Top Law Schools Abroad For Filipino Students

Choosing the right law school is crucial to your journey to becoming an attorney. The Philippines has its roster of high-quality higher education institutions that offer degrees in law. However, taking your law degree abroad can also be a great education choice!

The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings. This world-renowned ranking system also has the QS World University Rankings by Subject aimed to help students identify leading schools in a particular subject. The criteria of QS World University Rankings by Subject include research citations, major global surveys of employers, and academic excellence.

If you are looking for the top law schools abroad for Filipino students, here are the best law schools based on the results of the 2018 QS World University Rankings by Subject:

1. Harvard Law School (HLS)

Founded in 1817, the Harvard Law School is the oldest and continuously operating law school in the United States. Located in Massachusetts, Harvard Law School houses three law degree programs: the three-year Juris Doctor (J.D.) program, one-year Master of Laws (LL.M.), and the Doctor of the Juridical Science (S.J.D. Program).

Some of HLS’ notable alumni includes 2 US presidents (Barack Obama and Rutherford Hayes) and former president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Ma Ying-jeou.

2. University of Cambridge – Faculty of Law

Law studies have been taught and studied in Cambridge since the thirteenth century. The core subjects during those times were the Civil Law (law of ancient Rome) and the Canon Law of the Church. This long history of legal studies makes the University of Cambridge – Faculty of Law  one of the oldest and leading law schools in the world. The school’s Squire Law Library contains 180,000 volumes of legal resources collections.

3. University of Oxford – Faculty of Law

The University of Oxford – Faculty of Law is one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Having only an acceptance rate of around 8%, the university has a personalized tutorial setting where students are taught by faculty fellows in small groups on a weekly basis.

Oxford Law offers undergraduate studies in:

• BA Jurisprudence
• BA in Jurisprudence with Senior Status
• BA in Law with Law Studies in Europe and
• Diploma in Legal Studies

 

Meanwhile, the faculty’s postgraduate programs include:

• Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL)
• Magister Juris (MJur)
• Master of Science (MSc) in Law and Finance
• MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice
• MSc in Taxation
• Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice
• Master of Studies (MSt) in International Human Rights Law
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil)
• DPhil in Criminology
• DPhil in Socio-Legal Studies
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Law
• MPhil in Socio-Legal Research, and the
• MSt in Legal Research and Socio-Legal Research

4. Yale Law School

The Yale Law School is known for its rigid selection of students. The school had only a 6.7% acceptance rate in its 2017-2018 cycle, with a student/faculty ratio of 7:1. Established in 1824, Yale Law has already produced a number of law graduates. 13,000 of these alumni are known leaders in law firms, business, government, corporations, academics, and judiciary systems around the world.

Our very own former president Jose P. Laurel (3rd Philippine president) was a graduate of Yale Law! Laurel finished his Doctor of Juridical Science degree at the law school.

5. Stanford Law School

The Stanford Law School is a graduate school of the Stanford University. The law school was founded in 1893. Throughout the years, Stanford Law continues to join the list of top law schools abroad. Stanford Law is one of the institutions dominating the annual bar exam in California. In 2018 alone, Stanford Law received the highest passing rate for first-time takers with a 91% passing rate.

6. New York University (NYU) School of Law

The NYU School of Law is the oldest law school in New York founded in 1835. The institution is consistently ranking in the top ten list of QS World University Rankings by Subject. NYU Law is composed of more than 100 faculty, 300 courses, 16 areas of study, over 30 centers, and over 80 student organizations.

NYU Law School is one of the leading law schools abroad for Filipino students. The school’s 16 areas of study provide students with a wide range of academic specialties. These areas include disciplines such as Intellectual Property and Innovation, Human Rights, Global and International Law, and many more.

7. University of California (UC) Berkeley Law

The UC Berkeley Law is a public law school located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1894 and has since been dedicated to producing highly competitive graduates and world-class leaders.

Aside from UC Berkeley Law’s degree offerings (Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, Doctor of the Science of Law, and Doctorate in Jurisprudence and Social Policy), the school also has specialized law certificates in Business, Clean Technology, Environmental Law, International Law, and Law and Technology.

8. Melbourne Law School

The Melbourne Law School (MLS) is Australia’s oldest law school established in 1857. Aside from ranking 8th in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, MLS is also recognized as Australia’s number one law school (based on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject, 2019 report).

MLS is dedicated to providing students with high-quality legal education through its 20 research centers and institutes. If you are the type of student who loves to read books, then you’ll enjoy the institution’s Law Library. Located inside the Law School building, the library has a rich collection of legal texts including approximately 180,000 printed volumes and 30,000 volumes in microfiche or microfilm. The MLS Law Library also has a permanent display of a rare books collection, containing rare legal items that date back to as early as the 1600s.

9. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) – Law

The LSE Law is one of the 27 departments of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The law school offers programs in LLB Bachelor of Laws, MSc Law and Accounting, LLB/JD Double Degree Program, PhD Program, LLM Master of Laws, Short Course on Financial Regulation, and Executive LLM.

10. Columbia Law School

The Columbia Law School is the professional graduate school of Ivy League member Columbia University. Columbia Law is known for its excellence in corporate law, making it to Forbes’ Best Law Schools For Career Prospects in 2012. Since its establishment in 1858, Columbia Law has already produced a number of notable alumni including US presidents Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

One of the many benefits of enrolling in law schools abroad is that it allows you to have a broader mindset about law in general. As legal systems vary from country to country, studying law abroad will give you a deeper understanding of the law studies in various contexts, as well as its challenges. Getting a law degree abroad will also give you an edge to compete in today’s highly demanding job market.

Ready to start your career in law? Find more schools abroad that offer law programs on Edukasyon.ph’s Study Abroad section!

Source:

https://law.yale.edu/about-yale-law-school/glance/fast-facts

https://abovethelaw.com/2018/12/a-breakdown-of-california-bar-exam-results-by-law-school-july-2018/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/10/10/the-best-law-schools-for-career-prospects-2/#3ba3a8117675