Oxford University

Bachelor of Civil Laws:

A Guide for Australian Law Students 

For students aspiring to take their education to the next level, Oxford University is commonly regarded as the pinnacle of higher education. With an outstanding global reputation for teaching, research, and societal contributions, it's no surprise that Oxford University is ranked as the world’s top university.

Despite the desire to study at Oxford being common among high-achieving students, knowledge of how to begin the journey can be hard to come by. That is where we come in! We at The Global Lawyer have compiled the following summary of what to expect when applying to study a Bachelor of Civil Laws at Oxford so that you, too, can one day call yourself an Oxford Graduate.

Course Overview

A Bachelor of Civil Laws (BCL) is a ten-month master’s course offered by Oxford University. As it is a master’s level degree, the academic standard is greater than that of a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Law (LLB) or a Juris Doctor (JD).

Students undertaking a BCL can choose from a combination of full and half subjects (or, as they put it, “options”); most elect for a study load of four full options, three full and two half options or two complete and four half options.

Some students can choose to write a dissertation on their chosen topic (subject to Faculty approval) of up to 12,500 words instead of one of the four complete subjects.

The teaching style is a bit more unique in that the curriculum involves a mixture of lectures, seminars and tutorials which involve one-on-one sessions with an assigned supervisor (not available to students undertaking the dissertation).

An academic advisor is allocated to each student for general academic advice for the duration of their degree. Students are expected to study for about 45 hours per week each term, including in-class teaching and self-study hours.

Application Process

Oxford University has estimated a total of 145 spaces for the 2024/2025 intake - therefore, the application process is competitive. The application process for entry into BCL requires the applicant to upload various documents, including an official academic transcript, a resume, a personal statement, and an essay that exemplifies your written work. References are also required for a valid application.

Entry into a BCL requires the applicant to register three references which can inform the university about your academic availability and suitability for the course. Thus, academic references are strongly encouraged and preferred, but a professional reference will be considered acceptable if you register two academic references (the preference is for three). The references will provide insight into your intellectual ability, educational achievements and motivation for the course.

The academic transcript should provide in-depth information on the grades received during your university career. Only official, institution-issued documents will be accepted, and those in another language must be uploaded with a certified translation.

Most students use no more than two pages to highlight academic achievement and relevant professional experience in their resumes.

The personal statement aspect of the application requires applicants to explain their motivation for applying at Oxford, their educational history, applicable experience, and the specific areas that interest them. This statement is to be a maximum of 300 words. Note that the faculty gives less importance to the statement and more significance to the transcript, referees, and resume.

The faculty also assesses the applicants’ understanding and ability to apply the law by examining previous work. Hence, students must also submit an example of their previous written written work of up to 2,000 words on any legal topic. Usually, this can be an excerpt from some of their past work of a longer length, given that there is a preface via a note giving context to the faculty. Bibliography or footnotes are not included in the word count; the final word count must be displayed.

  • Entry requirements for a BCL are pretty stringent. Students applying to study must have a first-class undergraduate degree with Honours in Law or an equivalent qualification in the UK.

    Hence, Australian students must obtain a bachelor’s degree with an overall grade of High Distinction with either 80% (from universities utilising a range of 80%-100%) or 85% (from universities using an 85%-100% range).

    International students from countries where English is not a primary language may be required to undertake language tests like IELTS or TOEFL.

  • Each application is charged at £75. The total cost of the degree is £45,590.

    This fee can be waived depending on the applicant’s ability to meet specific eligibility criteria, including applicants from low-income countries, refugees and displaced persons, UK applicants from low-income backgrounds and those who applied for the Oxford Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years.

    The faculty may also account for socio-economic information in the selection of applicants. Protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 may be accounted for during the shortlisting process for interviews or scholarships. The applicant will be automatically considered for most Oxford scholarships, which are awarded based on academic merit and/or potential.

  • Click here to view the official Oxford University website for the Bachelor of Civil Law.

Article written by Nazam Kamboj

Published on 12/08/2024