Program Overview

Master of Corporate Law (MCL) Program

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 to both those intending to practise in the area of corporate law and to those considering an academic career.

Program Structure

The MCL has been structured 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, such as:

• Corporate Finance
• Corporate Governance
• 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 activism
• International merger control
• The law firm as business

Competence Standards

Competence standards are set for the MCL to identify the competences and abilities that students are required to demonstrate in order to successfully complete a programme of study. The competence standards relating to MCL courses are available on the Faculty of Law website. Please note there are distinct competence standards for MCL modules and for Deals because of the different methods of assessment.

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 Studies

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.

Program Details

• Duration: 9 months full-time
• Study Mode: Taught
• Faculty: Faculty of Law
• Course Type: Master of Corporate Law

Key Dates

• Applications Open: September 3, 2025
• Application Deadline: January 7, 2026
• Course Starts: October 1, 2026
• Funding Deadline: January 7, 2026 (Course Funding Deadline), October 15, 2025 (Gates Cambridge US round only)

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