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• HERA Project: Of Authorship and Originality
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• Introduction
• Part 1: General context
• Part 2: Copyright as a means of intervening
• Part 3: Spain – a case example
• Part 4: Freedom of speech
• US research trip November 2015 overview
• 10/11/15 – CGCS, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• 11/11/15 ISP, Yale University
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• BBC v Wireless League Magazine [1926] Ch. 433
• Beloff v Pressdram [1973] FSR 33
• Britain v Hanks, The Times, April 1902
• Burroughs Wellcome v Thompson & Capper (Tabloid) [1904] 1 Ch. 736
• Byrne v Statist [1914] 1 KB 622
• Cala Homes v McAlpine [1995] FSR 818
• Cramp & Sons Ltd v Frank Smythson Ltd [1944] AC 329
• Creation Records v News Group Newspapers [1997] EMLR 444
• Dean's Rag Book Co v Pomerantz [1930] RPC 485
• Designers Guild v Russell Williams [2001] FSR 113
• Eno v Dunn [1890] 7 RPC 311
• Express Newspapers v Liverpool Daily Post [1985] 3 All ER 680
• Ferrier v Robert Hale Ltd, The Times, Sept. 1955
• Football League Ltd v Littlewoods Pools Ltd [1959] 1 Ch 637
• Francis Day Hunter v Bron [1963] 1 Ch 587
• Green v Broadcasting Corp. Of NZ [1989] 2 All ER 1056
• Hanfstaengl v WH Smith & Sons: MacGillivray 1905-1910 pp. 8-9
• Hensher v Restawile [1976] AC 64
• Hyde Park Residence Ltd v Yelland [2000] RPC 604
• Interlego v Tyco [1989] AC 217
• Kennard v Lewis [1983] FSR 346
• LB (Plastics) Ltd. v Swish [1979] R.P.C. 551
• Ladbroke v William Hill [1964] 1 All ER 465
• Lawrence & Bullen Ltd v Aflalo [1902] 1 Ch. 264; [1903] 1 Ch. 318; [1904] A.C 17
• Leahy, Kelly and Leahy v Glover [1893] 10 RPC 141
• Leslie v J Young & Sons, [1894] AC 335
• Magnolia Metal v Tandem Smelting Syndicate [1900] 17 RPC 477
• Marengo v Daily Sketch & Sunday Graphic Ltd. (1948) 65 RPC 242, 251
• Meek v Ledrut, Unreported
• Merchandising Corporation v Harpbond [1971] 2 All E.R. 657
• Merchant Adventures Limited v M. Grew [1983] FSR 32
• Native Guano Co Ltd v Sewage Manure Co [1899] 6 RPC
• Noah v Shuba [1991] FSR 14
• Pasterfield v Denham [1999] FSR 168
• Pearce v Ove Arup Partnership [2001] EWHC Ch 481
• Preston v Raphael Tuck [1926]
• Radley v Spyrou Gowns [1975] FSR 455
• Reddaway v Banham [1896] AC 199
• Roberton v Lewis [1976] RPC 169
• Snow v The Eaton Centre Ltd. (1982) 70 C.P.R. (2d) 105
• Stevenson, Jordan & Harrison Ltd. v McDonald & Evans [1952] 69 RPC 10
• Stovin-Bradford v Volpont Properties [1971] 3 All ER 570
• Tidy v Trustees of the Natural History Museum [1996] 39 IPR 501
• University of London Press v University Tutorial [1916] 2 Ch 601
• Walter v Lane [1900] A.C. 539
• A G Spalding and Brothers v A W Gamage (Ltd) and Benetfink and Co (1915) 32 RPC 273, (1915) LJ Ch 339
• Primary Sources on Copyright History (1450-1900)
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• European Data Protection and Electronic Privacy - Transnational
• Article 29 Working Party Archive 1997-2018
• Seminars and events

Applying to do Postgraduate Research at Cambridge

To find out more about researching at Cambridge see the Faculty of Law website .

Current Researchers

Tim Cochrane Alexander Ferguson Ricki-Lee Gerbrandt Ann Kristin Glenster Laura Hannan Milhan Mohamed James Parish

Former Researchers

Oliver butler :  information law in an era of public services commissioning: the implications for privacy, confidentiality and data protection, yin harn lee : copyright issues surrounding videogame modifications..

Yin Harn Lee completed her undergraduate education at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, obtaining an LL.B. (Hons) (with Distinction). She was admitted to the Bar as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in the following year, and worked as a research assistant and a tutor at the University of Malaya before graduating from the University of Cambridge with an LL.M. Her thesis related to questions of copyright in video-games and the implications for user-generated "Mods". Yin Harn is now a lecturer at the University of Sheffield

Julia Powles : The Inventive Concept and the Structure of Patent Law.

Julia’s research focussed on the role of the ‘inventive concept’ in construing inventions and determining patent scope in the United Kingdom, with comparative reference to the European patent system. Her studies were supported by a Cambridge Poynton Australia Scholarship. Julia has first class honours degrees in law and science from the University of Western Australia and the Australian National University, as well as a Bachelor of Civil Law (master’s degree) from the University of Oxford. She has clerked in the Federal Court of Australia and the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal and practised in the information technology and intellectual property department of Minter Ellison in Sydney, while also lecturing at the University of New South Wales. Before commencing her PhD, Julia worked in the Office of the Director General at the World Intellectual Property Organization, where her work covered all aspects of intellectual property. Julia is now a researcher at Cornell Tech.

