The College of Law is to enter the undergraduate degree market with the launch of a two-year undergraduate law degree.

The LLB degree, which will run initially in the College's London, Birmingham and Chester offices from September 2012, will see the College compete with mainstream universities for school-leavers.

The degree will feature 11 hours per week of face-to-face teaching, with classes running for 38 weeks of each of the two years.

According to the College's chief executive Nigel Savage, unlike traditional law degrees, course content will be based on practice-based vocational learning, including workshops throughout the course to help students with career opportunities.

It will offer two specific routes – one for students whose main interest is in the law for individuals and the other for those wanting to focus on business law.

Fees for the course are expected to be decided within the next month.

Savage said: "Our law degree is about the practical development of knowledge and skills. Students will learn legal principles in a contemporary, applied and integrated manner, examining how law affects society and is used to assist and resolve matters. They will develop a better overall practical understanding of how the law works, rather than simply studying its historical development."

The news comes three months after it emerged that the College of Law supported Lord Browne's review of student funding, and the removal of the cap on UK university fees.

In October, the College rallied behind Browne's proposals for a free market for higher education fees, arguing that it would increase competition and deliver higher standards of education.

For more, see School of hard knocks – legal education's controversies under review.