CUHK Faculty of Law

Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Programme & Double Degrees
Offered by the Faculty of Law

Double Degree Options

The Faculty of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong currently offers three double degree options for LLB students, one in Law and Business, one in Law and Translation and the other in Law and Sociology (available to LLB students admitted in 2008-09 and thereafter). Applicants to the LLB programme do not choose a double degree at the time that they apply. Rather, successful applicants who enroll in the LLB programme at The Chinese University of Hong Kong will be given the opportunity to choose a double degree option towards the end of their first year in the Faculty of Law. Every LLB student in the Faculty of Law will have the opportunity to earn a double degree.

LLB students who choose a double degree option will still earn the LLB degree in the normal four years while also taking some courses towards the second degree. With one additional year of study, such students can also earn a second undergraduate degree, namely the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree with the Faculty of Business Administration or the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with the Department of Translation, or Bachelor of Social Science (BSSc) degree with the Department of Sociology. In either case, the LLB degree will be covered by the usual four years of funding from the University Grants Committee, with only the fifth year being self-funded.

The double degree options have been designed to give students maximum flexibility. Students may wait until the fourth year before deciding whether or not to take the optional fifth year. Students who decide not to take the fifth year will graduate after four years with the LLB degree and (subject to completing a specified number of courses) a minor in the second subject, while students who need time to pursue other career options after completion of the first degree will be allowed to defer completion of the second degree for up to three years. Students will be held to the same standards and requirements for each degree in combination that they would have had to meet for the same degree independently.

The following is a flow chart showing the flexibility students can enjoy in choosing their suitable study routes in the LLB programme:

Please Click to Enlarge

Salient features of different double degree options offered by the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Business Administration and the Department of Translation and the Department of Sociology are summarized below for easy reference:

Home Department	Faculty of Law	Faculty of Business Administration	Department of Translation	Department of Sociology
Degree Awards	LLB + BBA or BA (Translation) or BSSc (Sociology)	BBA + Juris Doctor (JD)	BA (Translation) + Juris Doctor (JD)	BSSc (Sociology) + Juris Doctor (JD)
Quota	1. LLB + BBA (up to 50) 2. LLB + BA (Translation) (up to 15) 3. LLB + BSSc* (Sociology)(15) * This is available to LLB students admitted in 2008-09 and thereafter	15	5	5
Duration of Studies	4 Years (LLB) + 1 Year (BBA)	3 Years (BBA) + 24 Months-48 Months (JD Full-time mode)	3 Years (BA(Translation)) + 24 Months-48 Months (JD Full-time mode)	3 Years (BSSc(Sociology)) + 24 Months-48 Months (JD Full-time mode)
Possibility of Deferral of Second Degree Studies	Up to 3 Years	Up to 3 Years	Up to 3 Years	Up to 3 Years
Fees for double degree	First four years (LLB): HK$42,100 x 4 = HK$168,400 Fifth Year (BBA or BA(Translation) or BSSc (Sociology)) : HK$80,000 Total: HK$248,400	First three years (BBA): HK$42,100 x 3 = HK$126,300	First three years (BA(Translation): HK$42,100 x 3 = HK$126,300	First three years (BSSc (Sociology): HK$42,100 x 3 = HK$126,300
Fees for double degree		Fee for JD students admitted in 2009-10 (for reference only): HK$4,000 per unit x 72 units=HK$288,000 (within normative study period) Fees for subsequent years are subject to review and adjustment. Please refer to the JD website at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/law/jd for updated information on the tuition fee of the JD programme.

Notes:
(1) The LLB and the Juris Doctor degrees are the only law degrees offered by The Chinese University of Hong Kong whose curriculums are recognized for entry to the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) programme. The PCLL is a mandatory requirement for entry into the legal profession.
(2) The LLB offers students the choice of doing:

LLB (4 years)
LLB with a minor in Business Administration or Translation or Sociology, or any other subject that offers a minor programme (4 years)
LLB with a second degree in Business Administration (5 years)
LLB with a second degree in BA(Translation) (5 years)
LLB with a second degree in BSSc (Sociology) (5 years)

The combination of business and law will always be a popular choice given Hong Kong's position as a center of business and commerce, while the combination of translation and law addresses both Hong Kong’s special position as a gateway to China and the extra demands that Hong Kong’s multilingual society places on legal practictioners in all fields of law, including civil, criminal, and administrative law. The combination of sociology and law not only would serve to connect two closely related disciplines but would also prepare students for careers where training in both law and sociology would have practical everyday benefits. Students who do not become practicing lawyers will find no shortage of opportunities to apply their education to careers in business, government, and other fields.

Professor Mike McConville, Dean of the Faculty of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, said, "We are delighted to be able to offer these options to our students. All of the undergraduate students in the Faculty of Law will have the opportunity to complete a second undergraduate degree, if they so choose, and we hope to expand their range of choices through similar arrangements with other departments in the future."