Nigel Stone:  An Empirical Analysis of the Fairness and Certainty of US and European Software Patentability

Sharon Le Gall : Reclaiming Collective Knowledge

Sharon's research explored  the ways in which issues of intellectual property, cultural property, and cultural and national identity converge in the discourse surrounding the protection of traditional knowledge. The steel pan, which is a musical instrument invented in Trinidad circa 1930 (and declared the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago), provided the focal point of the research, with references made to the developments regarding the protection of traditional knowledge associated with the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The thesis also developed a theoretical framework for defining traditional knowledge and the collective knowledge associated with the invention and development of the steel pan. Any definition in relation to the steel pan must transcend its technical features and encompass its symbolism as a form of cultural and national identity. Features of a national regime of protection for the collective knowledge associated with the steel pan were also proposed as well as ways in which international protection may be achieved via WIPO's initiatives to develop international protection measures for traditional knowledge. Sharon now teaches at the University of the West Indies. Her PhD was converted into a book.

Chikosa Banda: Patents and Promotion of Biomedical Research into Diseases Prevalent in Developing Countries

Chikosa Banda's research for his PhD with the Centre was supported by a Wellcome Trust Studentship and was an examination of  the efficacy of intellectual property rights as a policy mechanism to accelerate medical research on neglected diseases. Malawi (Chikosa’s country of origin) provided a case study for the research. He was jointly supervised by Professor Bently and Dr Liddell.Chikosa has a background that prepared him well for this research. He worked as an Assistant Lecturer in Law in the University of Malawi: Chancellor College, and was appointed to Malawi National Experts Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing under the Southern African Development Community Biodiversity Support Programme. With Robert Lewis-Lettington, he wrote “A Survey of Policy and Practice on the Use of Access to Medicines –TRIPS Related Flexibilities in Malawi, DFID Health Systems Resource Centre”.The research funding essential to such a project was provided by the Wellcome Trust’s scheme for research on the Ethics of Biomedical Research in Developing Countries. This enabled Chikosa to be based both in Malawi and the UK, and to visit Switzerland and other countries central to the debates. During his time in Cambridge Chikosa was awarded the status of an Honorary Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholar.

Elena Cooper : The Relationship between Art and Law in the History of Photographic Copyright 1850-1911

Elena's research examined the history of artistic copyright law.

Patrick Masiyakurima : The Justifications for Protecting Unpublished Works by Copyright Law

Patrick’s thesis considered the topic of copyright in unpublished works from historical, legal and normative perspectives and it was provoked by criticisms of the strength of protection that is conferred on unpublished works. The thesis raised several key arguments.

• The jurisdictional bases for restraining unauthorised first publication evolved from protecting the manuscript as a chattel to property rights in unpublished expressions and later to breach of confidence and breach of an implied contract not to publish.
• Common law copyright protection was abrogated in 1911 owing to the 1908 Revision of the Berne Convention, dissatisfaction with domestic copyright laws and problems with imperial copyright.
• The unpublished status of a work retains considerable significance in contemporary British copyright law especially in the areas of the exceptions to copyright infringement, the term of copyright protection, the extent of copyright protection and the remedies for copyright infringement.
• Copyright in unpublished works is justified because it would be too costly to differentiate “published” from “unpublished works”. Distinguishing published from unpublished works is especially difficult given the numerous problems surrounding publication on the Internet. Therefore, in general, the protection available to “published” and “unpublished” works ought to be the same
• The range of materials and interests that are encompassed by legal protection of unpublished works suggests that some unpublished works could be protected by the action for breach of confidence, the right to privacy, and the moral right of divulgation.

It was also argued that where appropriate, legal protection of unpublished works ought to be balanced with countervailing public interests including freedom of expression. The appropriate balance between copyright in unpublished works and the public interest can be achieved by interpreting the exceptions to copyright infringement purposively. It is hoped that aspects of the thesis will be published as a series of research articles or a monograph. Patrick’s research was very generously funded by the University of Cambridge through a Domestic Research Scholarship. Patrick is a lecturer in law at the University of Aberdeen.

Sun Thathong: Searching for Harmony in an Age of Fragmentation: A Critical Reappraisal of the Protection of Traditional Knowledge under International Law

Sun was an Cambridge Overseas Trust Scholar and a recipient of the Underwood Scholarship from Trinity Hall. His research explores the protection of traditional knowledge under international law, focusing on the interaction among four relevant international legal regimes, namely international intellectual property law, international environmental law, international cultural heritage law and international human rights law. It scrutinises the fragmentation of international law in this field, looking particularly at the diverse ways “traditional knowledge” is being conceptualised under different regimes and the effects this may have on the protection of traditional knowledge under international law as a whole. Sun holds an LL.B. from Durham University and an LL.M. (International Law) from the University of Cambridge. Before commencing his PhD, he worked as a Second Secretary at the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand, where he was part of the legal team giving international legal advice to the Royal Thai Government on issues relating to crime prevention and criminal justice.

