Undergraduate degrees

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Edinburgh Law School is one of the top-ranked Law Schools in the world (ranked 15th in the world, 5th in the UK and 1st in Scotland QS World University Rankings: Law and Legal Studies 2026), has a strong international reputation and our teaching staff offer expertise across a wide range of legal fields. We also have a vibrant and diverse law student community, which organises many social, careers and other law-related events.

We offer LLB degrees in Scots law, Global law, joint LLB programmes which enable you to study law with another academic discipline and an accelerated LLB for graduates.

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LLB Law

The LLB Law is the required degree for those intending to enter the Scottish legal profession and will allow you to practise as a Scottish solicitor once you have also completed the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice and traineeship.

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LLB Global Law

The LLB Global Law is designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge required to succeed in a globally oriented legal career. You will also have the opportunity to experience life in a different country during a year abroad.

Students outside Old College, Edinburgh Law School

Joint LLB degrees

A joint honours degree enables you to study law with another named academic discipline, such as a language or other subject, giving you the opportunity to develop a deep knowledge of both subjects and combine multiple intellectual interests.

Students in class

Graduate LLB

The Graduate LLB is a two-year, accelerated, programme designed for graduates from all disciplines and nationalities wishing to pursue a career in the law.

Graduate LLB

The Graduate LLB is a two-year programme intended for those who already hold a degree level qualification and wish to obtain an undergraduate qualification in the law. For this reason, it is a very attractive conversion course for graduates from all disciplines and nationalities wishing to pursue a career in the law.

Students in a lecture

The Graduate LLB is primarily designed to prepare you for entry to the Scottish legal profession and is the ideal foundation for further professional study in law, usually the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (known as Professional Education and Training stage 1, or PEAT 1). In accordance with the stipulations of the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates, we will ensure you get the legal skills and knowledge you need for a future in the Scottish legal profession.

Though the degree is a qualifying degree for professional practise in Scotland, a number of graduates also go on to qualify and practise as a lawyer in other jurisdictions, in accordance with the relevant local conversion requirements and any further study required in the non-Scottish destination jurisdiction.

It is also an excellent grounding for many other careers, including politics, policy and government work, as it will provide you with a range of useful oratory, academic and professional skills.

You will be introduced to general legal principles and legal techniques and will study compulsory courses including:

  • Scottish Legal System
  • Contract and Unjustified Enrichment
  • Critical Legal Thinking
  • Family Law
  • Public Law of the UK and Scotland
  • European Union Law

You will also take a selection of optional courses. Please note if you intend to practise law in Scotland you will be required to take all law optional courses.

You will build on the skills and knowledge obtained in Year 1 with a selection of compulsory courses including:

  • Property Law
  • Jurisprudence
  • Public Law and Individual Rights
  • Business Entities
  • Commercial Law
  • Succession and Trust Law
  • Delict
  • Evidence
  • Criminal Law

You will also take one optional course. Please note if you intend to practise law in Scotland you will be required to take all law courses.

Programme structure

To help you find out more about the compulsory and optional courses in this degree programme, we publish the latest available information. However, please note this may not be for your year of entry, but for a different academic year.

Degree structure (2026-27)

Please be aware that all option courses may be subject to change year on year. The courses listed on these and linked pages are indicative for the noted year of study. They may not be available for subsequent years due to teaching resource, availability, and demand.

Student Profiles

Find out what it's like to study for a Graduate LLB Law degree at Edinburgh Law School from our students.

Noah, a 2023 graduate of the Graduate LLB programme talks about what it's like to study at Edinburgh Law School.

Enquiries

All enquiries regarding undergraduate applications to Law should be made to the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science Admissions Office.

Email: futurestudents@ed.ac.uk

Phone: +44 (0)131 650 3565

Joint LLB degrees

It is possible to combine the study of law with another named academic discipline, so that you study both subjects throughout your time at Edinburgh and develop a deep knowledge of both subjects. Such degrees provide you with the opportunity to learn about the intellectual interactions between the subjects and to combine multiple intellectual interests.

If you decide to study a law and language degree you will study abroad in your third year at an institution which teaches in the named language of your degree programme (Spanish, German, or French), offering you the chance to have a culturally immersive experience in another country whilst also developing you legal and language skills.

Edinburgh Law School offers the following joint honours degrees. Please follow the relevant link for entry requirements and information about the degree you are interested in.

Each of these programmes is studied over four years and you will take a range of courses from both the Law School and the School in which your programme is combined.

