Study law in Guayaquil: Law or Criminalistics, how to choose

Looking for Criminology? ECOTEC does not offer a degree with that name; below we explain how it differs from Criminalistics.

A lawyer advises, represents and defends people, companies and institutions facing legal problems, and may also administer justice or draft laws. At ECOTEC the degree trains you to identify and analyze legal situations, research with technology tools and design solutions based on ethical principles.

What you study: the curriculum has 8 semesters and 40 courses. You start with introduction to law, Roman law, history and philosophy of law, and constitutional law. Then come civil law (property, obligations, inheritance and contracts), criminal law and criminal procedure, administrative, labor, commercial, corporate, tax, international, environmental and constitutional procedural law. You also study alternative dispute resolution, digital law and legaltech, and a Legal Practice course.

Where you work:

• Private practice: civil, criminal, labor, family or constitutional cases.
• Corporate counsel: contracts, regulatory compliance and conflict prevention in a legal department or law firm.
• The judiciary: judge, prosecutor, public defender or court officer, after meeting the requirements and competitive exams set by law.
• Public sector: public procurement, administrative procedures and drafting regulations.
• Mediation, negotiation and arbitration to settle disputes without going to trial.
• Human rights and the environment in civil society organizations or international bodies.

• Length: 4 years
• Format: On campus
• Campus: Samborondón, Guayaquil and La Costa (same curriculum)
• Degree awarded: Abogado/a (Lawyer)
• Approval: CES resolution RPC-SO-06-No.084-2025

See the Law degree

A criminalist applies the scientific method to investigate crimes: they process the scene, collect and analyze physical and digital evidence, and explain their conclusions to prosecutors and judges. At ECOTEC the degree prepares you to investigate, analyze and verify criminal acts with scientific and technical methods, handle evidence while respecting the chain of custody, and act ethically.

What you study: this is a science-heavy degree. The first semesters include biology, general and organic chemistry, physics, calculus and statistics, along with foundations of criminology and criminal law. Then come crime scene inspection, ballistics, document examination, fingerprint analysis and human identification, digital forensics and cybercrime, toxicology, road accident investigation, fires and explosives, forensic anthropology and odontology, legal medicine, and oral advocacy and forensic writing.

Where you work: crime scene investigation, court expert work, forensic laboratories, identification and comparison of fingerprints, documents and signatures, digital evidence, and technical advice to lawyers, insurers or companies.

Criminalistics or Criminology?

Criminalistics answers questions about a specific event: what happened, how and who was involved, based on the evidence. Criminology studies crime as a social and human phenomenon: its causes, who offends and how to prevent it. ECOTEC offers Criminalistics, not Criminology; if technical work with evidence and expert reports is what appeals to you, this is the right degree.

• Length: 4 years
• Format: Hybrid
• Campus: Samborondón and La Costa (same curriculum)
• Degree awarded: Licenciado/a en Criminalística (Bachelor's in Criminalistics)
• Approval: CES resolution RPC-SO-07-No.103-2025

It is ECOTEC's only hybrid undergraduate degree. Your admissions advisor will explain how classes are organized at your campus.

See the Criminalistics degree

The two professions complement each other. In a criminal case, the criminalist provides the expert report and presents it in court, and the lawyer uses it to build an argument.

Both curricula include placement hours (pre-professional placements in Law, work placements in Criminalistics) and community service.

If you study Law, you can do your pre-professional placement at the ECOTEC Legal Clinic (Consultorio Jurídico), a social and legal practice unit that offers free legal advice and representation to people without financial resources and in vulnerable situations, with lawyers who supervise every case. It works in five areas: family, women, children and adolescents; domestic violence; labor; human mobility; and civil matters. It has been serving the community for more than 15 years and provided more than 3,700 free consultations in 2024 and 2025.

There you work on real cases:

• You assist clients and organize their case files.
• You draft lawsuits, responses and other court filings.
• You go to hearings with the supervising lawyers and analyze them afterwards.
• You propose strategies and case theories for the cases assigned to you.

Learn more on the Legal Clinic page.

1. Do you prefer arguing or investigating evidence? If you enjoy debating and defending a position, look at Law; if you prefer reconstructing what happened from evidence, Criminalistics.
2. Which school subjects do you enjoy? Reading, history and writing point to Law; chemistry, biology and physics, to Criminalistics.
3. Where do you see yourself working? In a law firm, a company, a court or a public institution (Law), or at the scene, in the lab and in expert work (Criminalistics).
4. How and where do you want to study? Law is on campus in Samborondón, Guayaquil and La Costa; Criminalistics is hybrid in Samborondón and La Costa.

Still unsure? Take the career test ¿Qué carrera estudiar? (in Spanish) and talk to an advisor in Admissions.

Admission to ECOTEC takes four steps: share your details with the degree and campus you are interested in, get advice, submit your documents and complete your enrollment. You need an ID document, your high school transcript and a recent photo; your advisor will confirm whether your degree requires anything else.

There is a one-week induction course before classes start. On-campus undergraduate programs have several start dates a year, and if you come from another university or a technical institute you can transfer credit for courses you have already passed. Find out more in Admissions or on the Faculty of Law and Governance page.