Programme overview
Programme Director: Dr Frederic Rolland
The School of Law at the University of Exeter, in partnership with the Law Faculty of the University of Rennes in France, has pioneered the LLB European (French) / Maîtrise en Droit (Master 1). This highly sought after programme offers an unrivalled opportunity to study the English and the French legal orders in their respective languages in order to obtain qualifying law degrees in the United Kingdom and in France. It will enable you to master two entirely different legal cultures and systems within an integrated curriculum and graduates of this degree are highly attractive to the major City law firms as well as to European and international organisations.
During the programme, you will spend your first three years in Exeter studying (in English) the necessary foundation subjects for the LLB. At the same time you will undertake modules in French law with lectures given and assessments taken in French. In your fourth year, you will study at the University of Rennes I and follow one of the Maîtrise en Droit programmes.
The English legal qualification will enable you on graduation to proceed to the Solicitors’ Legal Practice Course or the Bar Professional Training Course in the United Kingdom. The Maîtrise en Droit (Master 1) gives you the necessary knowledge to pass the aptitude test which is a pre-requisite for lawyers from European Union member states wanting to practise in France.
This innovative programme has been developed as it has become increasingly important for lawyers to understand and apply systems of law belonging to various legal traditions, especially in light of the harmonisation of the legal systems of the various member states of the European Union and the growing globalisation of legal practice.
Why study LLB European (French) / Maîtrise en Droit at Exeter?
- To master two legal systems simultaneously in English and in French. All French law courses are taught in French
- Utilise dedicated Law resources including the Lasok Law Library and Moot Room
- Undertake work experience, advocacy and skills training
- Benefit from outstanding employment prospects with a dual qualification of particular appeal to major City law firms with offices in other European countries
- Gain exemption from academic stages of professional training
- Become a member of the very active Bracton Law Society
- Learn from academics undertaking internationally-rated research
The double LLB/Maîtrise degree deserves the great reputation it has at the University of Exeter. It has given me the ability to think in two completely different ways because of the great differences between the two legal systems. Our French law class constitutes a small, dynamic group, and therefore the teaching feels very personal, each class being more like a workshop, with great interaction between us and the lecturer. As a native French speaker, the language was not a problem, though my non-native classmates have improved incredibly fast. The atmosphere is great, and we are all looking forward to our upcoming final year in Rennes. The LLB/Maîtrise is a fantastic, intellectually stimulating degree, and its reputation at Exeter is excellent.
Jonathan Josephs, LLB European (French) / Maîtrise (Master 1), Streatham Campus
