GDay,

I have offers from UCL, Kings and LSE.

I was thinking about it and UCL looks great, even better than Oxford (still waiting to hear from Oxford).

It is ranked 9th in the world by the Times Higher Education Supp 2007 - UK. I also know some people who have been rejected from UCL, but could get into the other London schools like Kings and LSE must be selective (especially requiring a first or good upper second class hons degree as minimum). It also ranks as the #2 law faculty in the UK in the 2008 Times Law School rankings (UK), behind Cambridge.

On an examination of UCL, I see such names as: Eric Barendt, Ronald Dworkin QC and Philippe Sands QC. Bentham also comes to mind. I studied these theorists in undergraduate law!

I have researched it extensively and would put UCL head and shoulders above LSE and Kings. Probably on par with Oxbridge given the quality of the Faculty and links with firms in London.

While it appears I have made up my mind, it would be great to hear some opinions.

Thanks

Your choice ultimately depends on what you intend to specialise in. If UCL offers the LLM speciality you wish to pursue - then go there (for legal theory or WTO/trade law UCL has to be your top choice). But otherwise don't use ranking (which are not relied upon very heavily) and big academic names (who probably won't teach you...especially Bentham :)) to sway your decision too much.

I wouldn't say UCL is head and shoulders above KCL or LSE - unless you are looking specifically at studying legal theory. Also I wouldn't place UCL on par with Oxbridge - sorry! After Oxbridge, UCL falls in the second tier of top universities along with KCL and LSE - although they all form part of the 'golden triangle'.

I would suggest visiting the colleges (if this is practical) and getting a feel for them.

Thanks, its all a matter of opinion I guess. Well, that's the thing, those names will in fact be teaching my selected courses. And WTO law is my game

Decisions decisions.

Many congratulations Bakala! I have been offered place by UCL and I have been put on the waiting list by LSE. I personally prefer LSE to UCL. So if I am offered place by LSE I will go there. As far as I know it is believed as easier to be accepted by UCL and KCL than by LSE. I know people who were accepted by UCL and KCL but not by LSE and also people who were astonishingly accepted by UCL what I would never dare to believe. (selection procedure is in my opinion one big lottery) As regards subjects I am interested in - lecturers from LSE seem to me better. But this is just my comment. Generally I do not think there are any essential differences between LSE, UCL, KCL but still feeling that LSE is recognized a bit better. Take care!

Dear Banker,

If you don;'t mind telling me - what date did you submit your application to LSE?

thanks.

everyone knows lse is a lot better. Having been to both law schools i think i am in a good position to compare. Rankings vary a lot so I wouldnt worry about them too much. Also should say you will certainly npt be taught by the teachers you mentioned. Ronald Dworkin is only there for a week or two in January and is at NYU the rest of the time. He certainly would teach you..though you get attend the open public colloquim session. Benthem wont teach you as he is obviously dead. Phillip Sands was on sabbatical this year and you may have some lectures by him if he is back.
UCL should really make this stuff clearer or their website because it really does mislead people. its a good school but i personally would say lse has a much stronger law department, unless of couse you want to do a Masters in Jurisprudence for which ucl is good.

I choosed Kings last year (had offers from LSE and UCL) and have to say that I don't have any complaint on the level of teaching. Yes there are soem administrative issues, but in terms of teaching it's fine (international finance).

You have to look very carefully on ACADEMICS which matters a lot!!!

Good luck

yes, i am leaning towards king's again.... subjects are more appealing and it just seems more appropriate for me

I have applied on 1 February 2008 to LLM program with UCL, KCL and LSE.

YES, I know that it supposed to be late... but all of the named universities proceeded my applications quite shortly and currently I am under consideration

Does anybody know:

(i) if UCL wrote the official letter and stated that they will make their decision on me by 11 March 2008, is it REALLY possible?.. I was surprised that they stated the term of 5 weeks and proceeded my application so shortly. Is it their standard reply? as i supposed it would take UCL up to 10 weeks (like LSE) to get the decision as I have applied quite late...

