BA in Law with Law Studies in Europe Admission FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about admission to to the BA Law with Law Studies in Europe. Before reading them, please remember that you should always check the Undergraduate Prospectus for authoritative information on current admissions procedures; and the BA Jurisprudence Admission FAQs.

If I want to do an undergraduate law degree at Oxford, who do I apply to?

All applications for places on our undergraduate law degrees must be made to a college – not to the Law Faculty. Any offers of a place are made solely by the colleges: the University – and hence the Law Faculty – automatically admits candidates awarded a place by a college. This is because Oxford is a federal University: the University awards degrees, but every undergraduate student must be a member of a college, and each college decides who to admit.

Applications for the four year courses, like those for the three year course, are made to colleges, and all offers of a place are made by colleges. However, the Faculty does have more involvement in applications for the four year courses. Due to the relatively small number of places available on the four year courses, any college’s decisions to offer a place for the four year course require approval by the Faculty. The Faculty’s decisions are made as part of the general admissions process in December of each year and so there is no delay in finding out whether an application to the four year course has been successful or not. In all cases, the college, not the Faculty, will tell you whether your application has been successful.

For further information, see:
How does the college system work?

Who makes the admissions decisions?

Any offers of a place must be made by a college. The main decision is therefore made by the law tutors at the college considering your application. At each college, the law tutors are professional academics who are also lecturers in the Law Faculty. If they admit you, they will also teach you in tutorials (or organise tutorials for you at other colleges in subjects outside their expertise). In making admissions decisions, each college applies exactly the same criteria to its applicants: it is not the case that different colleges look for different types of applicant.

A Faculty panel must approve all offers of a place on any of the four year courses. The Faculty’s decisions are made as part of the general admissions process in December of each year and so there is no delay in finding out whether an application to the four year course has been successful or not. No separate interviews are held by the Faculty committee: the selection is made on the basis of the information provided by the colleges as to the candidates’ application and performance in the admissions process, together with (in the case of applicants for the French, German, Italian and Spanish options) the results of the language tests held during the interview period. In all cases, the college, not the Faculty, will tell you whether your application has been successful.

If you are not successful in this final competition for Law with Law Studies in Europe places your college may nevertheless decide to offer you a place on the regular three year Law course. As a result, you may be asked to indicate at interview whether or not you would be interested in a place on the three year Law course, should your application for the four year course not succeed. Your chances of being accepted for the four year course are unaffected by the answer you give.

List of Law Faculty members showing their college affiliations: most (except the holders of 'statutory chairs') are also college tutors.

Can I apply for more than one of the different four year courses?

If you wish to apply for a four year course, you must choose one of the courses and enter the relevant UCAS code on your UCAS form. For example, if you choose Law with French Law you must put down M191 as the course code on your UCAS form. It will then be clear that your preference is to be offered a place on that particular variant of the four year course. If you are then invited for an interview by a college, you can inform that college (either at interview or before then) that you also wish to be considered for a different version of the four year course. For example, if you inform the college that you also wish to be considered for the Law with Spanish Law course, the college can then ensure you are given an oral language test in Spanish as well as in French. And, if the Faculty panel comes to consider your application, it will consider you first as a candidate for the French Law course, and then as a candidate for the Spanish Law course. Even if you are not offered a place on either of those four year courses, you may still be offered a place on the three year Law course.

Should I study any particular subjects before applying?

At least a C grade in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent) is normally required.

Applicants for the BA in Law with Law Studies in Europe (“Course II”) are expected to demonstrate their linguistic ability of French, German, Italian or Spanish respectively (but not Dutch, because the courses in Leiden are taught in English). The required level is B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. B2 usually equates to the language level attained by students who get an A in the respective modern language at A-level.  

The language level of all Course II applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be tested (verbal and written comprehension as well as expression) as part of Oxford’s admission process in December. Therefore, studying the respective language for A Levels is advisable where available (even though the A Level prediction/qualification in the respective language is not sufficient on its own for admission to Course II). During the language assessment at Oxford in December, it is taken into account that applicants might not have reached a B2 level in all regards at that time, given that many applicants will have a few more months before graduating from school and starting their university studies the following autumn.

Compulsory, and usually bespoke, language classes and lectures on the respective foreign legal system are offered to students enrolled in Course II at Oxford, with a view to support the students’ efforts to continue improving their command of the language.

A ‘pre-departure’ language assessment (verbal and written comprehension as well as expression) will be undertaken by all Course II students during their second year at Oxford. If the language level is insufficient, the student will not be able to go abroad and will be transferred to the regular Law degree (BA in Jurisprudence or “Course I”). 

How do I get the application forms?

You need to fill in the online Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) form.  The UCAS form is all that is needed: there is no additional Oxford form.

No separate form is needed for applications to any of the four year courses – your UCAS form is the only thing we need. Please make sure to use the correct UCAS course code on the form – there is a different one for each of the different four year courses: the code for the course involving a year in the Netherlands is M190; for France it is M191; for Germany is M192; for Italy is M193; and for Spain is M194.
Go to the UCAS website