School of Law

Year abroad

Exchange programmes (whether offered through the School of Law or the University’s International Office) proceed upon the basis that you are a matriculated (registered) student at Glasgow while studying overseas (at the ‘host’ university).

Your responsibilites while abroad

All students planning to study abroad including those scheduled to spend the whole of the academic year abroad therefore must register at the University of Glasgow for the academic year via the new Campus Solutions system: guidance on how to do this will follow later. The following points are relevant:

  • You remain a Glasgow student. You must meet all fee requirements, etc as if you were still at Glasgow. You still have a relationship with SAAS, for example (students funded by SAAS are in connection with their period of study abroad eligible to apply for a student loan and in certain circumstances can claim for travel expenses - see the SAAS website for details). You are matriculated at Glasgow – you just happen to be studying abroad.
  • We do, however, require to have your overseas contact details in case we may need to make contact (you may even be visited by the International Officer!). The School of Law has to be able to contact you during your period of study abroad.  Consequently, at all times during the year, we need to know: your postal address; your e-mail address; and, where possible, your telephone number. These details must be sent to Mrs Morna Roberts: (morna.roberts@glasgow.ac.uk as soon as possible after your arrival at the host institution.  Any subsequent changes must also be notified.
  • You are still in charge of your curriculum. (Remember, before departing you must also ensure you have secured entry into Honours as your study abroad place is also normally dependent on you being accepted into LLB Honours. Guidance on how to apply (normally in June of year 2) is provided via web forums by Mrs Lorna Brown.)  Please note that as you are planning to study abroad during your third year of LLB studies you should not apply for any of the Glasgow Level 3 courses in as, irrespective of whether you are planning to study abroad for either the whole year or the part year, you will study the equivalent of 60 Glasgow credits of Level 3 law courses at your foreign institution. You still have an adviser of studies. You should – in conjunction with your adviser if necessary – chose your level 3, semester 1 courses if you are going abroad for semester 2 only.
  • You MUST continue throughout your time abroad to ensure you are on course to graduate with at least 480 SCQF credits (360 if graduating with an Ordinary).  There is every chance that you may have to change your curriculum options – courses you intended taking may be full, or a member of staff is not available to take the class, or you simply find the teacher incomprehensible or the course not what you expected. You can (and may well have to) change courses. This is normal – and as you are in charge of your course choices, you may certainly change courses, provided (a) you ensure you continue to meet the minimum expectations of quality and quantity of assessable credit; and (b) you notify us of the changes on the relevant form promptly (by e-mail or post).
  • When abroad, keep checking your Glasgow University e-mail account for university mailings. If we have to communicate with you, we will use your university e-mail address. You are still a Glasgow student who happens to be out of Glasgow.  You must, for example, ensure you give due notice of your intended dissertation topic for year 4 at some stage early in semester 2 (normally by the end of January) irrespective of whether a student is studying at Glasgow or abroad. The LLB Dissertations Convener will issue detailed instructions via moodle or the School of Law web forums in due course and any issues arising should be directed to the LLB Dissertations Convener or the Undergraduate Office as if you were at Glasgow (and not to the International Officer). You must also apply by the due date for entry to level 4 courses (normally at some stage in June of year 3): again, please direct any queries to the relevant office (via Mrs Lorna Brown) as if you were on campus at Glasgow.
  • If you are on a ‘Law with Language’ programme,  remember also that before the start of your fourth and final year you will have to opt for either ‘Law with Language Honours’ or ‘Law with European Legal Studies’. The difference is based upon whether you opt to continue with language study, or want to drop languages in favour of law study alone in year 4:
  • Law with Languages: An LLB with French/German/Italian/Spanish Language Honours degree which will involve taking 60 law level 4 credits [one law level 4 course and a law dissertation] and 60 language course credits taught by the relevant Glasgow language department in your fourth year – you will graduate with, eg, ‘Law with German’
  • Law with (European) Legal Studies: an LLB with French/German/Italian/Spanish Legal Studies Honours degree which will involve taking 120 law level 4 credits [three law level 4 courses and a law dissertation] in your fourth year – you will graduate with, eg ‘Law with French Legal Studies’
  • You will also be registered as a student at your selected institution. This has certain consequences. You must ensure you have completed all administrative responsibilities expected of you. (In French institutions, ‘red tape’ is notorious, endemic and all-pervasive: other south-European countries may be no better.) You should at an early stage check you are enrolled for a class – do not expect the same level of ‘we can fix it’ as you will have experienced in Glasgow. If you have to register your place of residence with the police, do so: being from the UK (where we don’t do this) is no defence. You will be under the ‘host’ university’s systems of academic discipline, course enrolment, assessment procedures, etc. Plagiarism is still an offence. Inadvertence in having unauthorised material in examination halls will be treated as seriously in the host university as it is in Glasgow. (If you are subjected to disciplinary proceedings in the host university, we will not intervene on your behalf. We cannot ‘retry’ cases determined abroad, although we may be under an obligation to pass on any information we have to any relevant professional bodies.