; Latin: Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities.
Oxford claims that the BCL is "the most highly regarded taught masters-level qualification in the Common Law world".
[4] From the 1850s, the BCL could only be taken by those who had an Oxford BA, but at the end of the 19th century the course was restructured: While it was still possible for Oxford BAs to complete it in one year, graduates from other universities were also admitted to the BCL, though as a two-year taught degree course.
[5] This dual structure was still in place in the 1960s,[6] but at least since 1991, the BCL has been a one-year course both for graduates from Oxford, and elsewhere.
Around 2000, this was reshaped into a degree with the same structure and papers as the BCL, but for graduates from non-Common Law backgrounds.
The academic dress for both BCL and MJur graduates consists of the lay faculties' masters' gown with a hood of steel blue silk, half lined and bound with white rabbit fur.
; Latin: Legum Baccalaureus), before being retitled LLM in the 20th century in order to clarify its status as a postgraduate degree.
For historical reasons, Quebec has a hybrid legal system born of its French-heritage in civil law.
; Latin: Legum Licentiatus), to distinguish it from the first degree in Common Law (i.e., the LLB, now renamed JD) offered by that same university.
These bachelor's degrees in Quebec Civil Law are a first-entry degree programme which, like other first-entry university programmes in any discipline in Quebec, require a college diploma for entry.
Admission to the McGill programme can be a first-entry programme, in the case of Quebec students (30 students every year are admitted straight out of college while others still need an undergraduate degree even if they are from the Province of Québec), though it is a second-entry programme in the case of students from other provinces (as three to four years of university studies is required, effectively at least two extra years of study more than for a college diploma).
While the baccalaureate degree in Quebec Civil Law is the terminal professional degree for entry into the bar admission programme of the Barreau du Québec, a candidate for entry into the training programme of the Chambre des notaires du Québec must, after that baccalaureate degree, go on to obtain a Diploma of Notarial Law through graduate study (Diplôme de deuxième cycle en droit notarial) from Université de Montréal, Université Laval, Université d'Ottawa, or Université de Sherbrooke: requiring two semesters of full-time study.
The DCL (which was awarded as a BCL for those classes graduating in the 2003–06 academic years) reflects the 15 added credit hours of legal study in Civil Law, and comparative international law, in addition to that which is required for achieving the standard JD.
The additional course hours, which are roughly equal to one additional semester of study, are generally achieved through a combination of taking summer course offerings, on campus or abroad, as well as via one or more other available routes offered by the Law Center.