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Environment, Law, and Economics (previously called Land Economy) explores governance of the built and natural environments through the lenses of law, economics and policy.
Throughout the course you’ll study a broad range of topics including regional economics, environmental protection, international development, real estate, urban planning, and property law.
Overview
Number 1 in the UK for Land and Property Management (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026)
Environment, Law, and Economics at Cambridge
This course was previously called Land Economy.
In this course, you'll focus on a broad and varying range of disciplines relating to the built and natural environments. In the 21st century, society, business and the environment affect the daily lives of people around the world.
You'll get to the heart of some of our biggest challenges by learning across these disciplines. You can also explore other key areas including business and financial regulation, city planning and more.
Teaching and facilities
Teaching
You’ll be taught by experts in their fields, including:
- lawyers
- economists
- planners
- experts in environmental policy
- experts in finance
- experts in quantitative methods
Many are also involved in national and international research projects.
Facilities and resources
The Department of Land Economy has a range of facilities, including:
- a comprehensive library
- extensive range of computing facilities, including an intranet store of wide-ranging teaching, careers and other useful information
You'll also have access to our impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries.
Watch the video to find out what a day in the life of a Cambridge Environment, Law, and Economics (previously Land Economy) student is like.
Course costs
When you go to university, you’ll need to consider 2 main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).
Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students.
Find out more about general study costs.
Other additional course costs for Environment, Law, and Economics are detailed below. If you have any queries about resources/materials, please contact the Department.
Equipment
- University approved scientific calculator. Estimated cost £20.
Books and set texts
- It is useful for students to have their own copy of the book 'Blackstone's Statutes on Contract, Tort & Restitution' and/or 'Blackstone's Statutes on Property Law', as this can be taken into the Law exams. Estimated cost £15 each.
Professional training
Chartered Surveyors
The degree is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and allows graduates to progress directly to the Assessment of Professional Competence to become a full member of the RICS.
Solicitors in England and Wales
To practice as a solicitor in England and Wales, you must pass the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). Under the new SQE route, the only academic requirement to sit the SQE examinations is a university degree in any subject. A BA in Environment, Law, and Economics would meet this requirement.
It's possible to take the SQE without ever having studied law, although this is not advised. Depending on the papers taken, the Environment, Law, and Economics degree may allow students to prepare for some aspects of the SQE. This may mean they don't need to take as many additional courses after their degree to prepare for the SQE.
Careers
Our graduates go on to become:
- lawyers
- economists
- civil servants
- consultants
- educators
- researchers
Some also work for national and international agencies.
Many graduates go into financial or business careers. Others enter public service with local or national organisations or go on to further study and research.
Course outline
Teaching
Teaching is provided through lectures, seminars, project work and small-group supervisions.
You will usually have 10 to 14 hours of lectures, and 2 to 3 supervisions per week.
Assessment
Assessment is by written examinations and through coursework and projects, as well as a 10,000 word dissertation in your third year.
You won't usually be able to resit any of your exams.
Year 1 (Part IA)
You will study the core disciplines of law and economics.
You take 4 papers:
- Economics
- The Public Sector: Institutional and Legal Frameworks
- Quantitative and Legal Methods for Land Economists
- Land Economy, Development, and Sustainability
You’ll also develop:
- the key skill of critical analysis across a range of different disciplines
- research skills
- data management and numeracy skills
- skills in oral presentation and report preparation
Year 2 (Part IB)
You can continue studying a broad range of law, environmental policy and economics topics or you can choose to focus more on one of these.
You take 5 papers, including at least one paper on a legal topic, and select your other 4 papers from a choice of 6.
Current options include:
- Environmental Economics and Law
- Fundamentals of Finance and Investment
- The Built Environment
- Land and Urban Economics
- The Law of Real Property: Principles, Policy, and Economic Implications
- Private Law
Year 3 (Part II)
You will take 4 papers and write a dissertation.
The 4 papers may be chosen from a wide range of options which currently includes:
- Law and Economics
- Landlord and Tenant Law
- Planning Policy and Practice
- Land, Food and Ecosystem Services
- Land Policy and Development Economics
- Advanced Techniques in Finance and Investment for Real Estate
You will also write a 10,000 word dissertation on any aspect of the Department’s work. This is your opportunity to specialise in a topic that particularly interests you.
The choice is very broad and in the past students have written about:
- the economics of gentrification
- Aboriginal land claims in Australia
- the social perception and problems of population density
- the future prospects of virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin
- the upgrading of slums in Brazil
- road traffic and house prices
- financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa
- the affordable housing legacy of the London Olympics
- environmental protection in the developing world
- risk management in capital and financial markets
- the legal regulation of the property of unmarried couples
- market failure in the housing market
For further information about this course and the papers you can take see the Department of Land Economy website.
Changing course
It’s really important to think carefully about which course you want to study before you apply.
In rare cases, it may be possible to change course once you’ve joined the University. You will usually have to get agreement from your College and the relevant departments. It’s not guaranteed that your course change will be approved.
You might also have to:
- take part in an interview
- complete an admissions test
- produce some written work
- achieve a particular grade in your current studies
- do some catch-up work
- start your new course from the beginning
For more information visit the Department website.
You can also apply to change to:
You can't apply to this course until you're at Cambridge. You would usually apply when you are in your second or third year of your original Cambridge course.
You should contact your College’s Admissions Office if you’re thinking of changing your course. They will be able to give you advice and explain how changing courses works.
