Law with French Law

Law with French law is a genuinely demanding double qualification that gives you both a thorough understanding of English law and a serious engagement with the French legal system, one of the most important civil law traditions in the world. France's legal system, rooted in the Napoleonic Code, differs fundamentally from the common law tradition of England and Wales in its approach to statutes, codification, and legal reasoning, and understanding both traditions produces a far more versatile and internationally capable lawyer than either qualification alone.

At University College London, which has one of the world's leading law faculties, this four-year full-time programme includes a year of study in France, where you work towards a French law qualification alongside your English law degree. The typical entry tariff of 184 points reflects both UCL's extremely competitive admissions and the linguistic and intellectual demands of a genuinely bilingual law degree: you will need sufficient French to engage with legal texts and instruction in the original language. At UCL you will study all the core areas of English law to qualifying standard, while your French legal education gives you an understanding of civil law principles, French legal institutions, and the legal culture of France and many of the other jurisdictions whose legal systems derive from the French model.

Graduates of this programme are particularly well placed for international legal practice, whether in firms with French and English law practices, in European institutions, in international arbitration, or in corporate roles that operate across both legal systems. The qualification is valued in Paris, London, and wherever English and French legal systems interact commercially. Many graduates complete the Solicitors Qualifying Examination or Bar Professional Training Course to qualify in England.

Postgraduate study in comparative law, European law, or international commercial law is also a natural progression.