You don’t need to study law at University to become a lawyer.
That may sound nonsensical and that we are talking ourselves out of our jobs, but it’s true.
Many successful, and high-profile, lawyers did not study law as their degree. So why study law? Well, that’s where the magic happens. Studying law at Cambridge is a unique experience where you combine the theoretical side of the subject as a pure academic discipline, with a fulsome understanding of its pertinence and quintessence in everyday life and wider civilisation. You will be taught by some of the foremost scholars in their fields, and develop a profound understanding of law and its place in society. No, you do not need law, but, if it is a subject that fascinates you, you will find law both rewarding and meaningful.
Full course details are provided on the Faculty’s Prospective Undergraduates webpage and the University’s Undergraduate Study webpage.
Law at Churchill
Although your lectures will be held centrally at Cambridge’s Faculty of Law, your community will be Churchill. Churchill has had a storied history with law, and we host a thriving group of undergraduate and postgraduate students. With Fellows spanning a diverse range of interests from company law and tax, to philosophy and jurisprudence, Churchill provides a welcoming environment for its lawyers. We are immensely proud of the considerable accomplishments of our lawyers whilst studying at Cambridge, but, above all, the College is a place for our law students to relish the subject, enjoy their time as students, and fulfil their potentials.
As part of Churchill law, you will be automatically enrolled as a member of the Churchill Law Society – a student-run body which brings our law community together, providing informal mentoring and regular organised events. In particular, the Society arranges frequent engagements and dinners with law firms, and the Law Society Dinner is always a highlight of the year.
A degree in law can lead to a variety of careers in the legal profession and elsewhere. Churchill law alumni have succeeded in numerous spheres, with successful barristers and law firm partners, and a current Supreme Court Justice. You can read more about a selection of our alumni here. Whatever your future direction, a Cambridge law degree will serve you well, and equip you with a diverse range of skills to navigate the professional world. Unique amongst Cambridge Colleges, Churchill’s Director of Studies is a former partner of one of the most prestigious global law firms, and can give salient career guidance. The University also provides an extensive careers guidance service for those pursuing a career in law or other disciplines.
Undergraduate Admissions
To find out about admissions, go to undergraduate applications.
Entry Requirements
Course-specific information, including the University’s typical offers and the attainment level of the University’s typical entrants, is available by selecting your course from the University’s Course List then looking at the Entry Requirements tab. Academic offer conditions can vary by College so if you want to apply to Churchill then check out our entries in the by-College list of entry requirements that’s available on the same tab. The University’s Entrance Requirements and International Entry Requirements webpages may contain guidance relevant to you too.
You can learn more about the academic profiles of Churchill entrants and our approach to setting conditional offers on our undergraduate applications page.
Admissions Assessment
All Law applicants are required to take a written assessment before shortlisting for interview. There’s more information on and linked from the University’s Admissions Assessments webpage.
Interview
The role of academic interviews in Churchill’s admissions process is explained on our interviews page. Our interviewers will be looking for evidence of enthusiasm for and a potential for aptitude in the subjects covered by the Law Tripos.
Postgraduate Admissions
Churchill welcomes LLM, MCL and PhD law students to the College, who become an integral part of Churchill’s law and graduate community. We encourage our postgraduate students to participate in Churchill Law Society events, and to play a vibrant role in the College alongside our undergraduate law students. Postgraduate students are admitted centrally by the University’s Postgraduate Admissions Office (PAO), and you must apply to PAO rather than the College. You can indicate Churchill College as being your College of preference on your application form. Further details are outlined for each relevant course here.
