Jurica
Three chapters, built from primary admissions data.
About three Home applicants in ten receive an offer for Law at Durham, against four in five overseas applicants. Using Durham’s own tables and its replies to Freedom of Information requests, this chapter shows you how many people apply, how that has changed since 2020 and how Law compares with Durham’s other courses.
Put what you’ve read into practice with a free diagnostic test and a full LNAT mock exam.
Try Jurica for freeIn the 2024/25 admissions cycle (for entry in 2025), Durham Law received 1,770 applications from Home applicants and made 540 of them an offer for Law, an offer rate of 31%.[1] Overseas and EU applicants were treated very differently: 865 of their 1,085 applications received an offer, 80%. The 2024/25 cycle is the most recent one for which Durham has published figures.
Note that Durham recruits the two groups in separate streams, with separate targets, and says so on its table.[1] A combined offer rate for Law (1,405 offers from 2,855 applications, or 49%) therefore describes no real applicant. If you pay Home fees, the figure that applies to you is 31%; if you pay overseas fees, it is 80%. Durham also offered a different course to 25 Home and 45 overseas Law applicants (a “referral” offer, made when Durham cannot offer the course you applied for but thinks you would suit another one).[1][2] Those offers are not offers for Law, so we leave them out of the rates on this page.
Durham’s replies to Freedom of Information requests give a slightly different count for the same cycle: 2,970 applications (1,825 Home and 1,145 international) and 1,500 offers for the course M101, an offer rate of 50.5%.[4][5] The two sources count in different ways (the table counts the Law department’s applications after referrals, the FOI reply counts one course code), and Durham has not explained the difference. In general we use the table for Home and overseas rates and the FOI replies for LNAT scores, since each is the only source for its own figures.
Before going further, it is worth being clear about what these figures can and cannot tell you. They describe every applicant, including many whose predicted grades or LNAT scores made an offer unlikely from the start, and Durham itself warns that they do not show how many applicants met the entry criteria.[6] Your own chances depend far more on your grades, your LNAT result and your personal statement, which we cover in the next two chapters.
For Home applicants it has. Home applications to Law rose from 1,300 in the 2020/21 cycle to 1,770 in 2024/25, but Durham made between 445 and 570 Home offers a year throughout, so the Home offer rate fell from 34% to 31% (after a high of 40% in 2022/23).[7][8][9][1] Overseas applicants saw the opposite: their offer rate rose from 61% to 80%.
Durham has published its applications table for four cycles: 2020/21, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25. We have found no table for 2021/22, and only the latest is still on Durham’s website (the others survive as archived copies).[6] The chart above shows that applications grew in both streams, by about a third in each. The next chart shows what happened to the offer rates.
| Year of entry | Home applications | Home offers | Home offer rate | Overseas applications | Overseas offers | Overseas offer rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,300 | 445 | 34% | 810 | 500 | 61% |
| 2023 | 1,435 | 570 | 40% | 835 | 565 | 68% |
| 2024 | 1,535 | 540 | 35% | 960 | 745 | 78% |
| 2025 | 1,770 | 540 | 31% | 1,085 | 865 | 80% |
There are three things to notice here:
Durham’s FOI replies, which count all fee statuses together for the course M101, point the same way over a longer period. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, 64% to 65% of M101 applications received an offer.[10] In the 2019-20 cycle it was 1,390 offers from 2,235 applications (62%), in 2020/21 1,025 from 2,025 (51%) and in 2024/25 1,500 from 2,970 (50.5%).[11][12][4] As you can see, the share of applicants who receive an offer has fallen by about a quarter in a decade.
Law is one of the hardest courses to get into at Durham. In 2024/25 it received more Home applications than any other department (1,770), and only the Foundation Centre (26%) had a lower Home offer rate than Law’s 31%. Across the whole University, 74% of Home applications received an offer for the course applied to.[1]
For example, Engineering offered places to 90% of its 1,205 Home applicants, and 23 of Durham’s 35 departments offered a place to at least 85% of theirs.[1] The courses closest to Law were Accounting and Finance/Management (32%), Computer Science (36%) and Finance (43%). Durham itself says that these figures vary from year to year but give an idea of how competitive each department is.[6]
Note also that Durham does not interview for Law (the only course with a compulsory interview is Primary Education).[13] There is no shortlist stage, so the 31% Home offer rate is the share of all Home applicants who receive an offer. This makes it hard to compare directly with Oxford or Cambridge, where every offer follows an interview.
