15th December 2022
In the first part of the ‘Do I need a Law Degree to Be a Lawyer?’ series, we covered the different routes into law. Part 2 will be covering the Level 6 qualifications you can take to get into law. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!
Undergraduate Law Degree (LLB or BA Law)
This is potentially the most common option for wannabe lawyers. And that’s not without its reasons. A law degree can provide you with foundational knowledge, allowing you to gain a greater understanding of the industry you want to work in, as well as more in-depth knowledge.
There are actually two types of law degrees; qualifying (LLB) and non-qualifying (BA). When the Legal Practice Course (LPC) was your only route into becoming a solicitor, this distinction mattered because taking the LLB meant you didn’t need a law conversion master’s degree (LLM or MA Conversion) to continue on your path to becoming a lawyer. However, the plan is for the LPC to be phased out by 2032.
The introduction of the Solicitor’s Qualifying Exam (SQE) has created a more flexible route; whether you take a qualifying LLB degree or a non-qualifying BA degree is no longer relevant when becoming a solicitor or a chartered legal executive, as the SQE’s only entry requirement is a Level 6 qualification – the subject of that qualification doesn’t matter. Check out our Do I need a Law Degree? Level 7 Options’ for more on the SQE – coming in the New Year!
As an added note, if you want to be a Barrister, you’ll still need a qualifying LLB or Law Conversion Master’s degree, so bear that in mind when thinking through your options.
So let’s start looking into a breakdown of what a Law Degree entails…
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Professional Title upon Completion
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Graduate
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Costs
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UCAS Application Fees: £22.50 for a single university choice, or £27 for more than one choice for 2023 (Filling in Your UCAS Application)
LNAT Test Fees: £75 for 2022 (LNAT – Paying for Your Test)
Tuition Fees: £6,450 – £11,100 per year with reduced fees for placements and study abroad (Fee Limits – Office for Students)
University Halls: £155 – £259 per week (Uni Accommodation Costs, The Complete University Guide)
Living Costs: £924 per month average (Student Living Costs 2022, Save The Student)
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Cost Per Year
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Assuming a 52 week contract for student halls (though most are between 40 and 46), 12 months of living costs, and that you are not attending The Open University which has lower than average tuition fees (at £6,450).
Upper Costs: £35,656
Lower Costs: £28,398
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Length of Time
(Full Time Study)
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Accelerated Degree: 2 years
Undergraduate Degree: 3 years
Degree with Foundation Year: 4 years
With a placement/study abroad: 4 years
With Foundation and industry/study abroad: 5 years
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Entry Requirements
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5 GCSEs with grades 9 – 4 (A* – C) or equivalent, including English and Maths.
104 – 144 UCAS Tariff Points, with 128 points (or ABB grades at A-Level) being the average.
However, some universities don’t accept certain subjects, such as PE or photography, so be sure to look out for this before applying (UCAS Law).
Also, some universities may require you to complete the National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT for short).
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Topics Studied
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Optional modules will vary from university to university, but the compulsory modules will cover the following:
Criminal Law
Law of Torts
The Law of Contract
Land Law (Property Law)
Equity and Trusts
Constitutional and Administrative Law
EU Law
(The Lawyer Portal)
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Where to Find One?
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Most universities around the country offer a law degree.
The best place to start is the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (AKA UCAS). You can use the UCAS Course Search to help you find the right course. The site also offers filters by start date, course length, and distance you’d be willing to travel from home.
From there, look into the university, the modules, and see if it would interest you.
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Pros
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Student Loans can cover a majority of the costs (however, living costs will likely need to be supplemented through part time work).
Most universities offer open days, which offers you the chance to find out more about the course before committing to it.
Gives you a look into different areas of law, to help you determine what area of law you’re passionate about.
Gives you the academic background of the law, whereas the SQE and the LPC focus on practical knowledge. This means you know not just how to do the transactions, but why the law works the way it does.
You can tailor your degree to the areas of law you’re interested in through your optional modules, which gives you tangible knowledge in these areas, making it easier to find a job in these sectors later in your career.
Gives you in depth legal knowledge, which can be beneficial for the additional qualifications you’ll need (namely the SQE)
A year in industry offers valuable experience within the legal sector which can contribute towards your period of recognised training (PRT) for the SQE.
You get to experience student life. Whether that’s living in student halls with friends, hanging out at the students’ union, or buckling down in the library, some of the best things about going to university have nothing to do with the course, and everything to do with student life.
More traditional firms tend to favour Law degrees.
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Cons
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Law courses are extremely competitive, with UCAS recording a massive 155,150 applicants, 120,065 of these receiving an offer, and only 29,385 accepted into the course for 2021 – meaning only 18.9% of applicants were accepted onto the course.
By comparison, UCAS’s 2021 End of Cycle data shows:
Business and Administrative degrees had an acceptance rate of 23.2%
Computer Science had a rate of 19.9%
Veterinary and Agricultural had a rate of 21.9%
Education had a rate of 21.1%
Medicine had a rate of 10.5%
You can get most of the way through a degree before discovering law isn’t for you, resulting in a specialised degree that may no longer be applicable to your career plan.
A degree costs £60,000 as a minimum (on a 2 year accelerated, with low accommodation costs).
You’ll have to study hard. That’s not to say other subjects are easy, but law is particularly intense due to the depth and breadth of knowledge you need to develop.
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