Civil Law

The Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) is a world-renowned taught graduate course in law, designed to serve outstanding law students from common law backgrounds. The academic standard is significantly higher than that required in a first law degree, and only those with outstanding first law degrees are admitted.

BCL graduates pursue a range of careers after completion of the degree. The most common career paths are entry into legal practice, either as a solicitor or a barrister, or progression to academic research in the shape of the MPhil and DPhil, and thenceforth into an academic career.

The University of Oxford has an excellent careers service with which the department has close ties. The Careers Service organises a number of events of specific interest to students wishing to pursue a career in law, and offers one-to-one advice from members of staff with knowledge and experience specific to the legal sector.

The Law Faculty has an extensive network of relationships within the legal profession and each year offers a number of talks and events run by law firms and barristers’ chambers.

You will choose four courses from a list of around 40 different options, including a dissertation option. All options are taught by a combination of lectures and/or seminars and tutorials apart from the dissertation option, which involves one-to-one sessions with an assigned supervisor.

Seminars are normally led by a senior member of academic staff but are typically interactive in nature, and you will be expected to participate in the discussions arising from the material covered. Tutorials involve an intensive discussion between a tutor and two or three students, providing an opportunity for you to present your ideas and discuss your work with leading academics. Typically, seminars will introduce you to a particular area of study and familiarise you with general concepts and ideas which will then be investigated in greater depth in the tutorials. For most tutorials you will be expected to write an essay, which typically will be marked and returned to you at the next tutorial.

Outside of the seminars and tutorials, you will be expected to read extensively in order to acquire the necessary knowledge to engage with course material at an appropriate level.

All course options are examined by timed examinations at the end of the course - with the exception of the Jurisprudence and Political Theory option, which is examined by three assessed essays, and the dissertation option. Timed examinations comprise a three-hour examination for each option, in which students typically answer three questions from a list of eight.

Entrance is very competitive and applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications) in law. 

In the absence of an undergraduate degree in law, candidates may be admitted with a postgraduate diploma or master's qualification in law at distinction level. 

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA usually sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).

• Official transcript(s)
• CV/résumé
• Personal statement: Around 300 words
• Written work: One essay of 2,000 words
• References/letters of recommendation: Three overall, all of which must be academic

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Higher level

• Global Education
• Hill Foundation Scholarships