disciplines. The
degree will encourage students to explore their own particular concerns through the options offered by both
disciplines.
The programme builds on the strengths of the Department of Politics and the School of Law in the European Union.
There are already joint seminars on multi-level governance between Politics and Law as well as a reading group.
Both these activities are embedded in the research culture of the two units and encompass postgraduate students as
well as staff. There are groupings of academic staff working in Politics (six academics working in the Centre for
International Policy Research, CIPol), and in Law (in the Centre for Law in Its International Context, CLIC). These
centres are major foci in the respective research strategies of Politics and Law. The Department of Politics was rated
5* at the last Research Assessment Exercise (2001) and the School of Law 5.
Knowledge of the European Union is important to careers in the public sector and in non-governmental
organisations, whether at European, national, regional or local level. The degree is therefore designed to offer a
cross-disciplinary advanced education in the law, governance and politics of the EU in order to enhance graduates’
employability.
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16. Programme aims
The MA in European Law, Governance and Politics aims to provide students with an in-depth understanding of both
politics and law, and the interactions between the two, focusing on the theme of European integration. The degree
further aims to equip students with the skills required for further academic and professional careers. Specifically the
programme aims to:
1. develop and enhance a student's understanding of the theory and practice of European law, in particular
offering students the opportunity of further studies in a wider range of subject areas and in greater depth;
2. develop and enhance a student's understanding of the theory and practice of European politics and the EU
system of multi-level governance;
3. provide an environment where students from different political and legal cultures can interact, and, by
studying together, learn from each other;
4. inculcate the highest standards in matters of precision, clarity, integrity, and imagination;
5. develop a range of generic abilities, particularly: the acquisition, use, and evaluation of primary and
secondary source material; communication and presentation skills; problem-solving; and teamwork;
6. encourage the enhanced skills associated with legal and political research and writing, argument and
reasoning, and analysis and critique. In particular, enable students to pursue a course of directed
independent research;
7. enable students to maximise their potential in all aspects of their course;
8. assess students over a range of knowledge, understanding and skills, and to identify and support academic
excellence.
17. Programme learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding:
K1
Sound knowledge of the basic substantive legal principles applicable to different areas of European multi-level
governance and politics.
K2
Sound knowledge of advanced substantive European law and European and international politics.
K3
Sound knowledge and critical understanding of the structures and usage of political and legal materials.
K4
Sound knowledge and critical understanding of the mechanics of legal and political reasoning.
K5
Sound knowledge of different political institutions and of the methods of law-making.
K6
Sound knowledge and practical and critical understanding of the methodologies used to analyse European
politics and law.
K7
Sound knowledge and critical understanding of the relationship between multi-level governance dynamics and
the law.
Skills and other attributes:
S1
A high level of competence in the productive skills of essay writing and problem solving and the ability to
critically analyse the law within its wider political context.
S2
Skills in acquiring, using, and critically evaluating information about politics and law.
S3
Enhanced skills in essential primary and secondary source material appropriate to the programme of study,
alongside a regard for the impartial analysis of values expressed therein.
S4
Enhanced skills appropriate to the programme of study in carrying out individual study and research, and to
participate in group activities such as seminars.
S5
Enhanced bibliographic and research skills appropriate to the programme of study.
S6
Further transferable skills, valuable for employment, including information gathering, the development of
individual resourcefulness, analytical thinking, the ability to identify problems and ways of resolving them, the
critical appreciation of source material, the ability to construct and sustain logical argument on the basis of
such material, and the ability to present such argument clearly in both oral and written forms.
In addition, those successfully completing the dissertation and receiving the Masters will have:
S7
An ability to plan, conduct and write-up an independent piece of research.
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Students achieving the award of PG Certificate or PG Diploma will have developed to a high degree the ‘knowledge
and understanding’ and ‘skills and attributes’ defined by that combination of K1 – K7 and S1 – S6 above matching
their selection of modules to the value of 60 or 120 credits respectively.
18. Teaching, learning and assessment
Development of the learning outcomes is promoted through the following teaching and learning methods:

Lectures are used infrequently but are considered useful in Semester 1 in order to impart essential
knowledge relating to K1 and K2 above.

Seminars, which may be either staff-led or student-led, are used throughout the programme. They are an
important means of developing students’ critical understanding of core issues in European governance and
law. They are designed to provide an effective environment for students to work through, analyse,
understand and respond to information and discuss issues. In all cases the aim is to expose students to as
much original political and legal material as possible. Seminars thus contribute both to the achievement of
knowledge and understanding (K1 – K7) and to the development of key skills (S1 – S6).

