Founded in 1901 as a Department of Law, the Department of Law and Criminology at Aberystwyth bases itself on a long, reputable and increasingly varied experience of education and academic work. Over the years a large number of well-known legal academics have taught in the Department and Aberystwyth law graduates have made their mark in a range of subsequent careers. The Department is confident in its distinctive identity and reputation for teaching of a high quality, linked to a vigorous research activity and carried out in a stimulating and friendly environment. The Department’s activities benefit from a mature and well-stocked library and generous and up-to-date information technology provision.

The Department is committed to a policy of innovation and development in teaching and research and regularly reviews both the range and content of its degree schemes and its modes of teaching and assessment in order to respond effectively to the needs and expectations of its student body. The Department aims to maximise choice in its provision of education while ensuring that teaching is informed by up-to-date scholarship at the highest level. All members of academic staff are active in research and publication and participate in national and international debate and policy-making in the legal and related fields.

The Department participates actively in international and European academic networks, for purposes of both student mobility and exchanges (for instance through the Erasmus programme) and staff and postgraduate research. There is a strong international student profile in the Department and there are frequent visits by academics and experts from other countries.