In 2025, 435 students started the course, counted at Durham’s December census. Of these, 340 had held a standard offer and 95 a contextual or other reduced offer.[5] That is the largest intake we have a figure for: 390 students started in 2021 (including 25 who had deferred from the year before), and 292, 299 and 305 in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.[12][10]
Durham also published “places available” for Law in two cycles. For 2020 entry there were 149 Home and EU places and 84 overseas places, about 9 applications for each place in both groups; for 2021 entry there were 127 Home places (10.2 applications a place) and 94 overseas places (8.6 a place).[14][15] Note that these places are a target set before results day, and Durham says some departments enrol more. In 2021 the target was 221 places, and 390 students started.[15][12]
Of the first-years in 2016-17 to 2018-19, between 55% and 61% were UK-domiciled.[10] Durham has not given the split for later years. For applicants we do have one: in the 2024/25 cycle, 1,825 of the 2,970 applications (61%) came from Home applicants and 1,145 from international ones.[5]
Durham has never published Law figures by background. The only applicant figures it has released by ethnicity, deprivation and sex are for the whole University in 2018-19, for UK-domiciled applicants: 71.5% of their 19,950 applications received an offer, and the rate varied by under eight points between groups.[16]
The chart shows two things. First, offer rates were close across the deprivation groups: 69.1% for applicants from the two most deprived fifths of areas (EIMD quintiles 1 and 2) and 72.0% for the rest. The difference in acceptance rates was larger (14.9% against 18.3%), which reflects how many applicants accepted Durham’s offer as well as how many received one.[16] Second, female applicants received offers more often than male applicants (75.4% against 67.7%). Whether either pattern holds for Law is not known.
Note that the Office for Students required applications data like this only once, for 2018-19; Durham’s later transparency returns report degree results alone.[17] The share of graduates with a 2:1 or above is shown below. It describes students at the end of their degree, so it tells you about Durham’s student body rather than about admissions.
| Characteristic | Group | 2017-18 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | White | 94% | 96% | 96% | 95% |
| Ethnicity | Ethnic minorities | 91% | 94% | 95% | 93% |
| Deprivation | EIMD quintiles 1 and 2 (most deprived) | 89% | 94% | 92% | 89% |
| Deprivation | EIMD quintiles 3 to 5 | 94% | 97% | 97% | 96% |
| Sex | Female | 95.3% | 97.2% | 97.7% | 96.8% |
| Sex | Male | 91.3% | 94.9% | 94.5% | 92.1% |
As you can see, the share was between 89% and 97.7% for every group in every year, and the gap between the most and least deprived groups was 5, 3, 5 and 7 points.[17] These figures cover all Durham courses.
If you have been eligible for free school meals, or you meet two of Durham’s other criteria, look at the contextual offer. For Law it is AAB, two grades below the standard A*AA.[3] Durham assesses every Home applicant for it automatically, so there is nothing separate to apply for.[18] The Grades chapter explains who is eligible.
No. Durham’s colleges do not choose their students: offers are made centrally, to criteria agreed with the Law School, and you rank the colleges only after you have received an offer.[19][20] There are 17 colleges, 16 of them open to undergraduates (Ustinov takes postgraduates only), and you may rank up to 16 of them.[20]
This is the main difference from Oxford and Cambridge, where a college reads your application and makes the offer. At Durham your college is where you live and belong socially, and it plays no part in the decision on your application. We therefore recommend that you leave the choice until you hold an offer, and then choose on location, size, catering and cost.
Older figures show that colleges used to be recorded on applications. A reply about 2012 and 2013 entry gives international applicants and entrants to Law at each college:[21]
| College | Applicants for 2012 | Entrants in 2012 | Applicants for 2013 | Entrants in 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collingwood | 19 | 16 | 13 | <5 |
| Grey | 21 | 6 | 8 | 5 |
| Hatfield | 14 | <5 | 14 | <5 |
| Josephine Butler | 36 | <5 | 16 | <5 |
| St Aidan’s | 8 | 6 | 15 | <5 |
| St Chad’s | 38 | 8 | 13 | <5 |
| St Cuthbert’s Society | 29 | <5 | 19 | <5 |
| St Hild and St Bede | 58 | 7 | 12 | <5 |
| St John’s | <5 | 0 | 6 | <5 |
| St Mary’s | 18 | 6 | 21 | 7 |
| Trevelyan | 44 | 14 | 5 | <5 |
| University | 5 | <5 | 14 | <5 |
| Van Mildert | 26 | <5 | 14 | <5 |
Note that this describes a system that no longer exists, since colleges are now ranked only after an offer.[20] We include it for completeness and do not recommend drawing any conclusion from it.
