3-year LLB vs 5-year LLB

Before sailing a ship in the sea, you should know the depth of the sea. Similarly, before choosing any course for yourself, you should know everything about and around the course, because a wise decision today will give you a better future tomorrow.

Now if you are planning to choose LLB, your name will surely get the prefix ‘advocate’ adding to it but let me tell you that LLB is an undergraduate course and it provides you with 2 different durations for the same course with some minor differences.

The LLB Course provides two different formats for different aspirants:

• For 10+2 pass outs, a 5-year integrated LLB programme is available.
• A 3-year LLB programme for graduates from any stream, giving individuals who missed out on pursuing law after 12th class a second shot.

Should I go for a 3-year LLB or a 5-year LLB Course?

• Choosing a professional course, in my opinion, is based on the student’s priorities and potential. If a student is convinced that he or she wants to pursue a career in law, then 5-year integrated BA/ BCOM/ BBA LLB Program, is the ideal option. The students don’t have to undergo graduation twice, i.e., a 3-year bachelor’s degree in any field followed by a 3-year law degree, and they will obtain a consolidated degree after completing the course in five years itself instead of spending an extra year in the same thing.
• In 5-year integrated degree, from the first semester itself, students begin learning law. From an early age, applicants are exposed to legal education and their cognitive processes are streamlined in that area.
• Even though most aspirants are aware of a five-year programme, they still choose a three-year programme to get the best of both worlds: to receive the experience of two degrees and two colleges, which the 5-year programme would not be able to provide.
• Most people nowadays are unable to pass CLAT in one shot, i.e., immediately after completing class 12th. They take a year off to secure a spot at the NLU of their choice. As a result, the issue of preserving one year is immediately eliminated. As a result, both the 5 year and 3-year law courses take up a total of 6 years of a person’s life in most of the cases.
• Please choose 5 years if you are absolutely certain about your vocation. Otherwise, try for a basic graduation to keep your choices open. I know a bunch of seniors who have started a 5-year course and then realised halfway through that it is not what they want to pursue.
• So, the pros and cons are to be weighed if one is really tentative about 5-year integrated LLB course vis-à-vis a 3-year LLB course. Else, it is important to decide whether to choose law as a career or not and then choose 3-year LLB or 5-year BA LLB course as it comes your way.

Programme:

• 3-year LLB is a graduate programme. Scholars can pursue this course only after they have successfully completed their 12th.
• 5-year LLB is an integrated programme. This programme includes a graduate programme such as BA, BBA, B. Com etc. along with the core LLB degree.

Opportunities:

• The value of the programme depends on the institute from which the course is pursued. If it is pursued from reputed colleges such as NLUs, the course has a bag full of career opportunities. 
• The value of the programme is the same as the 3-year LLB programme in terms of job opportunities as both programmes are considered equivalent.

Advantages and Disadvantages for both these courses:

• 3-year LLB is a postgraduate course that can be pursued only after completing any bachelor’s level program, whereas, a 5-year LLB is an integrated program that can be pursued along with any graduate program such as BA, BBA, B.Com, etc. simultaneously with the core LLB program.

Objective of these Courses:

• The objective of the 3-year LLB course is to focus on various aspects of law and culture and prepare the students to practice Law or work as legal advisers in the corporate sectors or practice Law privately or in legal firms.
• The 5-year LLB course’s primary objective is not so different from the 3-year LLB program; the only thing that alters is that this program also focuses on basic graduation level subjects accompanied by the Law Subjects.

Curriculum of the Course:

• In the 3-year LLB program, students will study the fundamentals of Law like India’s constitution. Every semester in this program is committed to mainly law education.
• A 5-year LLB is an integrated course that involves subjects related to both graduation programs as well as core law programs like if you are studying B.Com LL.B, you’ll study both accounts and torts together in your 1st semester in most law schools.

Career Opportunities Offered by these Courses:

• A 3-year LLB program’s credibility depends on the institute/college from where the course is pursued. This means law aspirants need to pursue law from the top and prestigious law colleges which will provide tremendous and many career opportunities to the students.
• A 5-year LLB course offers opportunities in other streams as well, along with career opportunities in Law. Other than this, the benefits of this program are the same as that of a 3-year LLB program in terms of career opportunities.

Here, we are providing you with a capsule of all the important information in a table as well! Well, it’s your lucky day.

Basis	3 year LLB	5 year LLB
Eligibility criteria	For a 3 year LLB program, students need to have a minimum qualification that is a bachelor’s degree with an aggregate of 45% marks. Admission to Law institutes is based on qualifying marks scored in various law entrance exams such as the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), etc.	For a 5-year LLB course, aspirants need to meet the minimum qualification that they should have passed 12th class with a minimum aggregate of 50% marks. Admission into Law institutes requires students to appear for entrance exams like Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), All India Law Entrance Test (AILET), Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET), and many other entrance exams conducted by various institutes.
Purpose	The objective of the course is to focus on various aspects of law education and prepare the students to practise law or work as legal advisers in the corporate sectors.	The objective of a 5-year LLB is not different from the 3-year LLB programme. The only difference is that this programme also focuses on basic graduation level subjects apart from core law education.
Career opportunity	The value of the programme depends on the institute from which the course is pursued. If it is pursued from reputed colleges such as NLUs, the course has a bag full of career opportunities.	The value of the programme is the same as the 3-year LLB programme in terms of job opportunities as both programmes are considered equivalent.
Curriculum	In this programme, a student will study the fundamentals of law like the constitution of India. All the semesters in this programme are dedicated to legal education only.	5-year LLB is an integrated course that comprises subjects related to the graduation programme (eg. BA, BBA, B.Com, etc.) as well as core law subjects.
Benefits of bachelor degree	It is imperative that a student can pursue graduation in any discipline and then also shall be eligible for a three-year course in Law.	5-year LLB is an integrated law course where the scholars do not have to undergo graduation twice, i.e., 3 years of graduation in any stream and then again three years of Law. In this case, aspirants consolidated the ‘B.A. LL.B’ that can be completed in 5 years.
Age limit	Earlier, the age limit set by the Bar Council of India (BCI) was 30 years, but after facing criticism from the Apex court, BCI decided to increase the age limit from 30 years to 45 years for 3-year law courses.	Earlier, the Bar Council of India (BCI) had an age limit of 20 years to pursue five year LLB course, but after facing criticism from the Supreme Court, the age limit was increased to 22 years.
Advantage	3 year LLB is a postgraduate course that can be pursued after completing any bachelor’s level program.	A 5-year LLB is an integrated program that can be pursued along with any graduate program such as BA, BBA, B., etc. simultaneously with the core LLB program.

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