Common Law/German Language

Law and language study make a formidable combination. Legal training develops the ability to interpret complex texts, construct rigorous arguments, understand institutional structures, and reason carefully about rights, duties and consequences. Adding fluency in German opens access to one of Europe's most significant legal systems and creates a graduate profile that is genuinely distinctive in an increasingly interconnected professional world.

At the University of Glasgow this four-year full-time programme awards a degree in Common Law alongside your German language qualification, and it includes a year abroad which is an integral rather than optional part of the course, providing the opportunity to study or gain experience in a German-speaking country. The Common Law degree is based on the English and Welsh legal tradition. It is important to note, as Glasgow itself makes clear, that this qualification is not accredited by the Law Society of Scotland and does not provide a route to practising law in Scotland.

If your goal is to practise in a Scottish jurisdiction, you would need to consider the LLB in Scots Law instead.

You will study the foundational areas of common law, including contract, tort, constitutional law, criminal law and equity, alongside developing your German to a high level of academic and professional competence. The programme is intellectually demanding: legal study trains close analytical reading, precise written argument and the ability to hold competing principles in tension, while language study develops cultural awareness, translation skills and the capacity to operate comfortably in another country's professional environment.

Graduates of law and modern languages programmes are well placed for careers in international law firms, in-house legal roles at multinational companies, the civil service, diplomacy, international organisations and cross-border commercial roles. Qualification as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales typically requires the Legal Practice Course or Bar Professional Training Course after graduation. The German language specialism makes graduates particularly attractive to firms operating in European and German-speaking markets.