Directors of Studies:

Parts 1A & 1B, Erasmus and LLM: Dr James Edwards

Part 2: Dr Sarah Steele

Junior Research Fellow in Law: Dr Jason Varuhas

Number of students admitted each year: 6 - 8

Christ's Law Website: http://www.srcf.ucam.org/cclaw/

University Law Website: http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/

A Day in the Life of a Christ's First Year Lawyer (opens in new window)
A Day in the Life of a Christ's Third Year Lawyer (opens in new window)

Introduction: Studying Law

Christ's College provides a first-rate opportunity to study law in a rigorous and collaborative setting. Its diverse student body is drawn from across the nation and around the world, and it boasts an extensive network of distinguished alumni. There are about 35 law students resident at any one time, forming an ideally-sized, friendly and diverse community. Upon graduating, Christ's lawyers have gone on into many walks of life - especially, but by no means only, the legal profession. The law degree is neither necessary nor sufficient for legal practice, and at Cambridge law is treated as an intellectual discipline rather than a vocational training course.

Law students at Christ's have access to exceptional resources, both academic and social. The College offers a well-stocked, separate law library, and a flourishing student-run law society.   We welcome you and invite you to explore Christ's through our website.

Law at Cambridge University

The Cambridge Law Faculty today is one of the largest and most prestigious in the country.  It is internationally renowned for its academics and their research.  The Faculty is unrivalled in the fields of public international law, criminology and English legal history in particular, but offers strong coverage of the entire range of graduate and undergraduate course options.

The Faculty possesses an internationally important research library, the Squire Law Library, with its vast range of materials on open access for all students to use.  The Faculty and the Squire are both housed in a stunning modern building designed by Norman Foster and Partners (1995), about 15 minutes' walk from Christ's, with a further adjacent building for the Institute of Criminology.  The Faculty's building provides an inspiring environment for study, and is much envied (and indeed, utilized) by students from other faculties for its airy and well-lit work spaces and extensive computing facilities.

Students take four subjects in their first year for Part IA: criminal law, constitutional law, law of tort and civil (Roman) law. In the second year five subjects are studied for Part IB. The range of subjects on offer is wide - from family law to international law. Most students take land law and contract law. In Part 2, students can study five subjects, or six if they select 'half papers', across an even wider range of subjects, with the option of writing a 12,000 word dissertation in areas of law where a seminar course is offered.

The Faculty invites second year undergraduates to apply to take part in the study abroad Erasmus scheme, at partner universities in Poitiers (France), Utrecht (Netherlands), Regensburg (Germany), and the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain). Successful students spend a year studying abroad, before returning for their final year in Cambridge. No separate application is needed for these courses when applying for entry to read law at Cambridge.

Teaching at Cambridge is divided between lectures delivered in the Faculty of Law, and small-group supervisions (of 2-5 students) given at or arranged by the undergraduate's college.  Assessment is by examinations at the end of each year.

More information about the Faculty and law curriculum may be found on the Faculty's comprehensive website.

Law at Christ's College

Colleges are responsible for the selection and admission of undergraduates, as well as the provision of social facilities such as accommodation, and ongoing personal and academic support. Every College has one or more Directors of Studies in Law, part of whose job is to advise students in their choice of subjects and to arrange supervisions for them. Supervisions are tutorial teaching sessions in small groups, and are one of the major advantages of a Cambridge education, providing individually tailored help and tuition. The current Directors of Studies at Christ’s are Sarah Louise Steele and James Edwards.

Sarah Louise Steele

Sarah read Law at the Flinders University of South Australia and completed a Masters in International Studies before completing a DPhil in Law at University of Oxford, where she examined men in the United States' anti-human trafficking context. She researches the interaction between law, victimhood, and gender. Sarah is interested specifically in the constructing of men and masculinities in and through cross-border criminal regulations. Her work considers Othering, as well as gender discrimination, and makes policy-relevant suggestions regarding new ways to formulate and speak about transnational crimes like trafficking.

Sarah currently teaches Criminal Law; Criminology, Sentencing and the Penal System; and Ethics in World Politics. She has worked as a lecturer and researcher for universities in the UK, Australia and USA in Criminology, Politics, Law, and International Relations.

James Edwards

James began his legal education at Christ’s, before moving to Oxford for the BCL and then the DPhil. His doctoral thesis explores the moral limits of the criminal law: it askes whether there are some things we cannot justifiably criminalize, on account of the injustice this will cause, or the damage it will do to the rule of law.