Programme structure

To help you find out more about the compulsory and optional courses in these degree programmes we publish the latest available information. However, please note this may not be for your year of entry, but for a different academic year.

Joint LLB programme structure (2026-27)

Please be aware that all option courses may be subject to change year on year. The courses listed on these and linked pages are indicative for the noted year of study. They may not be available for subsequent years due to teaching resource, availability, and demand.

Please be aware, if you wish to qualify for entry into training for the legal profession, it can be difficult to get all the subjects required by the Law Society of Scotland. Depending on the joint degree you choose, you may need to take extra courses in some years in order to meet the requirements set by the Law Society of Scotland. You should discuss your course options with your personal tutor as soon as you register in year one, to ensure that your career goals can be met by your degree programme structure.

One of the attractions of the Edinburgh LLB joint Honours degree, however, is that it is possible to revert to a 'pure' law degree at (or indeed before) the end of the first year, or sometimes even at a later date, should you decide to do so. This means that the joint Honours degree allows you to keep your options open even after you've started your degree here at Edinburgh. Depending on what courses you have taken up to the point you decide to change, you may still have to take extra courses in order to meet the requirements of the Law Society of Scotland for entry to training for the legal profession.

Enquiries

All enquiries regarding undergraduate applications to Law should be made to the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science Admissions Office.

Email: futurestudents@ed.ac.uk

Phone: +44 (0)131 650 3565

LLB Law (Honours and Ordinary)

The LLB at Edinburgh is designed to prepare you for a career as a lawyer in Scotland, providing the ideal foundation for further professional study. In accordance with the stipulations of the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates, we will ensure you get the knowledge you need for a future in the profession.

The LLB is not only a gateway to practising law: many of our graduates opt not to practise law, and the LLB is an excellent grounding for many other careers, including politics, policy and government work, as it will provide you with a range of useful oratory, academic and professional skills.

Students in a lecture

Programme objectives

The programme aims to promote advanced knowledge and understanding of the theory, concepts and rules of Law in their socio-economic, institutional, and historical frameworks. While the programme is grounded in Scots law and the Scots legal system, you will also be made familiar with the law and legal systems of the other parts of the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the wider world.

Teaching is offered in the first two years of foundational ‘Ordinary’ courses, and you will also enjoy the benefit of two further years of ‘Honours’ level study which enables you to choose from up to 40 specialist courses covering a wide range of theoretical, practical, and historical fields of study.

The Honours programme in years three and four places a strong emphasis on developing your analytical ability, with emphasis on written and oral skills, and opportunities to hone the latter through participation in legal ‘moots’ which reproduce a courtroom environment. Such mooting is just one of the ways in which the Law School encourages you to develop legal skills through a range of innovative learning methods.

Edinburgh Law School has been at the centre of the teaching and practice of law since its earliest days. You will have easy, local access to:

  • the Edinburgh Sheriff Court;
  • the Supreme civil and criminal Scottish courts;
  • the Crown Office;
  • the Scottish Government;
  • the Faculty of Advocates; and
  • the Law Society of Scotland.

You will come into frequent contact with the personnel of all of these institutions, both through field trips to these institutions and through external teaching provided by personnel from these institutions on the programme.

Though the degree is designed to offer the possibility to graduate with a qualifying degree for professional practise in Scotland, a number of graduates also go on to qualify and practise as a lawyer in other jurisdictions, in accordance with the relevant local conversion requirements and any further study required in the non-Scottish destination jurisdiction.

At the University of Edinburgh, there are two main types of undergraduate law degree:

  • The LLB Honours degree (studied over four years)
  • The LLB Ordinary degree (studied over three years)

Accreditation

Our LLB programmes are accredited by the Law Society of Scotland. You will be required to study certain courses to graduate with a fully qualifying degree.

You will be introduced to general legal principles and legal techniques and will study compulsory courses including:

  • Scottish Legal System
  • Critical Legal Thinking
  • Family Law
  • Public Law of the UK and Scotland
  • Contract Law
  • European Union Law.

You will also take a selection of optional courses.

You will build on the skills and knowledge obtained in Year 1 with a selection of compulsory courses including:

  • Property Law
  • Jurisprudence
  • Public Law and Individual Rights
  • Business Entities
  • Commercial Law
  • Succession and Trust Law
  • Delict
  • Criminal Law
  • Evidence

You will also take one optional courses.

You will receive advanced legal skills training during your honours study and will have the opportunity to specialise further by studying advanced law courses, chosen from a wide range of optional courses, alongside the compulsory Advanced Legal Writing course.

