Hi! I have read conflicting information on the Oxford website regarding the length of the SOP and whether it should be one page or 300 words. I just wanted to confirm with some one what the position was? Because I know for a fact last year it was one page.

It's one page, at least for the MJur. I'm quite sure there's no difference to the BCL.

Thanks! Even I confirmed with other people applying for the BCL: it is one page and not 300 words!

Hi guys!

I have already submitted a 300-word statement for MJur, but I asked the Oxford Graduate Admissions once again for the length of the SoP for Magister Juris when I saw your discussion here. They told me that the faculty of law requires a 300-word statement as explicitely set forth in the qualitative selection criteria for MJur and BCL on its website. You might have noticed that the general application guide says "... unless otherwise stated by the department". So I think it might be better to respect their preferences.

Best wishes!

I applied and sent them a 1 1/4 statement with about 1000 words. I chose this format because it says on the website Frequently Asked Questions about Admission Law Faculty:

If you are applying for admission to the BCL, MJur, MSc Law and Finance or MSc/MPhil in Criminology and Criminal Justice, you should submit a one- or at most two-page long 'statement of purpose,' enclosed as a separate sheet at the end of your application.

After reading this post here I checked out the word document on the website Postgraduate Admissions Criteria Law Faculty, where it says 300 words.
Of course this got me confused so I wrote them an email and tell you what they'll answer.

I the meantime I checked the word document for the criteria for the MSc Law and Finance. There it says 600 words and adds in brackets "two pages". but 600 words is never two pages so maybe they just equal 300 words to one page?

last but not least they write in the word document:
"however, the personal statement generally plays a less important role in our assessment of applications than the references, written work, and academic qualifications"

So I guess we should not worry too much.

I had about 900 words, too; limited to one page. No worries then. Even if 300 is correct we won't be the only ones with more than required - due to their quite confusing information policy.

By the way: I couldn't find the statement about 300 word limit. The application guide says it should be one page (no word or font size limit but has to be readable). It is then mentioned that the department could determine a word limit. However, they refer to the course guide, in which, for the MJur, it is just stated 'statement of purpose' as a requirement - and this is linked to the application guide again. Confusing.

The exact same thing confused me too, so I emailed Ms Biese a few days ago. She confirmed that the maximum length for the statement of purpose is two pages and she didn't specify a word limit, so don't worry! Best of luck to everyone! (I'm applying for the MJur and my statement is around 1000 words as well).

EDIT: In order to be exact, here's what I asked them:

"Dear Sir/Madam, My name is X and I'm a prospective MJur student currently going through the application process. I have a a question concerning the length of the statement of purpose I must send in and I've been directed by the staff of the online support centre to pose it to you. In the FAQ part of the law website, it is stated that the statement should be two pages at the most. In the Application Guide however, it is stated that its length should not exceed one page. I fully understand the need for being concise, however, as I'm planning on specializing in several legal fields through the MJur, I fear I'll probably not be able to to adequately explain my choice of courses in just one page. On the other hand, I wouldn't like to exceed any maximum limits. Could you please enlighten me"?

and their answer: " Dear X, Thank you for your email and interest in studying law at Oxford. The personal statement can be two pages long. Kind regards, Marianne Biese".

Great, even they aren't sure. :)

LOL! In any case, they say themselves that it isn't the most important part of your application, so maybe it doesn't really matter?

Sure, but should better be stated clearly. See you in Oxf. (though it's just my 2nd choice :)). Psyfi.

Thanks for your wishes and good luck with your first choice!

what is your first choice then?

what is your first choice then?