Petroula Vantsiouri : A Comparative Stand Towards the Intended and Unintended Consequences of Anticircumvention Regulation and Technological Protection Measures in the European Union and in the United States

Petroula's research interests lie in intellectual property law and information law. Her doctoral thesis takes a comparative stand towards the intended and unintended consequences of anticircumvention regulation in the European Union and in the United States, as they are applied in different sectors, namely broadcasting, software and other copyright works. She holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a Postgraduate Specialization Diploma and a law degree from the University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Petroula has also worked as a practicing lawyer, a trainee for the Office of Harmonization in the Internal Market and as a research assistant. She is a licensed member of the New York State Bar Association (US) as well as of the Thessaloniki Bar Association (Greece).

Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (CIPIL) The Faculty of Law 10 West Road Cambridge CB3 9DZ United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 1223 330047 Email: [email protected]

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The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the University's principal research degree for graduate students and is available in all faculties and departments.

A Cambridge PhD is intellectually demanding and you will need to have a high level of attainment and motivation to pursue this programme of advanced study and research.

In most faculties, a candidate is expected to have completed one year of postgraduate study, normally on a research preparation master's course, prior to starting a PhD.

Completion normally requires three or four years of full-time study, or at least five years of part-time study, including a probationary period.

Terms of research are normally consecutive and, for full-time students, require residency in Cambridge. Not all departments offer part-time research degrees.

Various routes to the PhD are possible and, if you are made an offer of admission, it will be made clear whether you are required to study for a master's degree or certificate in the first instance, or will be admitted directly to the probationary year for the PhD. You are registered for the PhD only after a satisfactory progress assessment at the end of the probationary year (five terms for part-time degrees). The assessment is designed also to focus your mind on the stages necessary for the completion of your research within the normal time limit and to address any structural problems that have arisen during the first year. Students must pass the first year assessment in order to continue their PhD study.

During your PhD, your effort will be focused on writing a dissertation. The word count of the dissertation is dependent on the department and the Student Registry or Educational Student Policy will be able to tell you the maximum word limit. This must represent a significant contribution to learning, for example through the discovery of new knowledge, the connection of previously unrelated facts, the development of a new theory, or the revision of older views, and must take account of previously published work on the subject. Some Cambridge dissertations go on to form the basis of significant publications.

Although you will spend long hours working independently, your department and College will both support you throughout your PhD. You are also able to attend regular seminars in your subject area and could be involved in teaching, perhaps giving seminars or supervising, or in the social life of your department and College.

PhD course search

Go to the Course Directory and filter courses using the relevant checkboxes.

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St Catharine's has a thriving graduate law community at both Master's and PhD level.

Graduate law students are a vital group in St Catharine’s community of lawyers. The College welcomes applications from students reading for the taught graduate law degrees – the LLM and the MCL – and students reading for graduate research degrees, especially the PhD. In a normal year the College has around four students reading for the LLM or the MCL, as well as one or two PhD students. 

The graduate lawyers become members of the College’s Middle Combination Room (MCR) upon joining the College, and thus join the life of a lively intellectual and social group. The MCR at St Catharine’s holds a high reputation among students throughout Cambridge. 

The graduate lawyers also become involved in a full range of law-related activities held in the College. Several of these are formed for both graduate and undergraduates. Activities are organised by the Law Fellows – through the College’s Law Enrichment Programme – and by the students through the St Catharine’s College Law Society. All of the College’s law students and Fellows gather at occasions held at special points in the year, including the annual dinner held by the Law Society. Speakers at recent annual dinners have included Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore (of the UK Supreme Court), Lord Millett (a former Law Lord) and Lord Justice Mummery (formerly of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales). 

Each graduate lawyer who reads for a taught degree at St Catharine’s has a Director of Studies in the same way as undergraduates. The Director of Studies and each student meet with one another twice each term to discuss the student’s academic progress and needs. In pastoral matters, each graduate student also has access to the College’s Graduate Tutors. 

In recent years, students who have read for graduate degrees in law at St Catharine’s have proceeded to practise at the bar and in firms of solicitors, as well as to work in prestigious academic positions and positions in the civil service and governments of various nations. 

Although the College has limited funding specifically available for graduate law students, it is fortunate to hold funds to support the award of Jacobson Scholarships in public or private international law. The fund normally supports one studentship at a time. You can read a testimonial written by one former and one current St Catharine’s graduate lawyer below.

Testimonials

1. massimo lando .

