About Bachelor of Laws, LLB - at The University of Hong Kong

Programme Aims and Features

The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) offers an education in fundamental legal concepts and subjects, as well as a wider liberal-arts education. In 2004-05, the LLB became a four-year programme, in line with recommendations made by government-appointed consultants. Under the 2012 curriculum reform, the LLB remains as a 4-year progrmme. The four-year LLB provides students with greater opportunities to address the following challenges:

• Acquiring a solid foundation in legal knowledge, transferable critical and analytical skills, and broadening of intellectual horizons
• Developing a high level of language proficiency
• Preparing for vocational training in the new skill-based PCLL
• Understanding globalisation and the changing international scene
• Understanding the close interaction between the systems of China and Hong Kong
• Developing maturity

The LLB comprises a professional core which equip students with a solid foundation in legal knowledge, and elective courses which allow students exposure to the broader context in which the law operates. Students will have the opportunity to obtain a minor in a non-law area, or to obtain specialization in a specific area of law.

In addition to our 4-year LLB, students may also consider choosing to study on one of the following related programmes:

• a 5-year Integrated Double Degree Programme that is jointly offered with the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Business and Economics or the Faculty of Social Sciences; or
• the 4-year and 5-year Dual Degree Programme jointly offered with UCL and PKU respectively, which will enable graduates to obtain two LLBs from two top-ranking law schools in the world (HKULLB and UCLLLB / PKULLB), and open paths to legal qualifications in both jurisdictions. Applicants may refer to the programme information on the relevant website and submit an application through the online application system.

Professional Recognition

To practise law in Hong Kong, LLB graduates must pass the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL), a one-year full-time or two-year part-time course taught by the Faculty of Law at HKU or other universities Thereafter, to become a solicitor a graduate must spend two years as a trainee solicitor in a law firm, or in the Department of Justice, while prospective barristers must undertake 12 months of pupillage. Admission to the PCLL offered by the Faculty of Law is open to law graduates from the University and other approved universities and similar institutions in Hong Kong, and also to and holders of other recognised law qualifications acceptable to the PCLL providers who can demonstrate competence in the required core subjects. Admission is competitive: the selection criteria include the standard and origin of the applicant's first degree in law.

The LLB degree has also been recognised by professional bodies and universities overseas. The Law Society of England accepts it for exemptions from Part 1 of the Common Professional Examination, and exemptions may also be granted from certain papers in Part 1 of the Bar Final Examinations in England. Law graduates of the University regularly go on to study for higher degrees at prestigious universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, London and Stanford.

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Entry requirements for this course

Contact The University of Hong Kong to find course entry requirements.

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Related information

Studying in Hong Kong