Contents - Faculty of Law - University of Cambridge

The LLM (one-year taught postgraduate degree)The Cambridge LLM (Master of Law) is a one-year taught postgraduate course commencing at the beginning of Octobereach year and ending in June of the following year. LLM students take four papers, each of which is generally assessedby means of a written examination. One of the four papers may instead by taken by thesis. For more information on thecurriculum see page 72 and http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/courses/llm.The minimum entry requirement for the LLM is normally a First Class degree in Law from a UK University, or theequivalent from an overseas institution. For overseas students this typically means being placed in the top 5-10% of theirclass. The LLM Admissions Committee does consider applications from those with a non-Law first degree, provided thatin addition to their degree they have either substantial relevant professional legal experience or have obtained aprofessional legal qualification with the equivalent of a First class result. However, a first degree in Law is the preferredpreparation for the Cambridge LLM. Applicants whose first language is not English should take a language proficiencytest to show they have the necessary command of the English language to get the most out of the course. IELTS is theuniversity's preferred test. Where the IELTS test is not available, the Princeton TOEFL test may be taken instead.Prospective students who do this must take the Test of Written English (TWE) at the same time. Applicants who take theIELTS test should attain a minimum overall score of 7.5 with a minimum of 7.0 in the reading, writing, listening andspeaking components. Applicants who take the TOEFL test should attain a minimum score of 637 in the paper-basedtest plus 5.5 TWE. Applicants who take the internet based TOEFL test should attain a minimum score of 110 overall, withat least 25 in each of the individual components of reading, writing, listening and speaking.Applicants for the LLM should apply through the Board of Graduate Studies, using either the online or paper-basedapplication method; please see http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/admissions/. The LLM application deadlineis 1 December for admission in the following October. Late applications will not be processed.Courses of Research in LawThere are three supervised research courses open to prospective research students in the Faculty of Law. The choicebetween them depends on the level and complexity of an applicant’s proposed programme of research and the length oftime which it is likely to take to complete. It should be noted that courses of research in law at Cambridge cannot betaken part-time or by correspondence.Diploma in Legal Studies and Diploma in International Law (one year). The regulations for these diplomas aresubstantially the same. An applicant interested in writing a thesis on a topic in international law should apply for theDiploma in International Law. The Diploma in Legal Studies covers all other topics within the field of law.Each candidate for a diploma is assigned a supervisor by the Faculty’s Degree Committee and is required to keep atleast three terms of residence before submitting for examination a thesis not exceeding 30,000 words, inclusive offootnotes but exclusive of appendices and bibliography, on a topic approved by the Faculty. A thesis for the diplomamust afford evidence of serious study and the ability to discuss a difficult problem critically. An oral examination may beheld. There is no course-work or taught element although students are encouraged to attend the Faculty’s ResearchTraining and Development Programme and lectures as recommended by their supervisor.Unlike residence for the LLM course, the year of research leading to a diploma may, in appropriate circumstances, becounted towards a research degree such as the MLitt or PhD.114