Studies for M.L. degree in Law
The Faculty of Law at the University of Akureyri offers a two year programme of studies at the master’s degree level which leads to the examination degree of magister legis (M.L). This examination degree taken in continuation of a three year B.A. degree programme in law is equivalent to the conventional five year certification examination in law (cand.jur.). Studies for the M.L. degree in law amount to a total of 120 ECTS divided in such a way that students complete 90 ECTS in courses and hand in a 30 ECTS credit master’s degree thesis that they work on during the two years of study in the programme. Emphasis of the study is placed on practical Icelandic law so that the students are as well prepared as possible to cope with legal work as judges, attorneys at law or as lawyers employed by official institutes or private corporations. The teaching is conducted by permanent teachers of the faculty in addition to practicing lawyers, but the studying is done in Icelandic.
The structure of legal studies at the University of Akureyri is slightly different to that of other universities in this country: the B.A. degree programme is varied and academic with substantial emphasis placed on comparative law, history of law, legal doctrines, international law, human rights, resource and environmental law, European law, studies in legal sources and constitutional law. The M.L. programme of study builds on the academic foundation but there the main emphasis is placed on honing the practical skills of students in the main fields of Icelandic law, both in terms of public law, commercial law, family law and the legal process, in addition to which the students work on their master’s degree thesis, which is a requirement that satisfies strict academic demands.
In the M.L. programme, each course is spread over the entire semester, and general use is made of the continuous evaluation system of the faculty.
Admission Requirements
The admission requirement of the master‘s degree law programme (M.L.) is a B.A. law degree from the faculty of law of the University of Akureyri, or another comparable degree, and generally a grade point average of a minimum of 7 (or comparable grade in another grading system). Students who do not satisfy the above mentioned admission requirement can nevertheless apply for admission to the M.L. programme and such applications will then be evaluated each on its own merits by the faculty.
See Curriculum and Course Catalog.
