LLM in Legal Practice at the Bar

You can apply for this course whilst studying the final year of your degree or conversion course, however any offers you receive will remain conditional until your final grade is confirmed.

All offers are subject to the condition that you successfully complete the academic stage of your training to the Bar Standards Board’s satisfaction and have enrolled as a student member of one of the four Inns of Court. For more information, the requirements for the academic stage are set out in Part 2 of the Bar Qualification Manual. The entry requirements for the LLLM in Legal Practice at the Bar are set out in Part 3 of the Bar Qualification Manual.

All offers are conditional on proof of membership of an Inns of Court. Applications for Inns membership can take up to 12 weeks to process. You will not be able to enrol or begin the student visa application process until this is provided so it is recommended that you apply for membership as early as possible. Please note, the requirements for being called to the Bar by an Inn of Court will include a criminal records check.

UK students

Bar students are selected primarily on academic ability. To be considered for the course you’ll need to satisfy one of the following criteria:

• An LLB degree from a UK or Republic of Ireland based institution, minimum grade 55%, which included the seven foundation subjects: contract law, tort, criminal law, EU law, public law, land law and equity and trusts.
• A non-law degree, minimum grade of 55%, from a UK or Republic of Ireland based institution plus an eligible conversion course, which included the seven foundation subjects.

Please note, if your transcript shows any of the seven foundation subjects displayed under a different name, or combined with another subject, you’ll need to provide evidence from your university confirming that you studied and passed all seven foundation subjects. This is a requirement set by the Bar Standards Board, see Part 2A of the Bar Qualification Manual.

In exceptional circumstances, higher level qualifications such as a masters degree, with an overall grade of 55% or above, may be considered if your LLB or conversion course grade falls below our minimum grade requirement for this course. However, you must still have at least a 2:2 to meet the Bar Standards Board's entry requirement.

International students

If you have a degree from an institution outside of the UK or Republic of Ireland, with a grade equivalent to 55%, you must first apply to the Bar Standards Board for a Certificate of Academic Standing to recognise your prior qualifications before starting the course. See Part 2D of the Bar Qualification Manual for further details.

We also require international students to have a minimum score of 7.5 in each element of the IELTS test, or an equivalent English Language Proficiency test. Please note, we do not accept an average score of 7.5 if the minimum requirement has not been met in each individual element. See Part 3A of the Bar Qualification Manual.