Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.

Postgraduate Study

Expected Academic Standard

Applicants for this course should have achieved a First class Honours Degree.

If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country.

The minimum academic entry requirement is a First Class Bachelor's degree in Law from a UK university or the equivalent from an overseas institution. Successful applicants will typically be placed well within the top 10% of law students in their jurisdiction. Due to the large number of very strong applications received, holding a First Class degree in Law (or the overseas equivalent) is not a guarantee of admission.

You may apply during the final year of your first degree in Law. However, if you are still studying at the time of your application then, if you are offered admission, you are likely to have an academic condition attached to your offer. Even if you have completed your first degree in law, if you are studying a post-graduate course at the time of your application, you may have an academic condition attached to your offer. In these circumstances you must meet that academic condition by 31 July 2027 or it will not be possible for you to be admitted.

In exceptional and rare circumstances, you may be considered without a First Class Bachelor's degree in Law provided you can demonstrate that academically you are within the top 10% of lawyers in your jurisdiction – for example, through substantial relevant professional legal experience or having obtained a professional legal qualification with the equivalent of a First Class result.

English Language Requirements

If you are not a national of a country on the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) ‘majority English-speaking countries list’ then you must take either the Academic IELTS English language proficiency test or the TOEFL English language proficiency test before you submit your application. You must therefore allow enough time to take and pass the language test before the application deadline.

The only exception is if you have successfully completed, or are in the final year of study of, a three-year full-time bachelor's degree within the last two years from a country on the UKVI ‘majority English-speaking countries list’.

Applicants must obtain all of the required Academic IELTS test scores or TOEFL test scores in the same test sitting; multiple test results cannot be combined to meet the language requirement. TOEFL MyBest™ scores are NOT accepted.

Language test scores must be less than two years old by the start of the LLM course in October 2027 in order to be valid.

Please note that referrals to the University of Cambridge’s Language Centre for assessment are not permitted and it is not possible to obtain a waiver of the language requirement.

University Minimum Academic Requirements


Language Requirement

IELTS (Academic)

Element Score
Listening 7.0
Writing 7.0
Reading 7.0
Speaking 7.0
Total 7.5

TOEFL Internet Score

Element Score
Listening 25
Writing 25
Reading 25
Speaking 25
Total 110

Visa Information

No ATAS required

What Is An ATAS?

Apply Now

Key Information


Michaelmas 2027
Applications open
Sep. 9, 2026
Application deadline
Dec. 8, 2026
Course starts
Oct. 1, 2027
Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.
Funding Deadlines
Course Funding Deadline
Dec. 8, 2026
Gates Cambridge US round only
Oct. 14, 2026

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2027, Lent 2028 and Easter 2028.

Similar Courses