The Best Law Universities in the UK

The distinguished entrance to one of Oxford's colleges

The 2010 law school rankings were consolidated from two surveys, The Complete University Guide and Times Online's Good University Guide. While the two surveys disagreed with ranking order, five universities were consistently at the top of both surveys.

The Complete University Guide's ranking criteria are student satisfaction, research assessment, entry standards and graduate prospects. Times Online's Good University Guide's ranking criteria are research quality, entry standards, a national student survey and graduate prospects.

Oxford

The University of Oxford has over 20,000 students, including 8,701 postgraduates. Under the Times Online's Good University Guide, Oxford is given an 87 percent for graduate prospects and ranks No. 2 overall within UK law schools. The faculty of law at the University of Oxford has courses including commercial law, comparative law, criminal law, environmental law and human rights law.

The Faculty of Law, University of Oxford
St. Cross Building
St. Cross Rd.
Oxford OX1 3UL
United Kingdom
[phone]
law.ox.ac.uk

Cambridge

Law has been studied in the halls of Cambridge since the 13th century. It currently has approximately 700 undergraduate law students, 125 LL.M. students and 100 graduate research students. Education UK under the British Council writes that "Cambridge is a fascinating mix: an historic medieval town that is the birthplace of some of the most recent scientific advances." Times Online ranks Cambridge No. 1 in their 2010 Good University Guide for Law schools, receiving 90 percent and 94 percent in their national student survey and graduate prospects, respectively.

The Faculty of Law
Cambridge University
10 West Rd.
Cambridge CB3 9DZ
United Kingdom
[phone]
law.cam.ac.uk

London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly known as LSE was founded in 1895. Education UK notes that the LSE has had 15 Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former staff. Education UK also notes that 69 percent of students come from outside the UK, making LSE's education "truly international, both in and out of the classroom."

LSE
Houghton St.
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
[phone]
lse.ac.uk

Nottingham

The University of Nottingham opened in 1881 as a civic college. In 1948 it became the University of Nottingham. It has several campuses within the UK and others abroad in Malaysia and China. In its Nottingham campus, the student population is just over 32,000.

The School of Law has a student population of 900, with 40 full-time academic staff. Under the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the University of Nottingham is ranked fourth in law schools in the UK and receives an overall score of 94.6 percent in The Complete University Guide 2010.

The University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham NG7 2RD
United Kingdom
[phone]
nottingham.ac.uk

University College London

The University College London (UCL) is ranked number one in The Complete University Guide 2010. It scores 92 percent in graduate prospects and receives an overall score of 100 percent. The Sunday Times calls the University of College London as "an intellectual powerhouse with a world class reputation." UCL's Faculty of Laws is ranked joint first in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. UCL has 55 faculty members and approximately 840 students comprising of undergraduate, graduate and research students.

Faculty of Laws, UCL
Bentham House
Endsleigh Gardens
London WC1H 0EG
United Kingdom
[phone]
ucl.ac.uk

References

• The Complete University Guide; Law 2010
• Times Online Good University Guide; Law 2010
• University of Oxford: Faculty of Law
• University of Cambridge: Faculty of Law
• London School of Economics: Department of Law

Resources

• The University of Nottingham School of Law
• University of College London Faculty of Laws
• Research Assessment Exercise 2008