(ii) during what period of time does KCL usually response?


Thanks all of you for replies and/or comments (if any :)

Bakala, congrats regarding the offer from UCL! I did make quite a research of the schools in London myself and must say my opinion meets yours at this point - UCL does seem to be the best in general. I'll see you there in September ;)

Short comments on others (my personal opinion after research):
(i) LSE - has the best name;
(ii) Oxbridge - very good but "oldschool". Perfect for academic-wanna-be's;
(iii) King's - kind of 3rd in London. Best at competition law though;
(iv) QMC - may be considered as your choice if you're opting for commercial law studies (strong Commercial Law Centre).

Btw, does anyone have an idea how are Banking and Finance Law related subjects at UCL?

Thank you for your answers

JS

Hi Justin, I am interested in Banking & Financial law as well. I applied to both LSE and UCL. I have been accepted by UCL and still waiting for LSE. I rate LSE slightly better in this field of law over UCL. LSE offers more subjects in this field and managed to obtain the best teachers. On the other hand subject Aspects of International Finance at UCL is said to be the best and most popular subject in this area taught in London. So it is tough decision. Anyway I guess both schools are of the top quality. If not accepted by LSE I will do not hesitate and go to UCL.

bakal, if you are an international student who does not necessarily intend to remain in the UK indefinately, i believe there are two factors to consider. firstly, obviously which institution offers the best LLM in regards to which field you wish to specialise in and secondly, the international reputation and ranking of the university.

In regards to the second point, UCL is by far the best university, ranked amongst the top ten universities in the world, whilst LSE merely got a 56th place in the lastest rankings.

Furthermore I have been to LSE and the atmosphere is very pretentious and both lecturers and students think very highly of themselves, which they have not got any more reason to do than the alumni of UCL and Kings.

I don't know for sure but my personal feelings have been that LSE > King's > UCL/QMC/...

You guys are saying other stuff so I'm not sure any more. I've been admitted to LSE and Kings. Let's say I also get into UCL, what is best for corporate and financial law?

For corporate and financial law (especially banking and finance), a prospective student who has gained admission to these three law schools may consider them in the following order of preference:

1. London School of Economics
2. University College London
3. King's College London

Thanks man :)

Hi,

Having been to UCL for a LLM I would agree with the sentiment of choosing based on specific academic area. However, UCL is suprising good at most things, and you do get taught by the 'big names,' a lot of the time in small classes (unless you're doing big commercial legal subjects like banking or company law). I reckon this probably sets the UCL LLM apart a little bit, the staff really appreciate you getting involved and your academic input - which in turn makes it easy to get high marks, because you are geniunely interested in the subject.

I would strongly recommend UCL in these areas:

EU competition
EU public law
UK public law
Public international law
Environmental Law
Maritime Law
Legal theory

In some of these areas I think UCL is the best in the country, or at least the LLM is the best for the student in country.

However, I'm sure its good in other areas as well, but these are the ones I know it is very good.

Obviously I didn't study all of these, I knew through friends, which brings me on to another point; I made a lot of good friends among the LLMers, st they kind of all get to know each other. This I believe doesn't happen so easily at LSE (don't know about KCL).

Finally, if your interested in human rights there's a strong student led HR society that's growing rapidly and was a product of "proactive" LLMers last year. (not me, + I hate the word proactive too, so sorry)

I hope that helps!

Does everyone know what school is the best in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution?? or what school in the UK is best in this field.

Thank You

Does everyone know what school is the best in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution?? or what school in the UK is best in this field.

Thank You

Reading this in 2011, I think this particular thread is just great advise. Now I'm looking to do Public International Law. I've got into KCL, Edinburgh, QM, SOAS, Aberdeen and Bristol. I want to go to a ranked place with a good program. That leaves me with KCL, Edinburgh and SOAS. Bristol doesn't seem to have that much of an international reputation. What's your view?

From that list I would consider Bristol, Edin and Kings but I would personally take Bristol.