LLB Law and French

On the joint LLB programme you will study Scots law alongside French.

In Years 1 and 2, you will study foundation 'Ordinary' courses.

In Years 3 and 4, courses are studied at 'Honours' level, where you will choose from up to 40 specialist courses covering a range of theoretical, practical and historical fields of study.

If you wish to retain the option of practising as a lawyer in Scotland, it may - but not always - be possible to complete the additional courses required.

Where this is an option, it will typically require extra study throughout the programme. Consequently, you must consider the possible impact of this on qualifying as a solicitor.

We highly encourage all students on joint degree honours programmes to discuss their intended pathway with the Law School.

Year 1

You will be introduced to general legal principles and legal techniques and will study compulsory courses including:

• Scottish Legal System
• Critical Legal Thinking
• Contract Law
• Family Law
• Public Law of the UK and Scotland
• European Union Law

You will also study the compulsory course French 1B. This course will help you develop your written and spoken skills in the French language. It will also introduce you to the extraordinary richness and variety of one of the world's great civilisations by focusing on social and political events from the Second World War to the 21st century.

These include:

• resistance and collaboration
• the Fifth Republic
• May 1968
• feminism
• colonisation and decolonisation

Year 2

Your courses may include:

• Property Law
• Jurisprudence
• Public Law and Individual Rights
• Delict
• Criminal Law
• Revenue Law
• International Private Law
• Business Entities
• Commercial Law
• Evidence
• Succession and Trust Law

You will build on the language skills you developed in Year 1 in French, and learn more about Francophone literature and culture.

In your French cultural study, the focus now shifts to exploring the 16th to the 19th centuries, including world-renowned authors such as:

• Molière
• Montaigne
• Baudelaire

You will also study fascinating writers whose work has been considered marginal to French culture for reasons of gender or colonial politics.

Year 3

During Year 3, you will spend at least 30 weeks on approved study placement in a French-speaking country studying agreed courses in Law and French.

All students who spend Year 3 abroad must also take the compulsory course Advanced Legal Writing (Online).

Year 4

You will receive advanced legal skills training during your honours study and will have the opportunity to specialise in further law subjects, chosen from a wide range of courses, including:

• Commercial Law
• Property Law
• Family Law
• Criminology

You will also study further courses in French and have the option of completing a dissertation in law.

Programme structure

Find out more about the compulsory and optional courses in this degree programme.

To give you an idea of what you will study on this programme, we publish the latest available information. However, please note this may not be for your year of entry, but for a different academic year.

Programme structure (2022/23)

Our facilities

Law

The Law School has been housed in the beautiful Old College since the late 1800s. Our traditional and historic home has recently undergone a complete refurbishment as part of a £35m project.

As a student at Edinburgh Law School, you will benefit from brand new teaching, study, and research facilities that are at once historic and modern.

Designed for the way you study, the outstanding new features include:

• a spectacular law library
• spacious seminar rooms
• dedicated student social spaces, including a student café

Our library is one of the largest law libraries in the UK.

Within easy walking distance of the highest courts in Scotland and the Scottish Parliament, the Law School is ideally appointed and placed for those studying and working in the law.

French

Teaching in French takes place in and around the University of Edinburgh's Central Area.

This is where you will also find the Main University Library which holds over 118,500 books and 25,500 journals in French. The library can give you access to:

• films
• newspapers
• databases
• other media in the language

The French theatre society - Les Escogriffes - typically stages a play in French each year, with opportunities to direct, act, produce and promote.

Staff and student editors publish creative writing in nine European languages – including French – in the online magazine, Babble. Launch nights typically include readings and performances.

Within the city, you will have access to specialist collections, including one of the best French collections in the UK in the National Library of Scotland.

Edinburgh's French cinema scene is particularly strong, with an annual French Film Festival, and plenty to see and do throughout the year.

Many events are hosted by the recently upgraded and refurbished Institut français on George IV Bridge, 5 minutes from Old College, which is an arm of the French Foreign Ministry.

The centre promotes French language and culture and is co-located with the French consulate on the city's Royal Mile.

Study abroad

During Year 3, you will spend the academic year on approved study placement in a French-speaking country.

What are my options for going abroad?

How will I learn?

Law

Large group lectures provide the teaching framework for law in Years 1 and 2 complemented by small group tutorial sessions.

Year 1 students will normally have two or three lectures per course, per week. You will also have a regular tutorial for each course.

Years 3 and 4 consist of two-hour seminars, rather than lectures and tutorials. In these, students are expected to discuss and explore topics in more depth.

