Law and Languages

Law and languages is an unusual combination, bringing together the rigorous analytical training of legal study with the cultural depth and communicative range that language learning provides. Law examines the rules, institutions and processes through which societies regulate behaviour and resolve disputes, developing skills in argument construction, the interpretation of statutes and cases, and the careful analysis of fact patterns and legal principles. Language study adds fluency in another tongue and engagement with the cultures, literatures and legal systems of the countries where those languages are used, opening a genuinely international dimension to legal education.

The Open University offers this programme through distance learning, studied part-time, which means you can pursue it alongside employment, family responsibilities or other commitments. The Open University's established distance learning model provides high-quality learning materials and online academic support, and the flexibility of the part-time mode makes it accessible to students at many different life stages. You will study law alongside your chosen language, developing both legal analytical skills and linguistic competence, without the need to attend a fixed campus.

Graduates from law and languages programmes are well placed for careers in legal practice (following professional legal training), international business, diplomacy, translation, international arbitration, the civil service, European institutions and the wide range of sectors where legal knowledge and language skills intersect. The combination is particularly valuable for those interested in international commercial law, human rights, European law or cross-border legal work of any kind. Postgraduate study in law, language or legal translation, along with the professional legal training required for practice in England and Wales or Scotland, provides a clear route for those who wish to qualify as solicitors or barristers.