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Posted July 27, 2026

How do you apply to study a Master of Laws in the UK?

How do you apply to study a Master of Laws in the UK

And just like that, I pressed the ‘Submit’ button on The University of Edinburgh Applicant Portal. Not thinking much of it, I could never have anticipated how my life would change in that very moment.

My name is Mila Jovanovic, I am a recent graduate from the University of Niš Faculty of Law in Serbia, and this is a story about my academic journey to study a masters degree in the UK.

Having graduated with honours from the University of Niš Faculty of Law, my foundation is rooted in civil law, and I thrive while studying the word of law and how to apply it to real-life situations. However, this knowledge simply was not enough for me. During my undergraduate program, I have devoted months to studying private international law – the legal branch that answers the question “Which country’s law applies when the legal matter goes international?”. This question kept me up at night, and led me to a conclusion that understanding multiple legal doctrines ultimately gives you an advantage when solving private disputes with an international element. As a future lawyer in that field, I will be bound to come across cases from other jurisdictions with different approaches to legal reasoning. So, in order to understand different sides of the same legal principle, I chose to study in the UK, and get familiar with the law of precedent.

It was September of 2025 and the applications for the UK universities were opening up one by one. The application journey can be daunting and overwhelming, as there are numerous steps to take before sending in your application. You have to take care of:

  • School records
  • Diplomas
  • Extra- and super-curricular activities
  • Personal statements
  • Career statements
  • The list goes on and on!


What saved me during that time was having a spreadsheet and tracking the progress on the documents I had to collect. The most important one out of all is the personal statement. Imagine having to explain your character and your academic passions and thoughts in just 5,000 characters. I can say with confidence that writing an excellent statement of purpose is an art form and a skill that most prospective students never care to master. This is a document which can make or break your application, no matter how good your grades or CV are.

Writing my own statement was a journey a thousand drafts long, until one day it felt as if I solved a Rubik’s Cube, and all of my arguments fell in place. My advice is to take time, do your research, and never shy away from asking for help. Thankfully, during my application process I was lucky to have received advice from an alumnus of a Russell Group university. The alumni community is open and receptive to your questions. Remember that those people were in your shoes, and they want you to succeed.

The hardest part about applying is the deafening silence that commences after the chaos that is gathering the recommendation letters and doing all the administrative work. That is a time when you will have many different thoughts streaming through your head. Even then, never doubt yourself and do not spend hours on end dissecting pieces of your application – it is hardly ever worth it. I wish I worried less and focused more on my current academic work, because February soon came, and with it a couple of emails saying that I have been offered a place at two out of three universities I applied to.

I was overjoyed by the news of receiving a conditional offer from two high-ranking UK universities. It felt like the ultimate validation for the years of hard work I had poured into my undergraduate academics.

However, the celebration was short-lived. The next phase called “meeting the conditions of my offer” proved to be the most stressful period of the entire journey. To secure my place, I had to finalise my undergraduate exams while simultaneously navigating a mountain of international paperwork and visa applications. It truly felt as though time was fleeting and my future was hanging by a thread. To make matters worse, my home university’s administration took an agonisingly long time to issue my official diploma. Trying to keep up with all of the paperwork, while facing severe burnout, was a massive mental test.

Ultimately, my choice was The University of Edinburgh. The Law School stood out to me because of its renowned Centre for Private Law and an exceptional curriculum tailored to Comparative Private Law. Unlike my previous administrative hurdles, the Edinburgh admissions team was incredibly supportive and responsive, answering all my questions.

One thing I have come to realise is that I never really stopped worrying. As soon as one hurdle was behind me, another quickly took its place. The first was crafting the perfect personal statement, then waiting for decisions, then meeting my offer conditions, collecting documents, and navigating the visa process. I have no doubt that once I arrive in Edinburgh, I will probably find something new to worry about – perhaps my first seminar discussion or my first oral presentation. Looking back, I realise that every stage came with its own uncertainties, but also with its own opportunities for growth.

Despite all of the stress, this has been one of the most rewarding periods of my life. It pushed me far beyond what I thought I was capable of, not only academically but personally. I spent countless hours researching universities, legal systems, and application procedures, and somewhere along the way, my English improved almost without me noticing. Most importantly, I learned that growth rarely comes from moments of certainty, but from being willing to keep moving forward, even when uncertainty never quite disappears.

Now that I am just two months away from starting this new chapter, I have crafted a structured summer curriculum to successfully transition my mindset from the continental civil law tradition to the unique complexities of the Scottish legal system. The journey from civil law to common law isn’t just about changing your textbooks; it’s about fundamentally changing the way you reason. If you are currently thinking whether you should take that leap of faith, I say you should jump at the opportunity, because true intellectual growth lives entirely outside your comfort zone.

Looking for the perfect Master of Laws degree program? Use our LLM course search to find your ideal course.

Mila JovanovićAuthor’s bio: Mila Jovanović is a law graduate from the University of Niš, Serbia, with a particular interest in comparative private law. As a moot court advocate, she represented her university in national competitions, where she was awarded Best Orator.

Mila is an incoming Master of Laws student in Comparative Private Law at the University of Edinburgh.

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