When I decided to pursue graduate studies after my first law degree, I had no doubts about applying to Cambridge. The college system baffled me a bit in the beginning – I come from an institution where there are no colleges. I consider myself very fortunate to have become part of St Catharine’s College: it is a thriving community, with people studying across all field of academic knowledge. Also, the presence of both undergraduate and graduate students makes it a little bit more varied than graduate colleges – something I personally find interesting and refreshing.   St Catharine’s supported my studies towards the LLM in 2013-2014, by electing me to the Jacobson Scholarship in International Law. After completing my LLM, I decided to pursue further research in Cambridge by commencing a PhD: I decided to apply to St Catharine’s, because I already knew the College – I liked it, and I also knew that there was a good scholarship tailored to my needs, specifically for the study of international law. I was awarded the Jacobson Scholarship a second time, and I have undertaken my research since October 2014. I would recommend that anyone with a research project in International Law apply to the Jacobson. St Catharine’s houses a blossoming law community, with around 25 to 30 law students in residence at any time. All of them are part of the College Law Society, which organises lectures and social events especially designed for law students. In addition to law students, there are many others who are part of the College community and study different subjects: I find this interaction between subjects very stimulating, as it allows students to think about something different from their day-to-day work. As graduates in St Catharine’s, you will be automatically part of the MCR (Middle Combination Room), whose committee is very active in organising social events, both within College, and together with other colleges. It may be a formal dinner, or a College disco, or a simple film night, but it will always make you feel part of a wider graduate community, which ends up becoming your substitute family while in Cambridge.  I am very happy to be part of St Catharine’s, and I would not change College if I were given the chance. I would certainly recommend that anyone with good academic potential and with an eye to being part of a nice college community apply to St Catharine’s.

2. Emma Horner

Deciding whether to study for a postgraduate degree in law wasn’t a clear-cut decision for me. I had contemplated whether a Master’s course was necessary to succeed in practice, and the LLM at Cambridge was an obvious front-runner when deciding where to apply. I had hoped the LLM would help me develop what I had learnt during my undergraduate law degree, improve my legal skills and prepare me for legal practice, and it certainly did. The LLM is a course that allowed me to broaden my legal knowledge and understanding, in preparation for training as a barrister. The LLM gives students the choice: to specialise, or to study a diverse range of legal areas. I chose to specialise in commercial law, studying in-depth modules that have been incredibly useful as a pupil barrister in a commercial chancery set of chambers.  The Fellows in St Catharine’s - Catz - are very aware that many of their students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) intend to practise after their studies, and they were able to provide helpful assistance, passing on their advice during the application process and prior to interviews. The College also has a legal practice scholarship available, the Gooderson Memorial Scholarship, which usefully contributed to fund part of the (expensive) training to become a barrister.  Catz is a very welcoming College, with a lively graduate community. The MCR organises many varied events open to all graduate students, including wine and cheese nights, a Burns Night ceilidh and weekly movie nights. This makes it very easy to meet other graduate students, including those from different academic disciplines, and allowed me to get fully involved in College life. There are also many different sports clubs in the College and university to get involved with, and College sports allowed me to achieve a balance to my academic studies. I made amazing friends during my year at Catz through the MCR and sports clubs, and luckily a few of them are still studying in the College, so I can go back and visit. 

Catz finalists in 2024 Student-Led Teaching Awards

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Law, BA (Hons)

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Law at Cambridge

Law at the University of Cambridge allows you to understand law in its historical and social contexts, and to examine its general principles and techniques.

This course is your first step towards becoming a qualified solicitor or barrister. As part of the course you will be able to specialise from second year and study other legal systems from outside the UK.  

Law at Cambridge 

This course allows you to explore the law beyond the fundamental subjects to consider its interdisciplinary relationship with philosophy, economics, ethics, criminology, social policy, and history.  

In your first year you’ll study a range of topics such as Criminal Law and Constitutional Law.  

You will then be able to specialise and explore your interests from your second and third year. 

The Faculty and University Law Society organise numerous activities, including: 

• public lectures 
• careers events with leading barristers’ and solicitors’ firms 
• social events 
• mooting competitions (debates about hypothetical legal cases)

Teaching and facilities

You’ll be taught by experts in the field at the Faculty of Law.

The Faculty of Law facilities include the David Williams Building, which has: 

• lecture theatres 
• seminar rooms 
• a moot court, where you can take part in mock trials 
• the Squire Law Library, one of the finest academic law collections in the UK. The Library offers an extensive collection of printed and electronic resources and excellent computing facilities. 

Along with all other students at Cambridge, you'll also have access to: 

• our impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries 

Student exchange schemes  

You may have the opportunity to spend a year studying abroad at one of our partner institutions in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, New Zealand, South Africa and Singapore. The year abroad takes place after you complete the first two years of the course. 

You would then return to Cambridge to complete Part II of the course as a fourth year. 

You may be given financial support for your Year Abroad, if needed, through a Turing Scheme grant. This is subject to funding being awarded to the University by the Department for Education. Funding is awarded on an annual basis. Eligibility may change depending on the level of funding awarded each year.

Find out more about the student exchange schemes  

Course costs

When you go to university, you’ll need to consider two main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).

Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students – you can find details of these costs here .

There are no compulsory additional course costs for Law. If you choose to buy your own copies of course books, they usually cost around £15 each.

If you have any queries about resources/materials, please contact the Faculty.

Becoming a solicitor 

If you want to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales you will need to sit two Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (SQE1 & SQE2) after you complete this course. For more information visit the Solicitors Regulation Authority website.  

Becoming a barrister 

If you want to qualify as a barrister in England and Wales, your undergraduate degree will satisfy the academic component of training for this if you study the following papers throughout the course: 

• Criminal Law 
• Law of Tort 
• Constitutional Law 
• Contract Law 
• European Union Law 

You can then study vocational courses that lead to professional accreditation. For more information about qualifying as a barrister visit the Bar Standards Board website.

