Croatia’s higher education system follows the Bologna system and includes undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels of study. It has a binary structure comprising university and professional study programs.
University and professional studies are both part of Croatia’s higher education system. At the faculties below, law is offered through an integrated undergraduate and graduate university study leading to a master’s-level law qualification.
Listed below are three faculties that offer law programs in Croatia. The Agency for Science and Higher Education (ASHE) is responsible for quality assurance in Croatian higher education. The order below is not a formal ranking. Let us take a look at these law schools in Croatia!
Top Law Schools in Croatia
1. University of Split
- Study Program
- Programs Offered: Integrated law degree, professional administration programs, university specialist programs, and doctoral study | Integrated Law Program Language: Croatian
The Faculty of Law at the University of Split is a public higher education institution within the University of Split. It was founded in 1961 and organizes integrated undergraduate and graduate university studies, professional studies, and postgraduate studies in legal sciences.
The Faculty offers an integrated undergraduate and graduate law program, professional undergraduate and graduate administrative studies, the university specialist programs Medical Law and Sports Law, and a doctoral study of Legal Sciences.
The integrated law program follows a five-year model and awards the title Master of Law. Medical Law and Sports Law each last four semesters and carry 120 ECTS credits. The doctoral study of Legal Sciences lasts six semesters and carries 180 ECTS credits. Doctoral intake is limited to a maximum of two candidates in each research field per generation.
The Faculty also offers a professional undergraduate administrative study and a professional graduate administrative study. The professional graduate program is a two-year course of study that awards the title Master of Public Administration.
2. University of Zagreb
- Study Program
- Programs Offered in Law: Integrated law degree, seven university specialist law studies, and doctoral study
Founded in 1776, the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb is one of the university’s oldest institutions. Its official history states that classes began on November 4, 1776, and that the Faculty has maintained continuity since its inception.
The Faculty currently lists an integrated undergraduate and graduate study of Law, seven university specialist law studies, and a doctoral study of Legal Sciences. The integrated law program was extended to five years during the 2005 Bologna reform. The current doctoral call describes Legal Sciences as a six-semester program beginning in the winter semester of the 2026/2027 academic year.
The seven university specialist law studies are European Law; Civil and Family Law; Criminal Law; Fiscal System and Fiscal Policy; Public Law and Public Administration; Public International Law and Private International Law; and Company Law and Commercial Law. The Faculty’s official studies page also states that its teachers run two postgraduate interdisciplinary studies of the University of Zagreb.
Separately, the University of Nicosia lists a joint Ph.D. in Human Rights, Society, and Multi-Level Governance as a three-year, six-semester, full-time English-language program offered as a joint degree with the University of Padova, the University of Zagreb, Western Sydney University, and Panteion University, Athens.
3. University of Rijeka
- Study Program
- Programs Offered: Integrated law degree, professional administration programs, university specialist programs, and doctoral study
The law program at the University of Rijeka began in 1973 within the Faculty of Economics. The Faculty of Law was established as an independent higher education institution in 1976.
The Faculty currently lists an integrated undergraduate and graduate study of Law, professional undergraduate and graduate administration programs, three university specialist programs, and a doctoral study program. The integrated law program lasts five years, carries 300 ECTS credits, and is offered to full-time and part-time students. Graduates receive the title Master of Law (univ. mag. iur.).
The listed university specialist programs are Corporate Finance Law, European Market Law and New Technologies, and Criminal Investigation. Corporate Finance Law runs over two semesters and carries 60 ECTS credits. European Market Law and New Technologies is a new one-year, 60-ECTS online program for part-time students, with an admission quota of 20 and a first cycle planned for the 2026/2027 academic year. Criminal Investigation lasts three semesters and carries 90 ECTS credits.
The doctoral program lasts three years, or six semesters, for full-time students and six years, or 12 semesters, for part-time students. It carries 180 ECTS credits, and the current enrollment quota is 25 places.
The Faculty also offers a three-year professional undergraduate Study Program in Administration, which carries 180 ECTS credits and awards the title Bachelor of Public Administration. Its professional graduate Study Program in Public Administration lasts two years, carries 120 ECTS credits, and awards the title Master of Public Administration.
We hope that this article about law universities in Croatia was helpful. Make sure to also check out the Available Programs for International Students to learn more!