All Year 1 students have access to Edinburgh's Law Peer-Assisted Learning Scheme (Law PALS). The Mooting Society also provides you with opportunities to learn and practise courtroom skills.

French

French courses are taught by experienced lecturers and language tutors through a combination of:

• lectures
• seminars
• tutorials
• e-learning

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams.

Law

After graduating you can progress on to the legal profession in Scotland by completing the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice, followed by a traineeship with a legal firm, to qualify as a solicitor.

Please note however that this is only possible following a joint degree programme if you have been able to complete all additional courses required for the Diploma.

You can then opt to go to the Bar, to qualify as an advocate. This requires a period of 'devilling' under the supervision and direction of a practising advocate.

Practising in other jurisdictions

Our LLB programmes are accredited by the Law Society of Scotland however this combined honours programme does not include all courses required to proceed to the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice and thereafter to the legal profession in Scotland.

It may be possible, in discussion with the Law School, for joint honours students to meet these requirements by studying additional courses.

Graduates who qualify to practise, may also go on to qualify and practise law in other jurisdictions. In particular, there are rules which enable a Scots-qualified solicitor or advocate relatively quickly to re-qualify as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.

Graduates may also go on to re-qualify in France (and in Belgium and Luxembourg) as an avocat.

Graduates may also qualify and practise elsewhere in Europe and beyond. This is in accordance with the relevant local conversion requirements and any further study required in the non-Scottish destination jurisdiction.

Other opportunities

Graduates who do not choose a legal career often use their skills and experience for employment in finance, management or journalism.

Our graduates have also worked with international organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union.

French

Studying a language to degree level demonstrates that you are a good communicator, a resilient problem solver, and someone open to other cultures and new ideas – what employers value as Intercultural Competence.

Graduating in Law and French, you’ll be near-fluent in a major language of international communication, one of the most widely spoken in the world.

You’ll be well-placed to seek opportunities in the 29 countries where France is an official language (including parts of Europe, Africa and North America) and the many multinational companies and institutions for which it is a working language, including the European Commission.

Wherever you are based in the world, your skills will make you stand out.

Standard entry requirement

The standard entry requirement is:

• SQA Highers: AAAAA (achievement by end of S5 preferred). BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S5.
• A Levels: A*AA - AAA.
• IB: 39 points with 666 at HL - 37 points with 666 at HL.

Minimum entry requirement

The minimum entry requirement for widening access applicants is:

• SQA Highers: ABBB by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S5.
• A Levels: ABB.
• IB: 34 points with 655 at HL.

More information for widening access applicants

Required subjects

The grades used to meet our entry requirements must include:

• SQA: Highers: English at B, at first attempt, and a language other than English at B. National 5s: French at B (if not at Higher).
• A Levels: English Literature, English Language or combined English at B, and a language other than English at B. GCSEs: French at B or 6 (if not at A Level). English Language and English Literature GCSE, both at A or 7, are accepted in place of A Level English.
• IB: HL: English at 5 and a language other than English at 5. SL: French at 5 (if not at HL).

Additional requirements

Language requirement

For degrees that have a subject requirement of a language other than English, students may not use their own native language to meet this requirement. In these instances, English or an alternative language other than native will be acceptable.

Find out more about entry requirements

International applicants

We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.

Entry requirements by country

Mature applicants

We welcome applications from mature students and accept a range of qualifications.

Mature applicant qualifications

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

SQA, GCSE and IB

For SQA, GCSE and IB students, unless a higher level is specified in the stated entry requirements, a pass is required in English at the following grades or higher:

• SQA National 5 at C
• SQA Standard Grade at 3
• GCSE at C or 4
• Level 2 Certificate at C
• IB Standard Level at 5 (English ab initio is not accepted for entry)

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each component.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 162 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 62 with at least 54 in each component.

We also accept a wider range of international qualifications and tests.

English language qualifications must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the degree you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL or Trinity ISE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

English language requirements

This information is part of a government initiative to enhance the material that higher education institutions provide about their degree programmes.

It is one of many sources of information which will enable you to make an informed decision on what and where to study.

Please note that some programmes do not have Discover Uni data available.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees for LLB Law and French

Additional costs

On some courses, you will be encouraged to purchase additional learning materials for learning and assessments.

Additional costs should be anticipated for the mandatory Study Abroad in Year 3. Costs will vary depending on the country/partner university. Additional costs may include:

• insurance
• visa requirements
• accommodation
• internet access
• travel

Funding

For more information on how much it will cost to study with us and the financial support available see our fees and funding information.

Fees and funding

• Have a query about undergraduate study?
• Send an enquiry