What Are the Best Law Schools in the UK?

University of Cambridge

• According to the Times Online, the University of Cambridge is the U.K.'s best law program. With the first law curriculum added to the university in 1800, the university's law tradition has evolved to become one of the best in the world. A distinguishing characteristic of the Cambridge law school is its emphasis upon ongoing research. Cambridge sponsors several research centers such as the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, The Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS) and the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law. Degrees offered by the university are the Bachelor of Arts, the Master of Laws (LL.M.), Master of Research (M.Litt.) or the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The school offers additional research diplomas in the areas of legal studies and international law. A Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) is also offered in the field of criminology through the university's Institute of Criminology.

  University of Cambridge
  The Faculty of Law
  10 West Road
  Cambridge CB3 9DZ
  U.K.
  44-1223-330033
  law.cam.ac.uk

University of Oxford

• Second only to Cambridge, the University of Oxford's Faculty of Law is rated second among U.K. law schools by the Times Online. Like Cambridge, Oxford is world renown for its diverse programs and research emphases. Oxford's law program is the largest in the U.K. while boasting a relatively small student to faculty ratio of just seven to one. Despite the university's long, rich heritage, the law program only began offering degrees in the late 1800s. Undergraduate programs offered at Oxford are the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree (a three year program), a four-year B.A. that includes further study throughout Europe and a one year legal studies program resulting in a diploma. Graduate degrees include the likes of the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL), the Magister Juris (MJur), the Master of Law and Finance (Msc), Master of Science in Criminology (Msc) and a post-graduate certificate in Intellectual Property Law and Practice.

  University of Oxford
  Faculty of Law
  10 Saint Cross Road
  Oxford OX1 3TU
  U.K.
  44-01865-271-491
  law.ox.ac.uk

London School of Economics

• The Law Department at the London School of Economics (LSE) is the U.K.'s third highest-rated law program, according to the Times Online. The school considers the study of law to be central to the school's overall mission and has, therefore, incorporated legal study into many aspects of its non-legal studies curriculum. It is this interdisciplinary flavor to legal studies along with its continued emphasis upon research that helps to distinguish the law program at LSE. Research in the areas International Humanitarian Law, Law and Financial Markets and Transnational Law helps to define the legal program at LSE. Degrees offered are the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), the Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science (Msc) in law and accounting, a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and the Doctor of Philosphy (DPhil).

  Law Department
  London School of Economics
  Houghton Street
  London, WC2A 2AE
  U.K.
  44-020-7955-6714
  lse.ac.uk