Nothing yet. Durham has published its applications table each spring for the cycle before (the 2024/25 file was created in March 2026), so a table for the 2025/26 cycle (2026 entry) is not expected before early 2027.[6] In February 2026 Durham also declined to give LNAT figures for 2025/26, because that cycle was still in progress.[4]
The Office for Students asked providers to publish degree results by background for 2023-24 and 2024-25 graduates by 8 May 2026.[22] When we last checked, Durham’s statistics page still listed nothing later than its 2023 report.[6] We will add both sets of figures to this guide when they appear.
Every numerical claim above ends in a [n] superscript that links here. Click any link to open the primary published source from which the figure was retrieved.
Department-by-department applications, offers for the course applied to and offers of an alternative course, on separate Home/Islands and Overseas/EU pages, for the 2024/25 cycle (2025 entry). Law: Home/Islands 1,770 applications and 540 offers (31%), with 25 alternative offers; Overseas/EU 1,085 applications and 865 offers (80%), with 45 alternative offers. All departments: Home/Islands 74%, Overseas/EU 83%. Counts are rounded by the HESA method and percentages are calculated before rounding; the University notes that it has separate recruitment streams for Home/Islands and Overseas/EU students. Linked from Durham’s Undergraduate Admissions Statistics page as "2025 Entry".
Applications are read by admissions selectors, who look at the whole application. Durham may offer a different course instead (a referral offer). On-time applicants should hear by the end of March.
Course page for September 2027 entry (UCAS code M101, institution code D86). Standard offer A*AA; contextual offer AAB; IB 37 with 766 at Higher Level (38 with 666 up to 2026 entry); BTEC D*DD. The LNAT is required: both parts are always considered, no minimum multiple-choice score is required, and performance in the LNAT may be used to distinguish between otherwise similar candidates. Lists six things selectors look for in the essay. No required A-level subjects and no GCSE requirement for Law. Deferred entry only in exceptional circumstances. Graduates hold a Qualifying Law Degree.
Reply to Rachel Chan’s request of 1 February 2026, for M101 and the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 cycles. Average Section A score: applicants 23.9, 25.1 and 23.8; offer holders 26.0, 26.3 and 24.9. Offer holders by score band (rounded to the nearest 5): 11 to 20, 150, 125 and 295; 21 to 30, 740, 845 and 815; 31 to 42, 185, 220 and 220; 10 and below, fewer than 5 each year. 2,970 applications and 1,500 offers in the 2024/25 cycle. The essay is not marked and does not contribute to the score. Only applicants whose LNAT result could be matched by UCAS Personal ID are counted, and the 2025/26 cycle was not provided because it was still in progress.
Reply to F Ogunfemi’s request of 21 September 2026, for the 2024/25 cycle (2025 entry), rounded to the nearest 5. 2,970 applications (1,825 Home, 1,145 international), 1,500 offers and 435 entrants at the 1 December census, of whom 340 entered on a standard offer and 95 on a contextual or other reduced offer. 590 contextual applicants and 245 contextual offers, under the 2024/25 rules (free school meals, or two of POLAR4 quintile 1 or 2, ACORN 5 or 6, a UK state school, care experience, estrangement); the counts include Sutton Trust, Supported Progression and STEP reduced offers. Predicted best three A-levels of offer holders with at least three A-level predictions, achieved A-levels of entrants and their A-level subjects. Average Section A score of offer holders 24.9, and of contextual offer holders 24.1; the lowest score was withheld. Average GCSE grade of offer holders 7.6 (numerically graded GCSEs only). The EPQ is not used for reduced offers.
Durham’s statistics page. It links the 2025 Entry applications table (the only one now on the live site) and four Office for Students transparency reports (2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023). Durham says the offer figures vary from year to year but give an idea of how competitive each department is, and that they do not show how many applicants met the entry criteria.
The same table for the 2020/21 cycle (2021 entry). Law: Home/Islands 1,300 applications and 445 offers (34%), 165 alternative; Overseas/EU 810 and 500 (61%), 95 alternative. Wayback Machine copy captured 21 March 2023.
The same table for the 2022/23 cycle (2023 entry). Law: Home/Islands 1,435 applications and 570 offers (40%); Overseas/EU 835 and 565 (68%); no alternative offers. Wayback Machine copy captured 8 May 2024.
