Law

Abstract

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  Profile of the study programme

  Main features of the programme
  Students studying full-time complete a bachelor's degree in Law in three years. As far as possible, lectures and tutorials are kept to four weekdays. This leaves students time for personal study of the coursework, as well as for additional study options.

  One particular feature of this full-time course is its progressive structure, in that individual areas of law are addressed several times. The result is a clearly structured curriculum, which guides you through the wide range of subjects and helps you develop an understanding of the basics of law and sound knowledge of the different areas.

  Each year of study ends with examinations to enable you to get an idea of how your studies are coming along periodically. The bachelor's degree in Law entitles you to apply for the master's degree programme.

  Structure of the full-time course
  To be a successful legal practitioner requires a broad, sound grasp of law.

  • First year of study: Introduction to law, Law Enforcement, Roman law, personal rights, Swiss constitutional law, criminal law (I), European law and international law
  • Second year of study: Property law, code of obligations (general section), administrative law (general section), tax law, criminal law (II) and history of law
  • Third year of study: Family law, inheritance law, code of obligations (contracts and tort law), commercial and business law, administrative law, labour and social security law, and philosophy of law

  Our teaching sessions are designed to teach you the skills you need to be able to navigate the legal system with confidence and ease. You are consistently encouraged to critically analyse legally relevant texts (first and foremost laws and court rulings) in the context of the legal system, to recognise legal issues and develop viable solutions. Student participation in teaching is welcomed and students are encouraged to express themselves in writing and tutored in doing so. By the time you complete your studies, you will have acquired the knowledge and methods to allow you to address even new and new kinds of legal problems.

  Acquiring in-depth knowledge of specialist areas with distinctions and special credits
  Even at the bachelor level, you can acquire more in-depth knowledge of certain areas of law by obtaining distinctions and special credits.

  The distinctions add prestige to your degree certificate. You acquire these with achievements over and above the required curriculum. The following special distinctions are currently available:

  • European law
  • Religious law («Utriusque iuris»)
  • Bilingual curriculum, French/German

  The special credits are added to the ECTS credits required for the master's degree. You can obtain these by taking advantage of the wide choice of supplementary courses that are open to you already after successfully completing your first year of study.

  International networking and student exchange semester (Erasmus)
  Since its beginnings, our Faculty has placed great value on international networking and practises exchanges with a large number of Faculties abroad. Students also benefit from this. The exchanges that we offer in cooperation with partner universities include:
  – Centre for Transnational Legal Studies (CTLS) in London; student exchange in Shanghai (China);
  – «Galatasaray (Turkey) – Fribourg» and «Craiova (Romania) – Fribourg» international seminars;
  – Summer university of the Institute of Federalism at the University of Fribourg;
  – «European Private Law» summer school at Salzburg University (Austria)

  However, you can also participate in the Swiss European Mobility Programme, which is a one or two-semester international exchange at one of more than 100 European law Faculties, and acquire experience that will stand you in good stead, including in your subsequent career. This does not necessarily prolong your studies; what counts is your learning achievements abroad that we can add to your record in Fribourg.

  Particularly ambitious students can take advantage of the «Double diplôme de bachelor Fribourg/Paris II» programme, in which they study for a bachelor's degree at the University of Fribourg and at the same time at the University Panthéon-Assas (Paris II).

  Students also have the opportunity of attending another Swiss university for a semester or a year.

  Learning outcomes and career openings
  The bachelor's degree at our Faculty gives students a solid grounding in law. We do not believe in early specialisation, as specialised knowledge becomes rapidly obsolete. Students who have a thorough understanding of the core fields of law are much better equipped.

  Many students who have obtained their bachelor's degree here opt to continue with a master's degree, making use of the strong practical focus and interdisciplinary nature of the courses on offer in Fribourg. A career as a lawyer is only possible with a master's degree, but a wide variety of careers are open to our graduates.

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