Law Programme

Education

The programme includes four and a half years of full-time study and leads to a law degree. Information about the entire programme's course of study (course by course) can be seen in the study plan.

The programme is a professional degree that entitles graduates entrance to certain legal professions, such as judge, lawyer, prosecutor and bailiff.

The first five semesters are common to all students and provide an underpinning general education in law. During these semesters, you study civil law, public law, criminal law and procedural law, among other aspects.

Term six, you choose to specialize in business law or a humanities specialization. The business law specialization area includes courses in market law and intellectual property law. The humanities specialization area includes courses in social law and children's law.

Depending on which specialization you selected in term six, in the seventh and eighth semesters you then choose between four tracks: Business Law, Human Law, Procedural and Criminal Law or Tax Law. Each track contains one and a half semesters worth of specialization courses. The places on each specialization specialization (semesters 6, 7, 8) are limited, but you are guaranteed a place in one of the specializations.

The eighth semester ends with a five-week internship and a theory and method course that prepares you for the final degree thesis. During the last semester, you write your thesis, an essay of 30 ECTS.

During the programme, you are trained in developing an ethical approach in legal practice and the application of the law.

Study Abroad

During your Law programme, you have an opportunity to spend a semester (7th) studying abroad at one of Karlstad University's exchange partners. A semester abroad builds upon the competences and knowledge you develop during your studies and you will enhance your communication skills and intercultural skills - all of which improves your CV for future employers. Karlstad University has exchange agreements with over 200 partner universities, located in over 35 countries. The Law programme has dedicated agreements with partners for Law courses and students can spend semesters in universities such as the University of Milan, Italy; University of Trier, Germany or Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands. With the support of your Programme Leader, you select your courses before departure and approved courses are officially recognized after your exchange period. You may also complete aspects of your final thesis data collection abroad. To discover more about these opportunities, go to our Study Abroad website: https://www.kau.se/utbildning/om-utlandsstudier/studera-utomlands/att-studera-utomlands.

Professional Contact

During your programme, you will meet professional lawyers in the form of guest lectures, study visits and labour market days. Semester eight includes five weeks of internship, for example with a court, authority or company.

Semester 1	ECTS credits
Introduction to Law, and Jurisprudence I (Obligatory)	15
Public Law (Obligatory)	15

Semester 2	ECTS credits
EU Law and International Law (Obligatory)	7.5
Contract Law with Damage Law (Obligatory)	15
Corporate Law (Obligatory)	7.5

Semester 3	ECTS credits
Criminal Law (Obligatory)	15
Procedural Law (Obligatory)	15

Semester 4	ECTS credits
Administrative Law and Administrative Process (Obligatory)	12
Family Law (Obligatory)	8
Jurisprudence II (Obligatory)	10

Semester 5	ECTS credits
Credit and Insolvency Law (Obligatory)	15
Tax Law (Obligatory)	15

Semester 6	ECTS credits
Labour law (Obligatory)	7.5
Social Law (Elective)	15
Children's Law (Elective)	7.5
Market law with Competition law (Elective)	15
Intellectual Property law (Elective)	7.5

Semester 7	ECTS credits
Business Law I (Elective)	15
Company Taxation (Elective)	15
International taxation (Elective)	7.5
Tax Administration and Tax Procedure (Elective)	7.5
Alternative Dispute Resolution (Elective)	30
Legal social work (Elective)	15
Environmental Law and Social Sustainability (Elective)	15
Business Law II (Elective)	15
Optional course (Elective)	30

Semester 8	ECTS credits
Business Law III (Elective)	15
Course in Tax Law Methods (Elective)	15
Criminal Law Sanctions and Sentencing (Elective)	15
Migration Law (Elective)	15
Jurisprudence III with internship (Obligatory)	15

Semester 9	ECTS credits
Master thesis in Law (Obligatory)	30

*Full-time study always equals 30 ECTS credits per semester (20 weeks).

Elective course: Students are free to choose among certain alternative courses, often depending on their choice of specialisation.

Optional course: Students are free to choose any course offered at Karlstad University or at other universities. Courses listed are examples of recommended or frequently chosen courses for a specific programme.

Start semester Autumn 2018

• Programme evaluation (KAU-69758)