LLB Law and Modern Languages (MR20)

2027 entry | view 2026 entry

Course summary

Our Law School is based within a top 10 UK university (QS World University Rankings 2026). Our highly ranked law degree will give you a solid foundation of legal knowledge and an opportunity to explore a wide range of legal topics.

For three years of the programme, you'll be taught in the vibrant and welcoming city of Bristol by world-leading academics from around the globe; experts who are actively impacting law, policy and practice in the UK and internationally. You'll also be joining a diverse student community with over 150 countries represented across the University.

You'll learn in inspiring places, including our traditional Law library in the iconic Wills Memorial Building. You'll also have the opportunity to practice your advocacy skills in our Moot Court. Our wide range of student law societies offer fantastic, extra-curricular opportunities to develop your legal skills too.

Our curriculum is intellectually demanding and research-rich. It can open doors to a variety of prestigious careers worldwide, whether in law or beyond. You'll choose from an exciting range of optional units that reflect the expertise of our renowned academics and address the most challenging legal questions facing today's global society. Throughout your time here, you'll have the support of your personal academic tutor and unit tutors to help you achieve your goals.

Choosing the LLB Law degree at Bristol sets you up to progress onto the Bar Practice Course or prepares you, in part, for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). You'll develop core legal skills and master the seven foundations of legal knowledge. Our graduates progress to a range of exciting careers across business, public service and more, in roles such as human rights lawyer and commercial solicitor.

Many graduates go on to secure training contracts with international law firms and pupillages at barristers' chambers, while others pursue roles in business, finance, technology, human rights, government and the media. You could get a head start in your legal career with the possibility of gaining Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) through one of our award-winning law clinics. Plus, you'll have access to dedicated career support from our in-house careers adviser and the University's Careers Service.

The combination of a strong academic experience and opportunities for vocational development makes our students highly sought after by top employers. In fact, Bristol is one of the top 5 most targeted universities by leading UK employers (High Fliers Research 2025). Want to enhance your career prospects even further? Get involved in a variety of events and mentoring programmes, and seize opportunities to network with our impressive calibre of alumni, and across the legal profession and other sectors.

Our ambition is for you to graduate equipped for any future career in the UK or overseas, with a rich, ethically grounded appreciation of law in society, and an ability to demonstrate excellent legal, analytical and reasoning skills.

On this four-year, joint honours course, you will be able to combine the study of English law with studying French, German or Spanish and its related culture. Starting from A-level standard (or the equivalent) in your chosen language, you will develop your language and cultural knowledge to degree level, as well as studying core units of the legal system of England and Wales, which is part of the Common Law legal tradition.

You will spend your third year at a partner university in France, Germany, Spain or Latin America, countries that are all part of the Civil Law tradition. You will study units taught in French, German or Spanish that will introduce you to the legal system of your chosen country. To find out more about studying abroad, visit the Centre for Study Abroad.

Course structure

The course is structured to help you think, write, reason and argue like a lawyer with an international outlook, while gaining a rich understanding of language, literature, history and culture. It will also help you develop key skills in research and analysis.

Your first-year law units will introduce you to core areas of English and Welsh law, such as contract and constitutional law. Alongside this, you will follow a structured language course in your chosen language and gain a grounding in key historical and cultural aspects of communities in which it is spoken.

Second-year units in core areas of English, European and Comparative Law provide the opportunity to deepen your legal knowledge. On the language side of your degree, you will have opportunities to develop your linguistic skills and to choose an optional unit that furthers your understanding of your chosen language and the cultures in which it is spoken.

Typically, you will spend your third year abroad in a country in which your chosen language is spoken, studying units in the law of that country through the medium of your chosen language.

An exciting range of optional units will help you specialise further in your final year at Bristol, alongside your continued study of language and culture. Inspired by their year abroad, many law and language students choose units suited to global law firms and international organisations, on topics of Banking Law, Commercial Law, IT Law or Environmental Law. Your Independent Research Project will allow you to undertake legal research and engage critically with your chosen topic area.

Full details about the course structure and units for this course can be viewed in the programme catalogue.

Go to programme catalogue

Entry requirements

We accept a wide variety of qualifications and welcome applications from students of all backgrounds. Below is a guide to the typical offers for this course.

A*AA or A*A*B, including B in the intended language of study (French, Spanish or German). Where a candidate is not taking an A-level in a modern language, we may accept A*AA or A*A*B plus a standalone language qualification at CEFR level B1. Further details available on our Modern language requirements page.
D*DD in any Applied General BTEC National Level 3 Extended Diploma AND B in the intended language of study (French, Spanish or German) A-level (or equivalent).

Find out more about BTEC entry requirements
38 points overall with 18 at Higher Level including 5 at Higher Level in the intended language of study (French, Spanish or German).
34 points overall with 17 at Higher Level including 5 at Higher Level in the intended language of study (French, Spanish or German).

Find out if you are eligible for a contextual offer
Advanced Higher: AA including A in the intended language of study (French, Spanish or German), and Standard Higher: AABBB.
Access to HE Diploma in any acceptable title. The 45 graded Level 3 credits must include at least 30 credits at Distinction and 15 at Merit or above. Proven capacity for language learning is also required, usually through a B in A-level in the intended language of study (French, Spanish or German) or a standalone language qualification at CEFR level B1. Please see the list of accepted B1 qualifications.

More about Access to HE entry requirements
Requirements are as for A-levels, where you can substitute a non-subject specific grade for the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales or the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate at that grade.
Requirements for principal subjects are as for A-level, where D1/D2 is A*, D3 is A, M1/M2 is B, and M3 is C.
The University of Bristol welcomes applications from international students, and we accept a wide range of qualifications for undergraduate and postgraduate study.

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More about UK qualifications.