The Cambridge MCL is a nine-month taught master's programme commencing at the beginning of October each year and ending in June the following year. It is designed for students wanting to pursue further legal studies after completing their first degree in law, catering in so doing both to those intending to practise in the area of corporate law and to those considering an academic career. The MCL has been structured so as to combine academic rigour with a diverse and flexible curriculum, enabling each student to tailor their MCL course selection to their own specific requirements.
MCL students take a combination of full-year courses and one-term modules during the academic year. All students take the compulsory full-year MCL-specific Deals course, which focuses on the legal and economic structuring of corporate transactions. They also choose one full-year LLM paper from a selection of corporate papers on offer to MCL students (possible examples include Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance and International Financial Law). In conjunction with the full-year papers, students take four one-term MCL-specific modules, usually two in the Michaelmas Term and two in the Lent Term. The modules enable students to conduct a more detailed study of certain specialist areas of corporate law, such as shareholder litigation, international merger control and the law firm as business, than a general master's degree can offer.
Learning Outcomes
Prior to starting the course, MCL students are expected to be familiar with corporate law and to be motivated to develop their expertise in this challenging area. Students who take the MCL should leave with a much-enriched understanding of the topic. They will learn about areas of corporate law with which they were not previously familiar, will have an opportunity to reflect upon the theoretical and policy implications of the topic and will be challenged to think about the practical aspects of the subject in an academically rigorous manner.
Continuing
A number of students wish to pursue further advanced legal studies after completing the MCL. Cambridge offers various research degrees. Students wishing to continue their studies at Cambridge by undertaking a research degree in law should apply for their chosen course through the University's Postgraduate Admissions Office by the relevant deadline.
The Postgraduate Research page on the Faculty of Law website contains information about the research courses available.
Open Days
The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day provides a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the Postgraduate Open Day page for more details.
The next Postgraduate Open Day will take place virtually on the University of Cambridge Virtual Tour platform.