Entry requirements
The listed entry requirements relate to entry in 2026 or deferred entry in 2027. Entry requirements for 2027 entry or deferred entry in 2028 will be published in April 2026. Check our guidance on choosing high school subjects.
Minimum offer level
A level: A*AA
IB: 41-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level
Other qualifications: Check which other qualifications we accept.
We don't ask for any specific subjects to apply to Land Economy. We recommend these subjects for a strong application:
- Economics
- Mathematics
College entry requirements
The following Colleges usually set offers at the minimum offer level. They may sometimes ask for higher grades or an A* in a particular subject:
- Christ’s
- Clare
- Downing
- Fitzwilliam
- Girton
- Gonville & Caius
- Homerton
- Hughes Hall
- Jesus
- Magdalene
- Newnham
- Pembroke
- Robinson
- Sidney Sussex
- St Catharine's
- St Edmund's
- St John's
- Trinity
- Trinity Hall
- Wolfson
The following Colleges set extra conditions for some or all offers. For example, they may make a higher offer or specify an A* in a particular subject. For more information check the College websites:
- Lucy Cavendish
- Murray Edwards
- Queens’
- Selwyn
Colleges set additional offer requirements for a range of reasons. If you'd like to find out more about why we do this, check the information about offers above the minimum requirement on the entry requirements page.
IB offers
Some Colleges usually make offers above the minimum offer level. Find out more on our qualifications page.
Admission assessment
There is no admission assessment for this course.
Submitted work
Some of our Colleges will ask you to submit written work.
The following Colleges require one piece of written work:
- Fitzwilliam
- Homerton
- Lucy Cavendish
- Newnham
- Robinson
- Trinity Hall
The following Colleges require 2 pieces of written work:
- Downing
- Pembroke
- St Edmund's
What Land Economy students have studied
Most Land Economy students (who had studied A levels and started at Cambridge in 2018, 2019 and 2023) achieved at least A*A*A (69% of entrants).
Most had studied at least one of:
- Economics
- Mathematics
Other common subjects included:
- Further Mathematics
- Geography
- History
- A science subject
The majority of students who studied IB achieved at least 43 points overall.
This information shows some of the common subjects our applicants have studied. Although these are common subject combinations, this doesn't mean they're favoured.
When you're choosing your post-16 subjects, it's most important to check whether any subjects are required for your course. You can also check our guidance on choosing your high school subjects for more information.
All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. Please contact the relevant College admissions office if you have any queries.
Next steps
Discover your department or faculty
- - The Department of Land Economy website has more information about this course, facilities, people and research.
Explore our Colleges
- - A College is where you’ll live, eat and socialise. You may also have some small group teaching there, known as supervisions.
- - If you think you know which course you’d like to study, it’s time to choose a College.
Visit us on an open day
- - Get a feel for the city and the University.
- - We offer a range of events where you can find out more about Cambridge, Colleges, and your course. Many of our events are online so you can join us virtually.
Find out how to apply
- - Our admissions process is slightly different to other universities. We’ve put together a handy guide to help you apply to Cambridge.
- - Supercurricular activities are a great way to engage with your chosen subject outside of school or college.
Discover Uni
Discover Uni data
Contextual information
Discover Uni allows you to compare information about individual courses at different higher education institutions. This can be a useful method of considering your options and what course may suit you best.
However, please note that superficially similar courses often have very different structures and objectives, and that the teaching, support and learning environment that best suits you can only be determined by identifying your own interests, needs, expectations and goals, and comparing them with detailed institution- and course-specific information.
We recommend that you look thoroughly at the course and University information contained on these webpages and consider coming to visit us on an Open Day, rather than relying solely on statistical comparison.
You may find the following notes helpful when considering information presented by Discover Uni.
- Discover Uni relies on superficially similar courses being coded in the same way. Whilst this works on one level, it may lead to some anomalies. For example, Music courses and Music Technology courses can have exactly the same code despite being very different programmes with quite distinct educational and career outcomes.
Any course which combines several disciplines (as many courses at Cambridge do) tends to be compared nationally with courses in just one of those disciplines, and in such cases the Discover Uni comparison may not be an accurate or fair reflection of the reality of either. For example, you may find that when considering a degree which embraces a range of disciplines such as biology, physics, chemistry and geology (for instance, Natural Sciences at Cambridge), the comparison provided is with courses at other institutions that primarily focus on just one (or a smaller combination) of those subjects.You may therefore find that not all elements of the Cambridge degree are represented in the Discover Uni data. - Some contextual data linked from other surveys, such as the National Student Survey (NSS) or the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE), may not be available or may be aggregated across several courses or several years due to small sample sizes. When using the data to inform your course choice, it is important to ensure you understand how it has been processed prior to its presentation. Discover Uni offers some explanatory information about how the contextual data is collated, and how it may be used, which you can view here: https://discoveruni.gov.uk/about-our-data/.
- Discover Uni draws on national data to provide average salaries and employment/continuation data. Whilst starting salaries can be a useful measure, they do not give any sense of career trajectory or take account of the voluntary/low paid work that many graduates undertake initially in order to gain valuable experience necessary/advantageous for later career progression. Discover Uni is currently piloting use of the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data to demonstrate possible career progression; it is important to note that this is experimental and its use may be modified as it embeds.
The above list is not exhaustive and there may be other important factors that are relevant to the choices that you are making, but we hope that this will be a useful starting point to help you delve deeper than the face value of the Discover Uni data.