The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. (also LLM) from its Latin name, Legum Magister, where the double L stands for the Latin plural, because both profane and ecclesiastical law are included. (For female students, the less common variant Legum Magistra may also be used.) The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L. (Bachelor of Civil Law) and MJur (Magister Juris), while the research masters is named either MPhil (Master of Philosophy) or MSt (Master of Studies).