BA in Law with Law Studies in Europe

IMPORTANT

Please note the following deadlines: 15 October 2024 @6pm for UCAS applications; 15 October 2024 to sit LNAT tests.

Overview

A variant on the standard BA in Jurisprudence which includes a year abroad

The BA in Law with Law Studies in Europe (technically 'Bachelor of Arts in the Final Honour School of Jurisprudence: English Law with Law Studies in Europe') is an extended version of our BA Law programme including an extra year spent at one of our partner universities in continental Europe.

Please begin by reading about our regular three-year BA in Jurisprudence.

Course in brief

Entry requirements

A-levels: AAA

Advanced Highers: AAB, or AA plus an additional Higher at grade A

IB: 38 (including core points) with at least 666 at HL

Or equivalent (see list of international qualifications)

To study in France, Germany, Italy or Spain candidates are expected to have a Grade A in A-Level (or equivalent - see above) in the relevant modern language. (Native speakers of the relevant language will be exempted from this requirement.)

All candidates must also take the Law National Admissions Test (LNAT) as part of their application.

About the course

Please note the following deadlines: 16 October 2023 @6pm for UCAS applications; 16 October 2023 to sit LNAT tests.

Collage of world monuments

During the first two years, students on the Law with Law Studies in Europe programme follow the same courses as those on the regular BA Law programme, with the addition of some classes preparing them for the year abroad. The year abroad is the third year. Students then return to Oxford to rejoin the final year of the regular BA Law programme. To be awarded the Law with Law Studies in Europe degree students have to pass their year abroad (assessed locally). However the degree is classified on the basis of the Oxford final examinations only. 'Oxford final examinations' include an essay in jurisprudence (theory of law) to be written over the summer vacation at the end of the second year, before you go abroad. Your mark for this essay counts towards your degree result. The exam in jurisprudence at the end of your final year is correspondingly shorter.

During the year abroad students on the Law with Law Studies in Europe programme study the law, not the language, of the country they are in. However, with the exception of the Law with European Law option where courses are taught in English, these legal studies are taught in the local language. Therefore an advanced competence in that language is required and this is tested as part of the admissions process.

Like our regular BA in Jurisprudence, the BA in Law with Law Studies in Europe is a 'qualifying law degree' for the purpose of practice as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales, but it does not provide any qualification for legal practice in the other European countries concerned.

My experience in Paris was radically different from what I knew from Oxford in many respects. Instead of weekly tutorials and a great deal of independent reading, I had a schedule full of lectures and seminars. A significant advantage of spending my year abroad in Paris was becoming fluent in French. I was anxious about this aspect, not having lived in a French-speaking country ever before, and only knowing French from school. However, after a couple of weeks of university work, I did not feel like the language of instruction made a difference to me anymore. My year at Panthéon-Assas was time well spent. Despite the heavy workload, I had time to explore Paris and make memories with my new friends. I also feel that my knowledge of some French law, and the accompanying degree, have made a positive impact both on my academic work in Oxford, and on my professional development.

Lukas

Law with French Law (2019), Magdalen College

Going abroad

Students who undertake this course will spend the third year of their degree abroad, studying law at one of our partner institutions.

Who are our partners?

PARTNER UNIVERSITIES	COUNTRY
Panthéon-Assas (Paris)	France
Bonn or Munich	Germany
Siena	Italy
Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona)	Spain
Leiden	The Netherlands

More information about the year abroad

Study during the 3rd year abroad

Programme structure

The course follows the same structure as the BA in Jurisprudence but with the addition of law/language classes in the first and second years and the third year abroad.

YEAR 1 (TERMS 1 & 2) (MODS)	3rd TERM OF YEAR 1 & YEAR 2 (FHS)	YEAR 3 (ABROAD)	YEAR 4 (FHS)
Criminal Law	Administrative Law	Undertake Law courses at partner institution	European Union Law
Constitutional Law	Contract		FHS OPTION
A Roman introduction to Private Law	Jurisprudence		FHS OPTION
Legal Research and Mooting Skills Programme (stage 1)	Land Law
Law and Language classes	Tort Law
	Trusts Law
	Legal Research and Mooting Skills Programme (stage 2)
	Law and Language classes

In their final year (4th year for students on this course) students are able to choose two optional courses. There is a wide variety of 20 or so options offered by the faculty.

You don’t need to be fluent in a second language to study abroad. On the Course 2 BA in Jurisprudence with Law in Europe you take courses taught in English at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. With just a smattering of rudimentary Dutch phrases (taught to you in your second year at Oxford) you gain both the academic rewards and awesome life experiences that a year living and studying in a foreign country provides. Whilst the work load is somewhat less intense than at Oxford, the challenge is juggling five or six classes at once, all of which come with very different teaching and assessment styles. This juggling ability, along with the differing perspectives on legal learning that I picked up during my year abroad, proved very useful for Finals. My year at Leiden also allowed me to tackle my last year at Oxford with a more mature perspective on the law and my studies.