The University of Pretoria (UP) is one of the largest research-intensive universities in South Africa and its Faculty of Law, which was established in 1908, is currently ranked first in Africa in two international rankings—the 2023 Times Higher Education (THE) World Rankings and the 2023 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Rankings.
The Faculty of Law aims to be an internationally recognised leader in socially relevant legal education and research in South Africa and globally. In pursuit of this vision, our mission is to create and maintain a research and educational environment that is grounded in values of social justice and excellence.
The Faculty consists of six academic departments, namely Jurisprudence, Mercantile Law, Private Law, Procedural Law and Public Law. The various centres, units and institutes in the Faculty have a research and academic purpose and include the Centre for Human Rights, Centre for Child Law, Centre for Intellectual Property Law, Centre for Law and Medicine, Extractive Industry Law in Africa Unit (EILA), Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa (ICLA), International Development Law Unit (IDLU), Sports Law Centre and the Unit for Business Rescue and Insolvency Law (UBRIL). The Faculty also has a Law Clinic which render free legal services to indigent members of society. The Faculty has a permanent staff complement of almost 70 academics of which 74% hold doctoral degrees.
The Oliver R Tambo Law Library, which contains the largest Law of Africa collection in the world, houses the Faculty’s collection of legal materials and also offers free online access to legal resources.
At the undergraduate level, the Faculty offers a four-year LLB degree. However, the majority of students first enrol for the BCom (Law) degree offered by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, or the Faculty of Humanities’ BA (Law) degree after which they complete the LLB degree in two years. Postgraduate students can enrol for master’s degrees (LLM/MPhil) programmes (course-work or research), as well a doctoral degree (LLD/PhD): postgraduate programmes.
The Faculty aims to produce graduates with the knowledge, critical thinking abilities, awareness of social and ethical responsibilities and legal skills that are required to equip them to successfully follow their preferred career paths. With this objective in mind, UP Law focuses on an inquiry-led approach to teaching and learning to improve the research and problem-solving skills of our students, while simultaneously ensuring that they are ready for work when they graduate and can adjust to the real world beyond university with relative ease.
We strive to enable and empower our students to apply their in-depth knowledge and critical thinking skills to make a positive impact in South Africa and the world as well-rounded, ethical individuals who are an asset to the workplace and society.
The Faculty of Law also has active student bodies that offer students opportunities to participate in the vibrant student life. Law students can be elected to serve on student bodies such as Law House, the Student Representative Council, the Constitutional Tribunal and the Student Disciplinary Advisory Panel, and law students can participate in the UP Moot Society, Pretoria Student Law Review (PSLR), Legal Shebeen, Black Lawyers Association Student Chapter, National Association of Democratic Lawyers Chapter and Women in Law.
We welcome students from all over the world to the finest Faculty of Law in Africa!