The Law Degree of the University of Minho started functioning in the academic year 1993 /94.

The creation of the Law Course was preceded by the consultation of various institutions including the Bar Association, the Law Society of Braga, the Coordination Committee of the North, the Centre for Judicial Studies and the Minho Industrial Association. All these institutions expressed their agreement with the project that was presented to them, with particular relevance given, in many respects, to the opinion issued by the Bar Association, which is published in number 241/243 (January / June 1993) of the journal Scientia Ivridica.

The Law Course of the University of Minho is distinguished by promoting proper and thorough legal training following patterns of high standards and academic rigour, enabling for the preparation of their students not only for the performance of classical professions arising from obtaining a degree in law (judiciary, law, public administration, registration and notary public) as well as for the exercise of the most innovative activities in the field of business and public administration.

The School of Law of the University of Minho was the first public law school in the academic year 2006/07 to offer a law degree with a curriculum suited to the Bologna standard. This syllabus is four years long (8 semesters), conferring a Bachelor´s Degree in Law.

The Criminology and Criminal Justice Degree of the School of Law of the University of Minho commenced in the 2016/2017academic year, corresponding to a long awaited aspiration of our School.

The course quickly asserted itself on the national and international scene, responding to a very strong demand that has been felt in this scientific domain, subject to profound transformations and developments in the last decade.
This three-year degree provides students with a solid background in Criminology and Criminal Justice, based on the combination of efforts between the School of Law, the School of Psychology and the Institute of Social Sciences, which ensures the transdisciplinarity that characterizes this field and offer students a global understanding of the criminal problem.