The Master’s Degree in Law aims to provide students with the knowledge and competences essential to a specialised legal education, preparing them either for professional practice or for further academic study at a more advanced level.
The programme is delivered by a highly qualified academic staff, combining experts from the various areas of law, from Universidade Católica and from prestigious international universities, selected for both their technical excellence and their strong pedagogical ability.
Thanks to this structure, students are able to shape the “master’s profile” that best suits their interests: they may pursue a more research-oriented pathway, aligned with the work developed at the School’s Centre for Research and Studies; a pathway oriented towards access to the legal professions; or, particularly for those already in the workplace, a programme focused on updating and deepening their legal expertise. In all cases, graduates leave with the recognised quality mark of the Porto Faculty of Law, Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
Taught primarily in the late afternoon, the programme is characterised by a wide range of modules and themes, reflecting a constant concern for curricular renewal in light of emerging legal fields and contemporary challenges. These objectives are achievable thanks to the School’s dedicated academic staff of recognised excellence and to the contribution of external professors and specialists of unquestioned merit.
In line with current trends in the legal field, the school is also committed to strengthening the offer of interdisciplinary modules and seminars, as well as to reinforcing its international dimension, both through English-taught courses and through the provision of training internships.
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Employability
Eight out of ten students begin the master’s programme without prior professional experience, yet more than half are already employed by their final year, and 90% work in areas directly related to their legal training.
Source: Graduate Employment and Further Study Survey 2020
Bússola Programme
While students are still developing their professional identity, the Bússola Programme supports them in addressing the challenges that may arise along this journey.
Through the guidance and experience-sharing of the Law alumni community, students may receive individual mentoring from experienced alumni.
The mentoring relationship is expected to develop according to the rhythm and needs of each student. Mentors make themselves available to help clarify the normal uncertainties of academic life and to share professional experiences and life choices.
Students may join the programme if they are:
- Fourth-year undergraduate students in Law;
- First-year master’s students in Law or in Law and Management.
Each year, the number of participating students depends on the availability of mentors.
For further information, please contact: ee.emprego@ucp.pt
Programme Structure
The Master’s Degree comprises 90 ECTS, of which 60 ECTS correspond to the taught component (over two semesters) and 30 ECTS correspond to the dissertation (one semester).
To complete the 60 taught ECTS, students may choose from over 100 modules and seminars, allowing them to build a study plan suited to their interests and professional goals.
Students wishing to complete the Master’s Degree in a specific area of specialisation, as is common practice, must complete at least 33 ECTS within that area. The remaining ECTS may be obtained through modules from other areas, enabling a personalised and interdisciplinary curriculum. This model is unique in Portugal but follows the practice of several leading American and European universities.
The nine current areas of specialisation reflect the main fields of legal practice and prepare students for a competitive entry into the job market:
- Private Law
- Criminal Law
- Corporate and Business Law
- International and European Law
- International Studies Programme
- Administrative Law
- Labour Law
- Tax Law
- Constitutionalism, Democracy and Human Rights
Yearbook
To highlight the results of high-quality research, the School publishes the master’s dissertations that achieve the highest classifications.
Each year, the best dissertations are published in a digital Yearbook, available for free consultation.
This initiative disseminates high-quality research within the academic and legal communities and to the wider civil society, while encouraging excellence in the research carried out by students in the Master’s in Law and in the Master’s in Law and Management.
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