Courses

Law

O curso/CE encontra-se acreditado pela Agência de Avaliação e Acreditação do Ensino Superior (A3ES).

Presentation

The Bachelor of Laws degree at the Faculty of Law of the University of Porto was approved by deliberation of the University Senate on October 25, 2006. The current programme structure was approved in 2015, with effect from the academic year 2016/2017.

Objectives

The Bachelor of Laws degree aims to provide a comprehensive training in Legal Sciences, capable of instilling a broad framework of thought and legal reasoning and of equipping students with "know-how" skills.

We want our graduates to enter the labor market with the ability to recognize social facts in need of legal intervention, and to choose the best paths offered by Law to act accordingly upon them. To this extent, our mission - consistent with the mission and strategy of the University of Porto - is based on conveying a very solid set of theoretical knowledge, while emphasizing the aspects of its practical application.

Professional Abilities

The Bachelor of Laws degree is traditionally considered a "broad-band" degree, providing students with competences to perform many functions that are not always strictly legal.

Employment Prospects

In terms of classic career paths, Law graduates may work as lawyers, jurisconsults, judges, public prosecutors, notaries, registrars of civil, commercial, land and other registers, insolvency administrators, industrial property agents, career diplomats, criminal investigation agents, senior public administration technicians, or opt for an academic career by dedicating themselves to research and teaching Law.

It is important to bear in mind that access to some of these professions depends on rules established by the entities that oversee their practice, and that it may be subject to other requirements in addition to a degree in law.

Information

Access:

Access through the national competition for access to higher education under the following conditions:

There are no prerequisites;
Access requirements - Have passed secondary education/high school or equivalent qualification:

Application for 2024 one of the following entrance exams:

18 - Portuguese;
11 - History;

Application for 2025 , one of the following sets:

       18 - Portuguese;
       19 - Maths A
             or
       18 - Portuguese;
       11 - History
             or
        18 - Portuguese;
        06 - Philosophy

Minimum marks: Application grade - 120 points; Entrance exams - 120 points
Application grade formula: Secondary school/high school average - 60%; Entrance exams - 40%

Organization of the course

The Bachelor of Laws degree was adapted to the legal regime established by Decree-Law No. 74/2006 of 24 March (and other applicable legislation) from the 2007/2008 academic year on. In compliance with the principles of the Bologna Process, its main scientific area is Legal Sciences, and it is organized by the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Its normal duration is of four academic years (eight curricular semesters), corresponding to 240 credits.

Teaching and assessment methods

The current programme includes 30 courses, 10 of them being full courses (with the duration of one academic year each) and 20 half-courses (with the duration of an academic semester each). In the second semester of the 4th year students may choose three half-courses from a list established annually by the Scientific Council. Each half- course is worth 6 credits, and each full course is worth 12 credits.

Most courses are taught through three lectures and two practical courses per week, which adds up to an average of about 70 teaching hours per course/semester.

Depending on the course and on the students' choice, the assessment system can be distributed, with or without final exam, or only by final exam. In the latter case, students have a regular exam sitting and an appeal exam sitting. If the student gets 8 or 9/20 in the regular sitting, he can choose to take the appeal exam orally.

Students with special status (e.g., students with special educational needs, student-workers, student union leaders, students who only lack a limited number of credits to complete their degree, etc.) have access to special examination periods, as defined by general law and by the University rules.