Teaching is provided through lectures, seminars and small-group supervisions.  

You will usually have 10 to 12 hours of lectures, and one supervision for each paper you’re studying, every 2 weeks.

Assessment is mostly through examinations which you take at the end of the year.

You will also have the option of taking a seminar course, which is assessed by a dissertation.

You won't usually be able to resit any of your exams.

Year 1 (Part IA)  

You take 4 papers.  

In previous years, papers have included: 

• Civil Law I 

Year 2 (Part IB) 

You choose 5 papers from a wide range of options, which may include: 

• Law of Contract 
• Administrative Law 
• Civil Law II 
• Comparative Law 
• Criminal Procedure and Criminal Evidence 
• Criminology 
• Sentencing and the Penal System 
• Family Law 
• Human Rights Law 
• International Law 
• Jurisprudence 
• Legal History 

Year 3 (Part II) 

You choose 5 papers. You can also take 2 half-papers as one of your 5 options.  

Full paper options may include: 

• Aspects of Obligations 
• Commercial Law 
• Company Law 
• Conflict of Laws 
• Intellectual Property Law 
• Labour Law 

 Examples of half-papers that may be on offer include: 

• Historical Foundations of the British Constitution 
• Landlord and Tenant Law 
• Law of Succession 
• Personal Information Law 
• Topics in Legal and Political Philosophy 
• Topics in European Legal History 
• Animal Rights Law 

You can also choose a seminar course, instead of one paper. Seminar courses vary each year but may include:  

• Select Issues in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 
• Family in Society 
• Law and Ethics of Medicine 
• Private Law 
• Public Law 
• Select Issues in International Law 
• Tax Law and Policy 

For further information about this course and the papers you can take see the Faculty of Law website . 

Changing course

It’s really important to think carefully about which course you want to study before you apply. 

In rare cases, it may be possible to change course once you’ve joined the University. You will usually have to get agreement from your College and the relevant departments. It’s not guaranteed that your course change will be approved.

You might also have to:

• take part in an interview
• complete an admissions test
• produce some written work
• achieve a particular grade in your current studies
• do some catch-up work
• start your new course from the beginning 

For more information visit the Faculty website .

You can also apply to change to:

• Management Studies at the Judge Business School

You can't apply to this course until you're at Cambridge. You would usually apply when you have completed 1 year or more of your original Cambridge course.

You should contact your College’s Admissions Office if you’re thinking of changing your course. They will be able to give you advice and explain how changing courses works.

Minimum offer level

• A*AA (all Colleges except Downing)
• A*A*A (Downing College)

IB: 41-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level Other qualifications : Check which other qualifications we accept .

Subject requirements

While we don't ask for any specific subjects to apply to Law, we would recommend certain subjects for a strong application:    

• English (language or literature)   
• Languages (ancient or modern)     

You can find more information about the subjects our typical entrants have studied below. 

Applying as an affiliate student

If you're applying to the Law course as an affiliated student , you should have achieved (or be expected to achieve) a first class undergraduate degree (or international equivalent) or alternatively, a Distinction in an MPhil (Master's qualification) or its international equivalent.

What Law students have studied

Most Law students (who had studied A levels and started at Cambridge in 2017-19) achieved at least A*A*A (62% of entrants).

Most had usually studied at least one of the subjects recommended above.

The rest had usually taken at least one of:

• Mathematics
• Ancient History, Classical Civilisation, Economics, Further Mathematics, Geography, Politics, History of Art, Law, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Religious Studies, sciences (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) or Sociology.

The majority of students who studied IB achieved at least 43 points overall.

Check our advice on choosing your high school subjects . You should also check if there are any required subjects for your course when you apply.

Admission test

All applicants for Law for 2025 entry are required to take the National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT)  at an authorised assessment centre. You must register in advance for this test. 

See the LNAT page  for further information.

Submitting written work

Applicants to some Colleges are required to  submit written work  prior to interview. 

The following Colleges require two pieces of written work:

• Lucy Cavendish
• St Edmund's

Offers above the minimum requirement

The minimum offer level and subject requirements outline the minimum you'll usually need to achieve to get an offer from Cambridge.

In some cases, you'll get a higher or more challenging offer. Colleges set higher offer requirements for a range of reasons. If you'd like to find out more about why we do this, check the information about offers above the minimum requirement  on the entry requirements page.

Some Colleges usually make offers above the minimum offer level. Find out more on our qualifications page .

All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. Please contact the relevant  College admissions office  if you have any queries.

Discover your department or faculty

• Visit the Faculty of Law - The Faculty Law website has more information about this course, facilities, people and research.

Explore our Colleges

• Find out how Colleges work - A College is where you’ll live, eat and socialise. It’s also where you’ll have teaching in a small group, known as supervisions.
• How to choose a Cambridge College that's right for you - If you think you know which course you’d like to study, it’s time to choose a College.

Visit us on an open day

• Book an open day - Get a feel for the city and the university
• Find an event - We offer a range of events where you can find out more about Cambridge, Colleges, and your course. Many of our events have hybrid options so you can join us virtually.