Independent study is essential to the successful completion of the programme. New students are
introduced to study skills through information in the Student Handbook. The amount of independent study
broadly expected for each module is clearly set out in the course information, although it is recognised that
this will vary from student to student depending on their previous knowledge of European law, politics and
governance. Independent study is generally geared towards the assimilation and further clarification of
material gleaned from lectures, preparation for seminars, preparation for written assessments, and the
broader development of knowledge of the field of study. The students are required to complete a dissertation
of 12,000 words, which, although supervised by members of staff specialising in that area, requires a great
deal of independent study and research from the students. Individual meetings will be held with supervisors,
and these will be important for the students’ ability to identify a research topic, to develop appropriate
research questions and a strategy for completing the dissertation. Independent study thus contributes to the
development of all the programme learning outcomes, but is especially important in refining skills S1, S2, S4
and S5 and is essential to S7. Dissertations are jointly marked by a supervisor from each department.

Individual feedback is offered to students on essays so as to assist with the development of writing skills as
the programme proceeds (S1).
Opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes are provided through the following
assessment methods:

Regular formative assessment, particularly during Semester 1, to monitor carefully the student’s progression
through the programme and to pick up and rectify areas of potential weakness. Oral presentations designed
to test organisational and communicative skills (S1 - S6);

Summative assessment via essay writing and problem solving designed to test subject knowledge,
increasing autonomy in student learning, and the development of transferable skills (K1 - K7; S1 - S6);

Summative assessment requiring the completion of a dissertation designed to test both research and writing
skills and the students’ ability to critically analyse and challenge legal and political orthodoxies (K1 - K7; S1 S7).
19. Reference points
The learning outcomes have been developed to reflect the following points of reference:

the research interests of departmental staff and the research strategy of the School of Law and Department
of Politics;

Mission statements and strategic plans of the University of Sheffield;

the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy of the School of Law, the Department of Politics and the
University of Sheffield;

the appropriate qualification descriptors contained in the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
in England Wales and Northern Ireland – January 2001; and,

the QAA Subject Benchmark Statements – Politics and international relations (2007) and Law (2007).
The learning outcomes have also taken into account the advice of the external examiners at MA level for the
Department of Politics and the School of Law. The collaboration between the two departments enables us to offer a
cross-disciplinary programme that will be quite distinctive in terms of its substantive learning outcomes.
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20. Programme structure and regulations
The MA in European Law, Governance and Politics provides a coherent programme with an increasing emphasis on
individual learning. The use of compulsory modules in Semester 1 provides a coherent introduction to the subject
area. Optional modules in Semester 2 along with the dissertation allow the students to focus on specific areas of
interest.
Semester 1: The compulsory modules.
Semester 2: Two optional modules from a closed list and a 12,000 word dissertation supervised by staff from each
department.
Coherence is achieved through complementary core modules, joint dissertation workshops and the completion of an
interdisciplinary dissertation supervised jointly by Law and Politics staff. The optional subjects and the dissertation
element of the degree will allow the student to build upon their substantive knowledge and improve their research
and writing skills.
Student choice is served both through the selection of a range of optional modules in law and politics. Selection is
made by the student acting on advice from an experienced academic. The degree programme is designed to
encourage students to progressively construct their programme in accordance with their developing interests and
skills.
Students are not routinely admitted except onto the MA. Students can choose to exit after completion of 60 credits,
at which point they would be awarded a PG Certificate, or on completion of 120 credits, at which point they would be
awarded a PG Diploma.
Detailed information about the structure of programmes, regulations concerning assessment and progression and
descriptions of individual modules are published in the University Calendar available on-line at
www.shef.ac.uk/calendar
21. Student development over the course of study
The first semester will provide a foundation of knowledge and understanding through the core modules. The second
semester will enable students to apply the general principles to specialist areas of European law, politics and
governance in a wide variety of optional modules. Further precision and depth of research will be achieved in the
dissertation, which also permits the students a greater degree of independent research and writing. Teaching and
learning is therefore developmental. Learning outcomes K1-7 and S1-6 are acquired incrementally over Semesters 1
and 2. Skill S7 is acquired as part of the dissertation component, which commences in depth after submission of the
final batch of coursework in May of each session.
22. Criteria for admission to the programme
A good second class honours degree in Politics, Law or in a related social sciences or humanities subject with a
significant political or legal component. A high level of spoken and written English – (IELTS level 7).
Detailed information regarding admission is available at http://www.shef.ac.uk/politics
23. Additional information
For further information students
http://www.shef.ac.uk/politics
are
directed
to
the
Department
of
Politics’
web
pages
at
Or to the School of Law’s webpages: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/law
These contain full information on courses.
This specification represents a concise statement about the main features of the programme and should be
considered alongside other sources of information provided by the teaching department(s) and the University. In
addition to programme specific information, further information about studying at The University of Sheffield can be
accessed via our Student Services web site at www.shef.ac.uk/ssid.
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