Law

Our course is designed to provide you with the challenge of an intellectual discipline in a subject of universal human interest.

More challenging. More rewarding

Questions of analysis and interpretation, logical reasoning, ethical judgement, political liberty and social control: Law at Cambridge gives you the opportunity both to see law in its historical and social context and to examine its general principles and techniques.

"Studying Law at Cambridge offers one of the most interesting, thought–provoking, and life–changing experiences you could possibly have at university." – Philip

Although the greater part of our course is concerned with English law, you’ll have the opportunity to study other legal systems, including civil (Roman) law, the law of the European Union, and international law. If the theoretical and sociological aspects of law appeal to you, you can study subjects such as jurisprudence or parts of criminology.

Law at Cambridge

Law has been studied at Cambridge since the thirteenth century. There are now around 700 undergraduate and 250 graduate students, and over 75 teaching staff whose expertise extends across nearly every aspect of English law and its history, as well as European Union law, international law, civil law, legal philosophy and criminology.

The Faculty is also the home of a number of research centres: for instance, the Centre for International Law, and Cambridge is the principal centre in Britain for the study of criminology. In adition the Faculty accommodates a number of specialist centres in Intellectual Property, Taxation, European Law, Public Law and Corporate and Commercial Law.

The Faculty’s exciting and innovative building, with its lecture theatres, seminar rooms and a moot court, is the focus of much of Faculty life. It also houses the Squire Law Library, which has over 150,000 volumes, and excellent computing facilities with access to extensive online resources, making it one of the largest and most comprehensive university law libraries.

As well as academic studies, you have an overwhelming choice of law–related pursuits. The Faculty hosts a range of activities including formal meetings, informal gatherings, and moots (debates or arguments about hypothetical legal cases). The University Law Society organises social events, lectures from guest speakers, and mooting competitions. Barristers’ and solicitors’ evenings are arranged so that you can meet members of the legal profession informally. There are also various student–run societies such as the Pro–Bono Society, the Cambridge University Asia Law and Business Association, the Cambridge Student Law Review, and the associations connected to the different Inns of Court.

Teaching and assessment

For each subject, you attend lectures given by teaching members of the Faculty. The typical number of lecture hours for each paper is 40 per year, mostly timetabled for the first two terms of each year, which equates to about eight hours of lectures a week. You normally also have a fortnightly College supervision in each subject.

Each paper is assessed by a written examination at the end of the year. In the third year, you have the option of substituting one paper for a dissertation.

Vocational training

A Law degree is not, in itself, a qualification for practice but 'qualifying law graduates' (those who've passed the seven 'foundation' subjects in their degree course) may after graduation proceed directly to the vocational training courses preparing them for the final professional examinations for barristers and solicitors. The seven foundation subjects are: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Law of Tort, Law of Contract, Land Law, Law of Trusts (Equity), and Law of the European Union.

Those wishing to practise law also take the Freshfields Legal IT Research Skills Course which gives a grounding in the use of IT in the Law, and includes valuable research and study skills required by the legal professions. The Freshfields Room in the Law Faculty building is equipped for IT teaching.

Graduates from other subjects and those with non–qualifying law degrees wishing to enter the legal profession must first pass the Common Professional Examination or its equivalent before proceeding to the vocational stage.

A year in Europe

The Cambridge Law Faculty has exchange schemes with the Universities of Poitiers (France), Utrecht (Netherlands), Regensburg (Germany) and the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain). A limited number of undergraduates can spend a year abroad in their third year studying the law of one of these European countries. Entry to an exchange scheme depends on your Part IA results, and your proficiency in the language required (or, for Utrecht, willingness to learn Dutch).

What you’ll need

It doesn’t matter whether you have a background in the arts, sciences, or a mix of the two. What you’ll need is a genuine interest in law and sufficient motivation to study this tough intellectual discipline.

Admissions test

Most Colleges will require applicants to take the Cambridge Law Test. The test is designed to provide an assessment of your potential for the study of law, it’s used as an additional piece of information for admissions decisions alongside your school/college examination results, the other information provided in your application, and, where applicable, your performance at interview.

Visit us to find out more

We welcome students from the widest possible range of educational backgrounds and are particularly keen to support those whose school has little or no previous experience of applying to Cambridge. For this reason, in addition to the summer open day, a three-day conference is held in Cambridge each March, for sixth-formers who're thinking of studying law at Cambridge. See the Faculty website for more details.

Changing course

If you wish to combine law with another subject it’s best to discuss this with your preferred College before submitting your application. Students who wish to combine law with another subject usually study law after that subject rather than before. It’s desirable to study law for two years wherever possible, since it’s not possible to pass all seven ‘foundation’ subjects at Cambridge in less than two years. If your first subject has a two–year Part I, you’ll need to consider the implications – especially the financial implications – of four years as an undergraduate.

After Cambridge

Our graduates are prominent in both branches of the legal profession, in the judiciary and in academic life. They have included judges of the International Court of Justice and of the European Court of Justice, as well as members of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords and of the Court of Appeal.

Most undergraduates studying Law at Cambridge do so because they intend to practise law as barristers or solicitors, but some prefer to seek careers in administration, management or finance. They find employment within the legal departments of the Civil Service, local government, industrial and commercial firms, banks, and international organisations. Some even go on to become public figures such as, amongst other things, politicians and actors.

Course outline

Year 1 Part IA In your first year, you take Part IA of the Law course. There are four papers: Criminal Law Constitutional Law Civil Law Law of Tort Year 2 Part IB In your second year, you choose five papers from a wide range of options. Most students take Contract Law and Land Law. Other options include: Family Law International Law Administrative Law Criminal Procedure and Evidence Legal History Civil Law II Criminology, Sentencing and the Penal System European Union Law

Year 3 Part II In the third year, you select and study five papers from an even more extensive range. Most students take Equity and European Union Law but you can develop your interests in, for instance: commercial law public law subjects labour law more theoretical aspects of law, such as jurisprudence You can take certain half–papers as well. In recent years, subjects available have included: Law and Legal Change in the Tudor Period Landlord and Tenant Law European Human Rights Law Medical Law Media Law You can also participate in a seminar course, submitting a dissertation in place of one paper. Seminar courses vary each year but in the past have included Family in Society, Women and the Law, Ethics and Criminal Law, Public Law, and International Law.