Law and Politics

Law and politics together address the structures through which power is exercised, constrained, and legitimised. Law provides the formal rules and institutions that govern how disputes are resolved and rights are protected; politics examines the processes by which those rules are made, contested, and changed. Studying them alongside each other reveals the interdependence of legal and political institutions in ways that either discipline alone would struggle to illuminate.

At the University of Edinburgh this four-year full-time programme, taught under Scots law, gives you a grounding in the Scottish and UK legal system alongside a rigorous engagement with political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and political institutions. You will study contract, tort, constitutional law, and jurisprudence alongside political philosophy, electoral systems, public policy, and global governance. A year abroad is built into the degree, placing you in a different legal and political culture and developing the comparative perspective that is central to understanding either subject in depth.

Edinburgh is an outstanding location for these studies, with the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish courts, and a vibrant political culture all close at hand. The university's strong research activity in both law and politics means you will be studying in an intellectually serious environment.

Graduates go on to careers in law, the civil service, politics and policy, international organisations, journalism, think tanks, NGOs, and finance. The combination of legal and political knowledge is particularly valuable in regulatory roles, public affairs, and legal practice areas such as public law, human rights, and international law. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in law, political science, or public policy.