If you are studying law with a language you will spend Year 3 abroad. For other students, study abroad is an option.

This is the final year of the LLB (Ordinary) programme.

You choose further optional advanced law courses to expand your specialist knowledge, and you will normally write a dissertation. This will help you develop your legal research and writing skills.

This is the final year of the LLB (Hons) programme.

If you are planning to enter the Scottish legal profession, you will need to complete the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice after you graduate. You can apply for the diploma during the final year of the LLB programme.

Programme structure

To help you find out more about the compulsory and optional courses in this degree programme we publish the latest available information. However, please note this may not be for your year of entry, but for a different academic year.

Programme structure (2026-27)

Please be aware that all option courses may be subject to change year on year. The courses listed on these and linked pages are indicative for the noted year of study. They may not be available for subsequent years due to teaching resource, availability, and demand.

Student Profiles

Find out what it's like to study for an LLB Law degree at Edinburgh Law School from our students.

Miguel, a 2023 graduate of the LLB programme talks about what it's like to study at Edinburgh Law School.

Peter, a 2023 graduate of the LLB programme talks about what it's like to study at Edinburgh Law School.

Jordan, a student on the LLB programme talks about what it's like to study at Edinburgh Law School.

Enquiries

All enquiries regarding undergraduate applications to Law should be made to the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science Admissions Office.

Email: futurestudents@ed.ac.uk

Phone: +44 (0)131 650 3565

Seminar

Studying for an LLM or MSc at Edinburgh Law School - Online Student Panel

Wed 29 March 2023 17:00 - 18:00

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Call for Papers – Ancient Law: Outside the Norms

24 February 2023
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Alumni Perspectives: Colin Brown, Head of Unit, Legal Affairs, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission

Fri 3 March 2023 13:00 - 14:00

Dr Gabrielle Watson

Gabrielle.jpg

Chancellor’s Fellow

Programme Director LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice

LLB (Edinburgh) MA, MSc, DPhil (Oxford)

Office hours:

Email: gabrielle.watson@ed.ac.uk

View my publications

Dr Gabrielle Watson is a legal scholar specialising in sentencing and criminal justice. At the University of Edinburgh, she is the recipient of the Chancellor's Fellowship for ‘cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and innovation’ and ‘a vision for future leadership’ in her field. She is Director of the LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice.

Gabrielle is the author of the award-winning Respect and Criminal Justice (OUP 2020) and co-Editor of Sentencing, Public Opinion, and Criminal Justice (OUP 2025). She has been commissioned to write a volume on Sentencing for the Key Ideas in Law series (Hart 2027). With Professor Julian V Roberts KC (Hon), she is Series Editor of Palgrave Studies on Sentencing. Launched in Spring 2025, the series is the first of its kind in the field, commissioning works on sentencing of cross-jurisdictional significance.

Gabrielle's research has been supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Leverhulme Trust, and the John Fell Fund of the University of Oxford. She has held Visiting Fellowships at the Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice (2019, 2021), Downing College, Cambridge (2021), and the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, Germany (2023).

In 2024, Gabrielle was appointed by the Lord Justice General to the Criminal Courts Rules Council, which reviews the procedures and practices of courts exercising criminal jurisdiction in Scotland. She is Advisor to the Sentencing Academy, an organisation dedicated to developing expert understanding of sentencing in England and Wales and informing public debate. She has provided expert commentary to major media outlets including BBC News, BBC Radio, BBC Sounds, BBC World Service, The Times, Times Radio, and TIME. 

Gabrielle returned to Edinburgh in 2023 having spent over a decade at the University of Oxford, where she received MA, MSc, and DPhil degrees and was subsequently appointed Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Faculty of Law and at Christ Church (2017-19) and Shaw Foundation Fellow in Law at Lincoln College (2019-23). She lectured in Law at Christ Church, Lincoln College, New College, St John's College, St Hugh's College, and St Catherine's College, Oxford, and at the London School of Economics. She remains a Research Associate of the Oxford Centre for Criminology, where she is a regular visitor.

People

Sandra McArthur

Research Finance and Project Manager

Tel: +44 (0) 131 651 4566

Email: Sandra.McArthur@ed.ac.uk

Sandra joined the Edinburgh Law School in March 2023 as the Research Finance Manager for the PeaceRep project. She has been working in research management and support roles for over 14 years and has experience in pre and post award finance, project management, PGR administration and public engagement.

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Hannah Solene Ackroyd

Postgraduate Programme Administrator (On-campus)

Email: hackroyd@ed.ac.uk

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