Find out how to apply

• Find out how to apply and how our admissions processes work - Our admissions process is slightly different to other universities. We’ve put together a handy guide to tell you everything you need to know about applying to study at Cambridge.
• Improve your application - Supercurricular activities are a great way to engage with your chosen subject outside of school or college.

Discover Uni data

Contextual information.

Discover Uni allows you to compare information about individual courses at different higher education institutions.  This can be a useful method of considering your options and what course may suit you best.

However, please note that superficially similar courses often have very different structures and objectives, and that the teaching, support and learning environment that best suits you can only be determined by identifying your own interests, needs, expectations and goals, and comparing them with detailed institution- and course-specific information.

We recommend that you look thoroughly at the course and University information contained on these webpages and consider coming to visit us on an Open Day , rather than relying solely on statistical comparison.

You may find the following notes helpful when considering information presented by Discover Uni.

• Discover Uni relies on superficially similar courses being coded in the same way. Whilst this works on one level, it may lead to some anomalies. For example, Music courses and Music Technology courses can have exactly the same code despite being very different programmes with quite distinct educational and career outcomes. Any course which combines several disciplines (as many courses at Cambridge do) tends to be compared nationally with courses in just one of those disciplines, and in such cases the Discover Uni comparison may not be an accurate or fair reflection of the reality of either. For example, you may find that when considering a degree which embraces a range of disciplines such as biology, physics, chemistry and geology (for instance, Natural Sciences at Cambridge), the comparison provided is with courses at other institutions that primarily focus on just one (or a smaller combination) of those subjects.You may therefore find that not all elements of the Cambridge degree are represented in the Discover Uni data.
• Some contextual data linked from other surveys, such as the National Student Survey (NSS) or the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE), may not be available or may be aggregated across several courses or several years due to small sample sizes.  When using the data to inform your course choice, it is important to ensure you understand how it has been processed prior to its presentation. Discover Uni offers some explanatory information about how the contextual data is collated, and how it may be used, which you can view here: https://discoveruni.gov.uk/about-our-data/ .
• Discover Uni draws on national data to provide average salaries and employment/continuation data.  Whilst starting salaries can be a useful measure, they do not give any sense of career trajectory or take account of the voluntary/low paid work that many graduates undertake initially in order to gain valuable experience necessary/advantageous for later career progression. Discover Uni is currently piloting use of the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data to demonstrate possible career progression; it is important to note that this is experimental and its use may be modified as it embeds.

The above list is not exhaustive and there may be other important factors that are relevant to the choices that you are making, but we hope that this will be a useful starting point to help you delve deeper than the face value of the Discover Uni data.

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Two MIT PhD students awarded J-WAFS fellowships for their research on water

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Since 2014, the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) has advanced interdisciplinary research aimed at solving the world's most pressing water and food security challenges to meet human needs. In 2017, J-WAFS established the Rasikbhai L. Meswani Water Solutions Fellowship and the J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship. These fellowships provide support to outstanding MIT graduate students who are pursuing research that has the potential to improve water and food systems around the world. 

Recently, J-WAFS awarded the 2024-25 fellowships to Jonathan Bessette and Akash Ball, two MIT PhD students dedicated to addressing water scarcity by enhancing desalination and purification processes. This work is of important relevance since the world's freshwater supply has been steadily depleting due to the effects of climate change. In fact, one-third of the global population lacks access to safe drinking water. Bessette and Ball are focused on designing innovative solutions to enhance the resilience and sustainability of global water systems. To support their endeavors, J-WAFS will provide each recipient with funding for one academic semester for continued research and related activities.

“This year, we received many strong fellowship applications,” says J-WAFS executive director Renee J. Robins. “Bessette and Ball both stood out, even in a very competitive pool of candidates. The award of the J-WAFS fellowships to these two students underscores our confidence in their potential to bring transformative solutions to global water challenges.”

2024-25 Rasikbhai L. Meswani Fellowship for Water Solutions

The Rasikbhai L. Meswani Fellowship for Water Solutions is a doctoral fellowship for students pursuing research related to water and water supply at MIT. The fellowship is made possible by Elina and Nikhil Meswani and family. 

Jonathan Bessette is a doctoral student in the Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, advised by Professor Amos Winter. His research is focused on water treatment systems for the developing world, mainly desalination, or the process in which salts are removed from water. Currently, Bessette is working on designing and constructing a low-cost, deployable, community-scale desalination system for humanitarian crises.

In arid and semi-arid regions, groundwater often serves as the sole water source, despite its common salinity issues. Many remote and developing areas lack reliable centralized power and water systems, making brackish groundwater desalination a vital, sustainable solution for global water scarcity. 

“An overlooked need for desalination is inland groundwater aquifers, rather than in coastal areas,” says Bessette. “This is because much of the population lives far enough from a coast that seawater desalination could never reach them. My work involves designing low-cost, sustainable, renewable-powered desalination technologies for highly constrained situations, such as drinking water for remote communities,” he adds.