James is interested in most areas of political and legal philosophy. He is currently working on the question of what justifies criminalization. Is criminalization only justified if it has good effects? If so, which effects count? Must criminalization prevent harm, or is it enough that it prevents people committing harmless moral wrongs? Alternatively, might criminalization be justified even if did not produce such effects? Might criminalization be justified because it conveys disapproval of certain wrongs, and because this disapproval is sometimes worth conveying in its own right? Or might criminalization be justified because it enables the state to punish wrongdoers, and because punishing wrongdoers is valuable in its own right? James hopes to make progress in answering these questions as his work progresses.

James teaches jurisprudence, criminal law and constitutional law. Prior to his appointment, James taught public international law at Cambridge, and criminal law at Oxford.

Mooting at Christ's

All law students at Christ's have the opportunity to participate in mooting. In recent years, Christ's undergraduates have been very successful in mooting and all first years are required to participate in the college moot in Michaelmas Term.

A moot is a simulated court case, in which the participants are presented with a set of facts and then have to make submissions about how the law should apply to those facts like barristers in front of a "judge".  Moots raise questions of law rather than questions of fact - cross-examination of witnesses as in a "mock trial" is not required!  The activity hones a number of important skills, such as public speaking, legal research and the ability to think on one's feet.

In recent years, Christ's College has been able to offer sixth formers from schools in our link areas the opportunity to participate in a moot, with the assistance of Christ's students and Fellows. The participants were selected on the basis of their academic achievements to date, future potential, and interest in studying the law, or an arts subject at degree level.

As well as getting a taste of an activity that most students do not get a chance to participate in prior to coming to university, the sixth formers had the opportunity throughout the day to talk to Christ’s undergraduates about what it is like to study in Cambridge. They were also given a brief introduction to the University’s Law course by Dr Edwards, and had the chance to ask the Director of Admissions more general admissions questions.

Some feedback from the particapating sixth formers can be found here.

Christ's College Law Society

The law students at Christ's have an active society run by officers annually elected from among the current undergraduates.  Among many others, annual events include: a party for the new undergraduates in October, a dinner at the end of Michaelmas Term, the black-tie Annual Dinner in January, an informal dinner at the end of Lent Term, and finally a garden party in June featuring strawberries, cream and Pimms to celebrate the end of the academic year. The society regulary invites solicitors, barristers and others whose work interacts with law to give talks in college throughout the year.

College Facilities

Christ's offers strong tutorial support to its students as they pursue their academic work, and is able to offer accommodation for all three years to all of its undergraduates. The College also provides a modern library including a specialist Law Library, a theatre, sporting facilities including a fitness room, playing fields, social activities and numerous clubs and societies open to all.

How to Apply

In addition to nominating Cambridge as one of your selected universities on the UCAS application form, you also need to decide between choosing a College and making an Open Application (allowing a College preference to be chosen for you by computer). This can appear to add to the complexity of applying to Cambridge, but in reality the option of stating your particular College preference increases the control which you have over your own application. Many criteria can be used for choosing a College of preference, including such factors as location, architecture and accommodation, and academic, musical or sporting reputation. If you are able to visit Cambridge (preferably on a College Open Day) you may get a better idea of the location, atmosphere and facilities of various Colleges.

Christ's College does not have fixed quotas of places for different subjects and the exact numbers admitted in any one year will depend upon the strengths of the fields of applicants in various subjects. However, Christ's aim is to admit around 6 to 8 students each year in Law. Details of how to apply can be found on the Faculty of Law website or on the College website under Admissions.

Interviews are held in November and December: applicants will have two interviews at Christ's.  No special preparation is needed for the interview, and in particular, no special knowledge of law will be expected.  The process aims to identify aptitude and potential for legal reasoning and study at Cambridge, rather than existing knowledge. Students invited for interview will also be asked to sit the Law Test, details of which can be found on the Faculty's website.

Entry requirements are likely to be A*AA at A-level, or equivalent grades in other systems, although the precise terms of each offer are assessed individually. A final point worth making is that we only make offers that we believe candidates have a realistic chance of achieving. Our aim is to admit the best students regardless of their background.

Information about deadlines and further details about applying can be found on the University's Admissions pages.

Further Information

If you are able to come to a College Open Day, we will be glad to tell you more about the College and the course in person. If you are not able to come, we will be happy to answer any queries you may have that are not covered by the normal literature. Please address any such enquiries to the Director of Admissions, Christ's College, Cambridge, CB2 3BU, or by e-mail to admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk