The third year of a French law degree is partly decided in the spring, in front of a screen: that of the national platform where applications for the first year of a master’s are submitted. Since selection was moved to the start of the master’s, it is this application, and no longer the move into M2, that decides which programme you will follow for two years. The programme directors who read it receive hundreds per programme.
This article describes how selection works, what panels really look at in grades, career plans and experience, then how to build a one-page academic CV that supports the application. It ends with the calendar and the mistakes that come back every year.
How selection for a master’s in law works
A national platform
Applications for the first year of a master’s go through the Mon Master 🔗 platform. The Service-Public website set out the calendar for the 2026 intake 🔗: publication of the programmes at the start of the year, applications from mid-February to mid-March, review of applications by universities in the spring, main admission phase in early June, then a complementary phase until mid-July.
The applicant file is common to all your applications: transcripts, CV, supporting documents. Some programmes also ask for a cover letter or a statement of plans, and sometimes for documents of their own.
Who reads the application
Each master’s programme, and often each track, has its own academic committee, made up of lecturers and sometimes practitioners. It reviews applications against the expectations (attendus) published on the programme’s page, and against its capacity. Some programmes add an interview, in person or online.
A committee that receives many applications reads fast. It first seeks to rule out applications that do not match the expectations, then to decide between the others. Your application must therefore be readable in a few minutes.
Grades and transcripts: what is looked at
Grades remain the first criterion, but panels do not read them as a simple average.
The overall average and its trend. An average that improves from L1 to L3 is a positive signal. A drop in L3 will be noticed.
Grades in the subjects of the master’s you are applying for. For a business law master’s: contract law, company law, commercial law. For an employment law master’s: labour law, social security. For a public law master’s: administrative law, administrative litigation, constitutional law. A good grade in the core subject often makes up for an average overall result.
Tutorial grades. They reflect your regularity and method. Panels pay attention to them.
Ranking and distinctions, when the university provides them. A ranking in the top third of the year group helps.
Resits and repeated years. They do not rule you out, but they must be explainable.
If your transcript has a weakness, do not try to hide it: explain it briefly in the letter, and show what makes up for it (progress, an internship, a strong subject).
Career plans: be precise about the job
This is the part of the application that candidates neglect most, and the one that most often decides between good applications.
A convincing plan has three elements:
- a job, named precisely: employment lawyer acting for employers, in-house lawyer in an industrial group’s legal department, notary, lawyer in a local authority;
- an origin: what led you to this job, a course, an internship, an encounter, an experience in a student association;
- a link with the programme: the courses, internship, dissertation or network of the programme that bring you closer to this job.
Compare:
- Before: “Passionate about business law, I wish to join your master’s to deepen my knowledge.”
- After: “A two-month internship in the litigation team of a business law firm introduced me to distribution litigation; I am aiming for an associate position in this area, and the commercial litigation track of your master’s, with its six-month internship and commercial procedure seminar, fits this plan.”
If you are still hesitating between several routes, the article which master 2 in law to choose for the career you want helps you start from the job. A plan that is still open can be presented honestly, provided you say what the programme will help you decide.
Internships, law clinic, associations
Panels know that a bachelor’s student has little experience. They mainly look at what you have done with your time outside classes.
Internships
An internship, even a short one, in a law firm, a court, a company or a notarial office is an asset. Describe it by what you did: research, preparing files, attending hearings or meetings. The pre-filled legal assistant CV gives examples of concrete tasks at this level.
The law clinic
Many law faculties run a law clinic, where students answer questions from members of the public under the supervision of lecturers and lawyers. It is a very readable experience for a panel: it shows the ability to apply the law to a real case.
Competitions and associations
Moot court, negotiation or mock trial competitions, student associations, tutoring, volunteering for an access-to-justice association: these activities prove commitment and confidence in speaking.
Student jobs
A student job unrelated to law belongs on the CV if it says something about you: regularity, responsibility, contact with the public. The article first CV for a law student shows how to present it.
The one-page academic CV
The CV attached to the application must be readable in under a minute. It follows a few rules.
The header: name, contact details, and one line saying what you are aiming for (“L3 private law student, applying for a master’s in employment law”).
Education first: each year of the bachelor’s, with the institution, the average if it is good and two or three relevant subjects. An exchange year or a double degree belongs here. The article the education section of a legal CV explains the conventions.
Experience next: internships, clinic, jobs, with at most two bullets each.
Activities and commitments: competitions, associations, tutoring.
Languages and tools: certified level for each language, legal databases used in tutorials.
All of this fits on one page, with no compulsory photo and a sober layout. The pre-filled trainee lawyer CV shows what this CV will look like three years later: a good way to see what you need to start building now, especially when choosing your future placements.
The AvocatCV builder saves you time at this stage: it offers an academic structure suited to law studies, handles the layout for you and produces a clean PDF that you can upload as it is to your application.
Calendar and common mistakes
A calendar to plan ahead
- In the autumn: identify programmes, read their expectations and capacity, request internship certificates.
- In January: prepare your CV and letters, gather your transcripts.
- From mid-February to mid-March: submit applications on the platform.
- In the spring: prepare for any interviews.
- In early June: answer offers within the deadlines, which are very short at the start of the admission phase.
Mistakes that come back
- One letter for all programmes. The panel immediately spots a generic text.
- A vague plan, such as “working in business law”.
- Unrelated programmes, which blur the plan.
- A two-page CV or a cluttered layout.
- Forgetting to answer an offer within the deadline, which means losing it.
- Aiming only for highly competitive programmes, with no consistent fallback.
For very selective programmes, such as the DJCE, applications often follow their own calendar and documents: the article applying to the DJCE explains them.
Frequently asked questions
How many programmes can you apply to?
The platform sets a maximum number of applications, for standard study and for work-study. Check the rule for the year on Mon Master and spread your choices between ambitious programmes and fallback programmes.
What if you have received no offer?
Take part in the complementary phase, which lets you apply to programmes that still have places. Bachelor’s graduates without an offer can also, under certain conditions, ask the education authority for support.
Is a cover letter always required?
No, it depends on the programme. When it is required, it weighs heavily in deciding between good applications: take care over it.
Is an internship essential to be admitted?
No, but it helps. Failing that, a law clinic, a competition or involvement in an association show your interest in practice.