In the fall semester of 2022/23, ZHAW will be the first state university of applied sciences in Switzerland to launch a purely legal degree program: With its Bachelor's degree program in Applied Law, it will provide access to a generalist legal education for vocational baccalaureate students in particular. The program at the ZHAW School of Management and Law (SML) is specifically geared to their needs and entry qualifications and prepares them for practical legal work in all areas of business and administration. Particular emphasis is placed on teaching legal methodological and language skills.

“Due to increasing regulatory requirements, there is a growing demand for qualified legal professionals. This new program is our contribution to satisfying this need,” explains Jens Lehne, Director of the SML Department of Business Law. With its specific orientation and target audience, the new program complements the existing legal study programs on offer. He continues: “As is already the case with many other subjects, prospective students in Switzerland can now study law not only at a university but also at a state university of applied sciences. This strengthens the dual model in the Swiss higher education system.”

The degree program focuses on the three core areas of general law: private law, public law, and criminal law. Graduates will be qualified to assume many different legal roles. For example, as legal specialists, they can work in highly regulated markets such as the insurance, financial services, or energy sectors, or in an administrative body such as a driver and vehicle licensing office, a municipal administration, or the police.

The ZHAW School of Management and Law has been offering a Bachelor of Business Law since 2003, which is interdisciplinary and was the only one of its kind in Switzerland for about 10 years. In 2014, the SML added a Master's degree in Management and Law.