Historically, the BCL was established as the lower degree in Oxford's Faculty of Civil Law, the higher degree being the Doctor of Civil Law. The Faculty of Civil Law was so named to distinguish it from the faculty of canon law which was abolished in both universities by King Henry VIII in 1535. In the 16th century, it generally took three years to study for the BCL if the student had previously obtained an MA degree at Oxford. It was, however, possible to enter the Faculty of Law directly after matriculation as a 'Student in Civil Law', without taking a BA first. In this case, it took four to five years to take the BCL. From the 1850s, the BCL could only be taken by those who had an Oxford BA, but at the end of the 19th century it was restructured: While it was still possible for Oxford BAs to complete it in one year, graduates from other universities were admitted to the BCL as a two-year taught degree course. This dual structure was still in place in the 1960s, but at least since 1991, the BCL has been a one-year course both for graduates from Oxford and elsewhere. In 1991, the degree of Magister Juris (MJur) was introduced as a degree in European and Comparative Law. 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.