Law with Public Policy (LLB.)

The LLB in Law with Public Policy program will prepare you for private, public, non-profit, and non-governmental careers. The program is also an excellent foundation for postgraduate study in multiple sub-disciplines of the law, including international law, international trade and commerce, corporate governance, and legal theory.

A law program integrating legal mastery with public policy expertise is crucial for national growth, especially as Ghana and other African countries pursue development projects to compete globally, reduce poverty, and strengthen constitutional gains.

However, many of the continent’s public policy professionals and lawyers are trained in isolation, leading to suboptimal translation of policy into law and inefficiencies in implementation.

Ashesi University’s Bachelor of Laws with Public Policy program bridges this critical gap, fostering a new generation of legal professionals equipped to seamlessly integrate policy and law.

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What Makes This Law Program Unique?

Ghana’s 1992 Constitution is the oldest in West Africa and the second oldest in sub-Saharan Africa. As our democracy matures, Ghana is increasingly a beacon and model for other nations, influencing countries from the Gambia to Botswana.

However, the legal professionals working in Ghana and many of Africa’s democracies face new expectations. Their work is no longer defined by the military dictatorship contexts that influenced their training. Our public sector must deliver more effectively, and our private sector must prioritize ethical business and social justice. The training of legal professionals must reflect these expectations and desired outcomes.

Ashesi’s Law with Public Policy program will not only help shape a new generation of legal professionals but also play a pivotal role in rethinking legal education. Graduates of the program will be able to advance bold new ideas in government, think tanks, parliament, the judiciary, private practice, and the legal academy, driving evolution across Ghana and Africa’s legal systems and public policy landscape. Graduates may also explore other pathways, including further studies in public policy or international relations and diplomacy.

Designed with Top Law Firms, Professionals, and Professors

The program’s advisory board comprised leading industry experts, including managing partners of top-tier law firms in diverse practice areas, leading public policy advocates, and academics in Ghana, the USA and the UK.

Vetted and Supported by Ghana's General Legal Council

Ashesi’s new Law with Public Policy program has been vetted, reviewed, and endorsed by the General Legal Council—the body that regulates the legal profession and oversees legal education in Ghana.

Focused on Ensuring Real-World and Career Readiness

Aside from passing all academic requirements, the program will also require students to complete internships. The internships will help shape the ethos and ethics of students when their training is over.

The overarching objective of the Ashesi Law with Public Policy program is to educate skilled law professionals with the requisite competence to excel in both industry and governance, in Africa and beyond. The program’s structure seeks to:

Equip you with a thorough competence in the substance and theory of Ghanaian law and the common law tradition more generally.
Inculcate a commitment to public affairs, a sense of responsibility and stewardship of the country’s (and the continent’s) trajectory, and a firm ethical posture.

Develop your intellectual dexterity, eloquence, and persuasiveness.
Teach you to be a technologically agile public officer who understands and can leverage technology toward your professional development and the country’s growth.

Constitutional Law

Language for Lawyers

Criminal Law

Ghana Legal System and Methods

Law of Torts

Legal Writing

Law of Immovable Property

Law of Contract

Equity & Trusts

Succession

Company Law

Commercial Law

Jurisprudence

Legislative Drafting

Public International Law

Introduction to Public Policy

Philosophical Foundations for Public Policy

Politics and Policymaking

Economic Analysis for Public Policy

Designing Public Policy

Implementing Policy

Evaluating Public Policy

Statistics with Probability

Ashesi Success

Written and Oral Communication

Text & Meaning

Foundations of Design and Entrepreneurship for Law

Introduction to Computing and Information Systems

College Algebra

Leadership Seminar I: What Makes a Good Leader?

Leadership Seminar II: What Makes a Good Society?

Leadership Seminar III: The Economic Development of a Good Society

Leadership Seminar IV: Leadership as a Service

Law and Public Policy students must take two law electives and two additional electives to graduate. Electives depend on lecturer availability and student interest each year.

For electives in other Ashesi majors, students must meet prerequisites and obtain approvals. For example, a course like Human-Computer Interaction in Computer Science can be taken instead of a law elective, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of law.

Gender and the Law

International Trade Law

Intellectual Property Law

International Investment Law

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Law of Taxation

African Folktales: How Stories Shape Us

African and Diasporan Choir

African Literature

Crafting Cultures: African Ceramics

Global Black Experience

African Music and Dance

African Philosophical Thought

Conflict in African States

Africa in an International Setting

Comparative Politics

Ghanaian Popular Culture

Africa-China Relations

Social Theory

Religion in Africa

World Hunger, Population & Food Supplies

African Cultural Institutions

Introductory French I

Professional French II

Introductory French I

Professional French II

African Francophone Literature & Film

Curriculum

Year One

Semester One
a. College Algebra or Calculus I or Pre-calculus
b. Written & Oral Communication
c. Foundations of Design & Entrepreneurship I
d. Introduction to Computing and Information Systems
e. Language for Law I

Semester Two
a. Ashesi Success
b. Leadership Seminar I
c. Text and Meaning
d. Foundations of Design and Entrepreneurship II
e. Ghana Legal System & Methods
f. Introduction to Public Policy

Semester Three
a. Language for Law II
b. Legal Writing

Year Two

Semester One
a. Leadership Seminar II
b. Torts
c. Constitutional Law I
d. Contract Law I
e. Economic Analysis for Public Policy

Semester Two
a. Leadership Seminar III
b. Constitutional Law II
c. Contract Law II
d. Africana elective
e. Politics of Policymaking
f. Philosophical Foundations of Public Policy

Semester Break
Public Policy Internship

Year Three

Semester One
a. Criminal Law I
b. Immovable Property Law I
c. Designing Public Policy
d. Law/major elective
e. Statistics with Probability
f. Public International Law

Semester Two
a. Criminal Law II
b. Immovable Property Law II
c. Law/major elective
d. Leadership Seminar IV
e. Implementing Public Policy

Semester Break
Law Internship

Year Four

Semester One
a. Legislative drafting
b. Commercial Law
c. Equity & Trusts
d. Africana elective
e. Capstone I (thesis)

Semester Two
a. Succession
b. Jurisprudence
c. Company Law
d. Evaluating Public Policy
e. Capstone II (applied project)