Dr. Helen Scott

Professor

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Biography

Helen Scott studied classics and law at the University of Cape Town before coming to Oxford to do the Bachelor of Civil Law in 1999. She completed her Doctorate in 2005, taking a tutorial fellowship at St Catherine's College for a year. Afterwards, she returned to South Africa, spending a decade at the University of Cape Town as a senior lecturer and later as an associate professor, becoming a full professor in 2014. She served as head of the Department of Private Law between 2014 and 2017. In 2017, she moved back to England, taking a tutorial fellowship at Lady Margaret Hall and a titular professorship at the Oxford Law Faculty. In 2022, she was elected Regius Professor of Civil Law at Cambridge. Her research interests focus on doctrinal law mainly in English and South African contexts, Roman law, and civilian legal history, covering a wide range of subject matters including unjust/unjustified enrichment, tort/delict, and the law of obligations and property trusts. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Cambridge Law Journal.

Research Interests

Experience

Regius Professor of Civil Law

2022-01-01 — Present

University of Cambridge • Cambridge, England

Serves as the Regius Professor of Civil Law, focusing on doctrinal law and its historical contexts.

Full Professor

2014-01-01 — 2017-01-01

University of Cape Town • Cape Town, South Africa

Held the position of full professor in the Department of Private Law.

Associate Professor

2014-01-01 — 2014-01-01

University of Cape Town • Cape Town, South Africa

Promoted to associate professor from senior lecturer.

Senior Lecturer

2004-01-01 — 2014-01-01

University of Cape Town • Cape Town, South Africa

Worked as a senior lecturer, teaching and conducting research in law.

Tutorial Fellowship

2005-01-01 — 2006-01-01

St Catherine's College • Oxford, England

Held a tutorial fellowship focused on law.

Tutorial Fellowship

2017-01-01 — Present

Lady Margaret Hall • Oxford, England

Took a tutorial fellowship at Lady Margaret Hall.

Requirements for University of Cambridge

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.7
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:25
Reading
Required:25
Writing
Required:25
Speaking
Required:25
Total
Required:110
Prerequisites
UK Bachelor's Degree with good Upper Second Class Honours or international equivalent Background in international relations, politics, law, economics, security or history is a definite asset
Application Checklist
  • Two academic references
  • Official transcripts
  • CV/Resume
  • Personal statement (approx 500 words)
  • Research proposal (1-2 pages/500 words)
  • Application fee (£50)
Specialization Notes

Standard postgraduate requirements for Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) and related humanities departments.