To achieve this goal, Bessette developed a batteryless, renewable electrodialysis desalination system. The technology is energy-efficient, conserves water, and is particularly suited for challenging environments, as it is decentralized and sustainable. The system offers significant advantages over the conventional reverse osmosis method, especially in terms of reduced energy consumption for treating brackish water. Highlighting Bessette’s capacity for engineering insight, his advisor noted the “simple and elegant solution” that Bessette and a staff engineer, Shane Pratt, devised that negated the need for the system to have large batteries. Bessette is now focusing on simplifying the system’s architecture to make it more reliable and cost-effective for deployment in remote areas.

Growing up in upstate New York, Bessette completed a bachelor's degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo. As an undergrad, he taught middle and high school students in low-income areas of Buffalo about engineering and sustainability. However, he cited his junior-year travel to India and his experience there measuring water contaminants in rural sites as cementing his dedication to a career addressing food, water, and sanitation challenges. In addition to his doctoral research, his commitment to these goals is further evidenced by another project he is pursuing, funded by a J-WAFS India grant, that uses low-cost, remote sensors to better understand water fetching practices. Bessette is conducting this work with fellow MIT student Gokul Sampath in order to help families in rural India gain access to safe drinking water.

2024-25 J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship for Water and Food Solutions

The J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship is supported by the J-WAFS Research Affiliate Program , which offers companies the opportunity to engage with MIT on water and food research. Current fellowship support was provided by two J-WAFS Research Affiliates: Xylem , a leading U.S.-based provider of water treatment and infrastructure solutions, and GoAigua , a Spanish company at the forefront of digital transformation in the water industry through innovative solutions. 

Akash Ball is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering, advised by Professor Heather Kulik. His research focuses on the computational discovery of novel functional materials for energy-efficient ion separation membranes with high selectivity. Advanced membranes like these are increasingly needed for applications such as water desalination, battery recycling, and removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. 

“Climate change, water pollution, and scarce freshwater reserves cause severe water distress for about 4 billion people annually, with 2 billion in India and China’s semiarid regions,” Ball notes. “One potential solution to this global water predicament is the desalination of seawater, since seawater accounts for 97 percent of all water on Earth.”

Although several commercial reverse osmosis membranes are currently available, these membranes suffer several problems, like slow water permeation, permeability-selectivity trade-off, and high fabrication costs. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials that are promising candidates for highly selective ion separation with fast water transport due to high surface area, the presence of different pore windows, and the tunability of chemical functionality. In the Kulik lab, Ball is developing a systematic understanding of how MOF chemistry and pore geometry affect water transport and ion rejection rates. By the end of his PhD, Ball plans to identify existing, best-performing MOFs with unparalleled water uptake using machine learning models, propose novel hypothetical MOFs tailored to specific ion separations from water, and discover experimental design rules that enable the synthesis of next-generation membranes.  

Ball’s advisor praised the creativity he brings to his research, and his leadership skills that benefit her whole lab. Before coming to MIT, Ball obtained a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University in India. During a research internship at IIT Bombay in 2018, he worked on developing a technology for in situ arsenic detection in water. Like Bessette, he noted the impact of this prior research experience on his interest in global water challenges, along with his personal experience growing up in an area in India where access to safe drinking water was not guaranteed.

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• Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS)
• K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center
• Department of Chemical Engineering
• Department of Mechanical Engineering

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MIT PhD students honored for their work to solve critical issues in water and food

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MIT students arrested during anti-Israel rally;…

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Mit students arrested during anti-israel rally; encampment cleared out today.

Nine MIT undergraduate students and graduate workers were arrested Thursday as they protested in front of a parking garage on the Cambridge campus, according to the MIT Graduate Student Union .

UPDATE: On Friday morning just before dawn State Police cleared out the MIT encampment. MIT’s President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement it was her “direction” to end the camp. Kornbluth said the 10 remaining people in the camp were “taken off campus for booking.” 

Kornbluth said the encampment “made it impossible to meet all these obligations” the university spelled out to keep the college functioning for all involved. Yet, that did not deter some.

“We must fight back to defend our coworkers now!,” the union said in an Instagram post Thursday evening. “EMERGENCY RALLY TOMORROW FRIDAY MAY 10, 3PM, LOBBY 7 STEPS.”

The MIT encampment has become embroiled in controversy this week, with dozens of anti-Israel students being suspended and referred to the institute’s Committee on Discipline for refusing to clear the tent site.

The suspensions come after President Sally Kornbluth warned student protesters that if they did not leave the Kresge lawn, where tents are set up, by Monday afternoon, they’d either be suspended, face other sanctions, or both.

Hundreds of protesters returned that evening , breaking through the barriers as they continued to call for the institute to end all research contracts sponsored by the Ministry of Defense of Israel.

Sanctions included a written warning, immediate interim academic suspension for the remainder of the semester and exclusion of participation in commencement and co-curricular activities, and academic suspension and being kicked off the Cambridge campus immediately.

Pro-Palestinian student organizations held Thursday’s “emergency” rally in support of those facing punishment.

“MIT issues interim suspensions against peaceful protesters, immediately evicting them from campus housing, cutting their employment, and barring them from all academic and research activities,” the MIT Graduate Student Union wrote in an Instagram post early Thursday afternoon.

“THIS DISCIPLINE IS DISGUSTING, UNJUST, AND ILLEGAL,” it added. “WE MUST FIGHT BACK!”

