European Universities have a strong reputation internationally for their standards of legal tuition, and in the University of Oxford (2) the University of Cambridge (3), and the LSE (7), Europe has three of the world’s highest ranked universities for Law according to the QS World University Rankings 2016. Several EHEVF 2016 India and South Asia participants also make the QS Top 100 including Leiden University (24) in the Netherlands and Sciences Po Paris in France. The former offers Masters programmes (LLM) in European Law, Public International Law, and Criminal Justice (MSc) as well as advanced study programmes in various areas including Air and Space Law and International Tax Law; whilst the latter offers a 2 year Masters in Economic Law. Fellow EHEVF 2016 participant University College Dublin in Ireland also ranks highly and offers several masters courses in Law including LLM in International Commercial Law, LLM in International Human Rights, and an LLM in IP and IT Law. Usefully, many of its Masters courses can also be taken on a part-time basis over 2 years. The University of Bristol (49) in the UK also makes the QS 2016 top 100 and offers an MA in Law and an MSc in Socio-Legal Studies as well as PhD study options. International students should note that procedures on becoming a lawyer vary from country to country but most European Member States require a Masters Degree or equivalent postgraduate qualification. In the UK a standard undergraduate Law degree (LLB) is 3 years and will cover a range of subjects including contract law, criminal law, property law as well as child law, human rights, and jurisprudence or legal philosophy. However to become a solicitor or barrister further postgraduate study is needed – either the Legal Practice Course (LPC) or a Common Professional Examination (CPE) for non-law graduates.
