Law (Jurisprudence) at St John's College, Oxford

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]Choosing to study law was, I think, one of the easiest decisions I've made. To be honest, I've always been really fascinated by how certain subjects permeate our entire life. And I think a lot of people would tell you the law is ever present in our daily lives.

[00:00:12]>> I chose to study law because it was a mixture of all of the subjects that I really enjoyed. At a level, I never studied law, but I studied English. I really like the intricate use of language. I also studied history, and I really enjoyed the depth of analysis that you needed. And for me, law brought together all the threads from what I really loved.

[00:00:32]>> A lot of the extracurricular activities that I really enjoyed doing had to do with debate and problem solving and logic. And that's something that I found I really really enjoyed. And so naturally, I sort of looked to translate that into a career. And that's how I stumbled upon the law. The reason why I chose to study law is because it's a surprisingly very interdicciplinary subject. I feel like it's been impossible now to live a day of my life that's not been in some way permeated by what I've studied at university. And particularly the reason why I chose to study law with Spanish is because I had the opportunity to study law for the year abroad in the university abroad.

[00:01:14]And it seems to me really fascinating that I get to see how a different culture, a different society and a different history has shaped the legal system and the differences between the two in England and Spain.

[00:01:24]>> The quality of teaching at St. John's is excellent. The teaching quality definitely was what initially attracted me to St. John's. I really love the tutorial system and I really love the way in which that exposes you to diverse perspectives and I think that really is the power of the tutorial system that you have that complemented with lectures so you get to see not only your tutor's point of view but also the point of view of other academics and the faculty and it's just such an enriching experience.

[00:01:55]>> Studying law Johns is is a fantastic experience because one you have the Holtzsworth library so it's a 24/7 library that you can go to. It's got all the books you need and it's also a really nice place for lawyers to meet and discuss cases or whichever essay they've been set for that week. And also we have the Holtzsworth Law Society and we organize events for the law students that you probably wouldn't have access to at any other point in your life.

[00:02:18]>> What I like about studying at St. John's, the facilities here are amazing.

[00:02:22]I had basically everything I needed here to get me through my exams like efficiently and that was really important. The catering here is really good, too, where we have the cafe in Kendrew, which is right next to the law library. Also, where we're quite a big college with quite a lot of people, it's really good socially. What I love about studying at John's the most is the people. It's a really really lovely community of people to study with and live with.

[00:02:45]>> I think the the college community is, especially in law, it's it's a very tight-knit one. I think I've been very fortunate uh that the people I've met here in John's and the way John structures the course um really permits a very much uh interconnected and kind of free flowing communication. So it's a lucky thing to have for sure.

[00:03:02]>> The great thing about St. John's is that uh typically people tend to live in college and so you have sort of all of your friends with you throughout the course of your degree. It's just such a nice tight-knit community.

[00:03:16]>> There's so much to enjoy about St. Sean's outside academics. What I really love is how it's such a welcoming and friendly community. For example, we have karaoke every Friday evening. We also have Tommy White tea every Sunday afternoon where you can just go and chat with your friends over some free food which is always nice. And I really enjoy the way in which you also get to bond with your tutors. So, at the beginning of the year, we had a dinner with our tutors. We also had a subject dinner last term. And so there's always opportunities to build connections with people within your subject and outside of your subject.

[00:03:51]>> Um the college bar is always there in the evenings, not just for like an alcoholic drink, but also to play games.

[00:03:56]And I find that at the end of the day, a lot of people just congregate there and you haven't got to make plans.

[00:04:01]Everyone's just there. It's really good fun. We have really good facilities for sporting and gym, which I think has been really good for me. I'm not someone who was sporty before I came here. But like having those facilities available means that at the end of a stressful day, that's something I've been able to like channel my focus into, which is really lovely.

[00:04:18]>> To someone hoping to study law at St. John's, I think that the first thing they should do is probably get a feel for the law. And to that end, I think they could either read a case or there are quite a few essay competitions available. I recommend just preparing an essay for one of them. Not necessarily to win, but just to get the experience of doing legal research and reading cases and trying to synthesize that in a coherence essay.

[00:04:40]>> When you're writing your personal statement or when you're preparing for interviews, just pick a subject that you're genuinely interested in. If you pick something that you're genuinely passionate about, that will show in your application materials and of course in the interview.

[00:04:50]>> In terms of advice for people hoping to study law at St. John's, I think there are two important things to stress. The first is really get to know the legal world. So you can do that by reading articles, by listening to podcasts, and really find something that interests you. But don't just go for what you think will impress the professors. Go for something that you really feel passionate