MIT’s student newspaper, The Tech, documented the afternoon’s protest and arrests with live updates .

“Protesters were observed being pushed to the ground and cuffed by police officers,” the paper reported at 1:55 p.m. “Several protesters were ziptied and forcefully moved away from the protest in front of the Stata Center garage.”

The chief of MIT Police told protesters to clear the driveway of the garage or “face arrest,” the paper reported at 4:05 p.m. It then added minutes later that “at least two protesters” were arrested and being taken to the Middlesex House of Correction and Jail in Billerica.

Activity came to an end after 4:30.

About 2,800 people have been arrested on 50 campuses across the country since April 18 during protests of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Associated Press.

Police arrested over 130 protesters at an encampment on the UMass Amherst campus after administrators ordered the students to disperse Tuesday night. That followed more than 100 arrests at Emerson and Northeastern as police broke down encampments on those campuses in late April.

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Immersive campus experience for aspiring and established educators, leaders, and innovators, with five distinct programs to choose from and rich opportunities to personalize your study and deepen your interests.

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Postgraduate research    Finance overview    Funding    How to apply

If you are interested in the PhD in Law, or another postgraduate research course in Law, you will find it helpful to first research the course information which is published in the Course Directory on the University’s central Graduate Admissions website. Once you have checked course requirements, together with course and funding closing dates, you can apply and submit an online application form to our Postgraduate Admissions Office , which co-ordinates postgraduate admissions across the University, through the applicant portal .

Prospective applicants are warmly invited to attend the Cambridge Postgraduate Open Day .

The Faculty of Law regrets that it is unable to consider late applications.

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Father-Son Classmates Graduate From Texas A&M School of Law

David Lawson and his son Shannon naturally share many of the same qualities, like a witty sense of humor, natural curiosity and an ability to not take themselves too seriously. They recently added to the list of things they share in common – graduates of Texas A&M University’s School of Law.

The Lawsons, who earned their degrees this May, say it all began with a text message.

Shannon, 49,  was scrolling on his phone while waiting for a flight one day in 2022 when he came across an ad for the law school’s Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program with an emphasis in Cybersecurity Law and Policy . Shannon, who serves as chief information security officer for the City of Phoenix, was intrigued by the idea. Designed for non-lawyer professionals who don’t intend to practice law, the degree would give him legal expertise that would build on his background in cybersecurity.

Shannon had done cybersecurity work for the U.S. Navy, the state of Alaska and regional areas in Southern California. He and David had a combined 70 years of experience in the cybersecurity and information technology fields, and both father and son shared dreams of one day attending law school. So, Shannon texted his father.

“I always wanted to go to law school, but nothing ever aligned for me to do it,” Shannon said. “This program allowed me to tie (my degree) to cyber in a field that is high demand, low density.”

David, 75, was also attracted to the idea. He had been retired for nine years after a 45-year career in information technology. As chief information officer for West Jersey Health System and vice president of professional service at AllScript, he oversaw some of the nation’s most cutting-edge information and security systems. In retirement, David found himself dissatisfied with the slow pace of living, and still had an interest in expanding his skillset.

The father-son pair both decided to enroll in the MLS program, becoming online classmates in January 2023. Shannon did his studies from his home in Phoenix, and David from the Sarasota, Florida area.

Despite the distance, the Lawsons often shared notes and compared grades. And in the spirit of friendly competition, they pushed each other to see who could complete assignments first.

“We thought we had a clear idea of what would happen while going through this program. What ended up happening was that my dad would always be ahead of me in every class, which was understandable,” Shannon said. “I was working full-time, and I have a 10-year-old. So, my plate was full.”

For his part, David appreciated the accountability he received from Shannon. It also helped him adjust to the demands of going back to school.

“This program helped open a side of me that I always knew was there,” David said. “You’ve got to think and write, think some more, and then write some more. When you get older, people talk about the importance of exercising your mind. If you want to activate your brain, try going to law school.”

Throughout the program, the Lawsons learned new, innovative approaches to their craft. They also developed a fondness for their legal courses, particularly contract law, legal writing and alternative dispute resolution.

“The law classes were my favorite,” David said. “In my 40-plus years in the IT area, I was familiar with contracts, arbitration, negotiations and things like that. However, having taken these law classes, I am now able to better communicate with others in the room. When the attorneys talk, I now know how to talk and use the language that they understand. Just being able to speak their language is incredibly important.”

Shannon said he was also able to directly apply his new skills to his career.

“The law classes really made me more curious,” he said. “There was immediate applicability to the job that I’m in now because I work with procurement, the legal team and human resources for personnel investigations. It gave me the ability to use specific legal language to better participate in those conversations at work — which was awesome.”

For Shannon, this is his third master’s degree.

“I think it’s extra special that my dad and I were able to do it together,” he said. “I think it’s great because this opportunity doesn’t really present itself very often, and everything lined up perfectly at the right time.”

As the Lawson reflect up on their accomplishment and plan their next joint adventure, Shannon said their next venture will likely be “much tamer,” per his mother’s request.

“My mom told me to stop giving my dad ideas,” he joked.

This article by Justin Ikpo originally appeared on the School of Law website .

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