Scots Law

The Scots Law degree is the required degree for those planning to enter the Scottish legal profession. It also provides an excellent starting point for those who wish to, after qualification in Scotland, seek out qualification in England & Wales and Northern Ireland (not to mention many other jurisdictions around the world). Additionally, the Scots Law curriculum offers intellectual depth and has a range of flexible options and provides a superb starting point for many other careers besides law.

Why study this course at the University of Glasgow?

The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme is an exacting intellectual discipline and offers a thorough grounding in the principles of basic areas of the law. The degree can be studied to Ordinary level, requiring three years of full-time study, or to Honours level in four years of full-time study. We have an extremely successful and popular study abroad programme. Traditionally, more than 60% of our Honours students in a normal year take the opportunity to spend all or part of the third year studying law in another country. Many others participate in a summer school or other academic activity abroad.

These exchange and short-term mobility options are available through our Law with Languages or Legal Studies programmes or at English-speaking institutions across Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Students may also take part in summer schools or other short-term mobility opportunities such as the Comparative Law Project.

In all cases study abroad is integrated into the degree and does not involve an additional year of study.

Career Prospects?

If you intend to become a solicitor or advocate in Scotland you must, in addition to the professional subjects taken as part of the Scots Law LLB, complete a one-year postgraduate vocational qualification – the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice. There is then a period of full-time training for two years to become a solicitor, and up to two and a half years to become an advocate.

Graduates of the Scots Law LLB are regularly recruited by international firms and may go on to practise law in England and Wales, the USA, Australia and elsewhere. Qualification in other countries involves additional study and examination in the law of the relevant legal system.

The flexibility of the Law degree at Glasgow, together with the emphasis on developing the key skills required by employers and the opportunities available to study abroad and to take part in placement opportunities, means that the LLB degree provides a sound general foundation for a range of careers. These include the Civil Service, local government, journalism, industry and commerce, international institutions, administration, banking, insurance, social work and the police service.

All Glasgow law students benefit from a dedicated employability programme, featuring tailored events focusing on various aspects of legal practice. These events feature a range of legal professionals from solicitors and advocates through to judges (many of whom are Glasgow graduates themselves). Finally, law students at Glasgow may gain real-world legal experience and an opportunity to develop their skillset through legal clinical projects run via the GO Justice Initiative.