The same table for the 2023/24 cycle (2024 entry). Law: Home/Islands 1,535 applications and 540 offers (35%), 15 alternative; Overseas/EU 960 and 745 (78%). No longer on Durham’s site; Wayback Machine copy captured 3 March 2026.
M101 offer rate for applications in 2015, 2016 and 2017: 64%, 65% and 64%. First-year students at the December census: 292 (2016-17), 299 (2017-18) and 305 (2018-19), with UK-domiciled students 55% to 61% of first-years. Durham began making contextual offers in the 2017/18 cycle, and made 15 to 20 Supported Progression offers a year in Law. Durham has not entered Clearing for Law.
Reply to James McClaren for the 2019-2020 cycle (2020 entry): 2,235 applications, 1,390 offers, 665 offer holders who made Durham their firm choice, and an average Section A score of 24.7 for offer holders whose LNAT result could be matched.
For M101 and the 2020/21 cycle: 2,025 applicants and 1,025 offers (UK home 460, of which 295 contextual offers including Sutton Trust and Supported Progression participants; international 560); 490 firm acceptances; 390 entrants at the December census. LNAT: applicants mean 23 (lowest 7, highest 36), offer holders mean 24 (lowest 12, highest 36). GCSEs at A*, 8 or 9: applicants 5.1, offer holders 5.8. A* grades at A-level, predicted and achieved: applicants 1.46 and 1.50, offer holders 1.69 and 1.77. IB totals, predicted and achieved: applicants 41.38 and 41.14, offer holders 41.72 and 41.60. Average tariff of UK-domiciled entrants 180; most entrants had A*A*A or A*AA. Counts rounded to the nearest 5.
The only course with a compulsory interview is BA Primary Education; Foundation Programme applicants may also be interviewed. There is no interview for LLB Law.
The same table for 2020 entry. Law: 149 Home/EU places for 1,390 applications (9.3 a place) and 84 Overseas places for 735 (8.8). Wayback Machine copy captured 8 March 2022.
Places available and applications per place by department for 2021 entry. Law: 127 Home/Islands places for 1,300 applications (10.2 a place) and 94 EU/Overseas places for 810 (8.6). Places are a target number of entrants before confirmation, and some departments enrol more. Wayback Machine copy captured 21 March 2023.
Durham’s own return, published on its statistics page. Full-time applications from UK-domiciled applicants for 2018-19, with the share that received an offer, the share that accepted one and the share that led to registration, by ethnicity, deprivation quintile (EIMD) and sex. Institution-wide: there are no figures for Law. Counts are rounded to the nearest 10.
Share of classified first degrees at 2:1 or above by ethnicity, deprivation quintile and sex for 2017-18, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 qualifiers, in the four files linked from Durham’s statistics page. There is no table for 2018-19 qualifiers, because the 2020 return was suspended. Institution-wide.
Who can be made a contextual offer under the criteria for 2027 entry: free school meals, or two or more of five criteria (TUNDRA quintile 1 or 2, Censation Affluence level E, a UK state school, care experience, estrangement). Home fee status only; applications are assessed automatically, and care experience or estrangement should be confirmed by the referee. An eligible applicant who is made an offer receives it at the reduced level. Not available for Foundation programmes or through Clearing.
For applicants starting in 2027-28. What selectors assess (qualifications achieved and predicted, personal statement, reference, the LNAT score and essay for Law, relevant work experience); more weight may be given to personal statements on some highly selective courses; meeting the required grades does not guarantee an offer; decisions are made centrally to criteria agreed with departments; the contextual offer criteria; the access schemes whose completers receive a guaranteed standard (or in some cases contextual) offer; Year 2 entry case by case.
There are 17 colleges, including Ustinov, which is for postgraduates only. Undergraduates rank the colleges in order of preference once they have been made an offer (up to 16).
International applicants and international entrants to Law by college for 2012 and 2013 entry, at the 1 December census; figures under 5 shown as "<5". The reply held no LNAT averages.
Providers had to publish attainment by characteristic for 2023-24 and 2024-25 qualifiers on their own websites by 8 May 2026. When the fact-check read Durham’s statistics page in October 2026 it listed nothing later than the 2023 report.
The next two pages: what the LNAT does and what the grades require.
Section A averages since 2019, what offer holders scored, the essay and a calculator.
Open LNAT page →A-Level offer, contextual offer (AAB), GCSE expectations.
Open Grades page →Home and overseas applications and offer rates for four cycles.
View the funnel →