Course overview
If you have a law degree or GDL and wish to train as a barrister, our Bar Practice Course (previously the Bar Professional Training Course – BPTC) is designed to help you secure pupillage. You can expect high standards of tutoring by qualified practitioners with unparalleled experience in delivering advocacy. Choose our BPC LLM and add an internationally recognised Master’s qualification to your CV.
You’ll be supported by our specialist careers service from the moment you accept your place. Our track record says it all – 59% of our full-time UK/EEA Bar Practice Course students graduating in 2018 secured a pupillage (based on student data collated September 2020). Previously the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC).
Campus locations
Study method
- In-class
- Blended
- Online
Locations
- England
- London
- Bloomsbury
- London
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Duration study load
- September: 8 months
- July: 9 months
Entry requirements
To be eligible to take up your place, you must comply with the requirements for commencing a Bar Practice Course (BPC) set out by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).
- You will be required to pass the Bar Course Aptitude Test by August of the year you commence your studies. Further details on this test can be found on the Bar Standards Board website
- You will need either a qualifying law degree (QLD) 2:1 minimum or an undergraduate degree in any other subject (2:1 minimum*) and a Graduate Diploma in Law/CPE
- For qualifying law degrees, all offers based on predicted grades will be conditional upon achieving a 2:1 or above
- All applicants who meet the basic eligibility criteria will be required to attend a Selection Interview at one of our centres
* For non-QLD applicants with a 2:2, offers based on predicted GDL/MA Law/PgDL/MA Law (Conversion) or MA Law (SQE1) grade will be conditional upon achieving distinction or commendation
Selection interview
It is your responsibility to ensure you fulfil all eligibility requirements for the BPTC.
English language requirement
You must be fluent in English and you will need to be able to demonstrate your oral and written English is equivalent to:
- IELTS (academic): Score of 7.5 in all four areas
- ISE IV (Trinity College London): Pass in all four components
- Pearsons (academic): Score of 73 in all four areas
- Cambridge English: First Certificate, Advanced and Proficiency (test taken before January 2016): Overall 191 with no one component below 191
- Cambridge English: First Certificate (test taken before January 2016): Pass at Grade A and Exceptional in all four components
- Cambridge English: Advanced (test taken before January 2016): Pass at Grade B or C and Borderline in all four components
- Cambridge English: Proficiency (test taken before January 2016): Pass at Grade C1 and Weak in all four components
UK or Republic of Ireland award:
- Qualifying Law Degree – 1st or 2:1
- GDL – distinction or commendation
- Medical, dentistry, veterinary degree – pass
Please note: The University will not accept the TOEFL English Language test as a proof of students’ English proficiency until further notice due to a Home Office investigation.
You must join an Inn of Court before you can start the BPC. The closing date for application to an Inn of Court is 31 May of the year your BPC is due to commence. Please contact the relevant Inn for further details:
- Gray’s Inn
- Inner Temple
- Lincoln’s Inn
- Middle Temple
If you are a non-EEA student you will also require a visa covering the full duration of your course (see below)
Again, you must fulfil all eligibility requirements by the start of the course – failure to do so may result in you being prevented from joining the course.
Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT)
Candidates seeking entry to the BPC are required to pass the Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT) before being allowed to enrol on the course. We strongly recommend you sit the test as soon as possible and we will guarantee to hold your offer open until you have successfully passed the test. Should you fail to pass, you are able to re-sit the test after 30 days. As you must successfully pass the test before you can enrol on the BPC course, we encourage you to sit the test as early as you can – this will allow plenty of time should you need to take it again, before the deadline. For further information please check the Bar Standards Board website.
The University of Law fully complies with equal opportunities legislation and actively encourages diversity within the legal profession. Our admissions process acts fairly and aims to enable students to make the best use of their talents. You are encouraged to tell us about any special requirements at the earliest opportunity. This will allow us to discuss how we may go about meeting your requirements.
Course features
- Up to 50 hours of advocacy training, so you’re fully prepared for the Bar: test your skills in front of real barristers and judges at prestigious mooting competitions organised by our Advocacy Committee and also at mock trials in court.
- Tuition in small classes alongside the brightest students: we require all students to undergo a live selection process before being offered a place.
- Access to an engaging and innovative online learning environment, plus face-to-face tutor and peer support when you need it most.
- Flexible study options to suit you: choose to study with us full-time or part-time at a number of locations across the UK.
- Success in pupillage applications and beyond with our Future Pupil Programme, part of our award-winning Careers and Employability Service, available from the moment you accept your place.
- A choice of three pathways to success with our Bar Practice Course LLM: complete real-life legal work experience via our Pro Bono clinics, write a dissertation or study additional modules and sit the exams after you finish your Bar Practice Course.
- Exclusive access to our Synap learning and revision tool: complete multiple-choice questions to monitor and review your progress.
Assessment
There are 10 assessments in total with practice assessments held for every module spread across the course. Some prizes, sponsored by chambers, are available for the highest-scoring student in each subject.
Subjects
- Civil litigation, evidence and resolution of disputes out of court
- Criminal litigation, evidence and sentencing
- Advocacy, including examination-in-chief, cross-examination and civil applications
- Conferencing
- Drafting
- Opinion writing
- Professional Ethics
- Legal Research
We give you as many opportunities as possible to hone your essential advocacy skills and put what you learn into practice:
- Participating in mock trials in real courtrooms with real judges and senior barristers
- Online advocacy skill demonstrations with feedback from practising barristers
- Visits to the High Court, Magistrate’s Court, Crown Court and County Courts
Choose to study this award and you will have the opportunity to add an internationally recognised LLM qualification to your CV and pupillage applications.
You can complete your Master of Laws (LLM) qualification via three routes:
- Complete real-life work experience via our Pro Bono clinics* – you will advise, manage and represent clients on a variety of cases in legal areas. You will also be paired with a Master’s Supervisor, who will guide you through a reflective learning process so that you can complete your reflective assessment and obtain your Master’s Degree.
- Study additional modules** – increase your knowledge of legal practice areas which are of interest to you and can help shape the direction of your career. You will sit the exams once you’ve finished your Bar Practice Course.
- Write a dissertation – immerse yourself in an area of law and become an expert in it, allowing you to demonstrate your knowledge in your applications to chambers and beyond.
*Students studying the Pro Bono route at our Liverpool campus in 2021/22 will have to attend regular sessions at our Manchester campus for the entire programme.
**Students studying additional modules at our Liverpool campus in 2021/22 or 2022/23 will have to attend regular sessions (1-2 days per week) at our Manchester campus for a single semester.
About The University of Law
We aim to prepare you for a professional career from Day One, with a wide range of study options to meet your needs. Explore our undergraduate degrees with optional foundation years, or our online and accelerated postgraduate programmes.
QS Stars has awarded The University of Law (ULaw) a five-star institution rating positioned as “world-class in a broad range of areas, enjoys an excellent reputation and has cutting-edge facilities and internationally renowned research and teaching faculty”. The rating highlights areas of excellence across ULaw’s eight campuses in England, its Online Campus, seven partnership Universities and increased international recognition for its Hong Kong and Berlin campuses.
ULaw was rated Five Stars in numerous critical categories of Teaching, Employability, Academic Development, Online Learning and Inclusiveness.
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Why study at The University of Law
- We're ranked first for overall student satisfaction among universities in England (2020 National Student Survey).
- We’ve trained more practising lawyers than anyone else in the UK, and our expert career services team offers students the opportunity to get real-world experience from the start.
- Our professionally-focused degrees are designed and taught by experts in the fields of law, criminology and policing.
