Postgraduate Certificate in Law - Entry Requirements

Eligibility to apply

To join our Postgraduate Certificate in law programme by online distance learning, you will generally need to have completed an undergraduate degree programme to a very high standard.

Your first degree does not have to be in the subject of Law, but it must be from a recognised higher education institution.

Other qualifications and professional experience will also be considered as part of your application.

If your first language is not English, you will need to provide evidence of your competence in written and spoken English.

Applicants with a law degree

If your first degree is in a legal subject you will need an 'excellent' award (equivalent to first class honours in the UK) or 'very good' award (equivalent to an upper second class honours in the UK).

Applicants with degrees in a subject other than law

If your first degree is in a subject other than law you will need an 'excellent' award (equivalent to first class honours in the UK) or 'very good' award (equivalent to an upper second class honours in the UK) in an area appropriate to subjects available on the certificate programme. These may include:

Medicine and other medical practices
Chemistry, biology or physics related sciences
Design, media, marketing, journalism and other creative industry related subject areas
Economics, accountancy and financial industry based subjects
Computing science and other IT-related qualifications
Social sciences and humanities based subject areas such as social policy or psychology
Information management.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive and every application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants with degrees from a country other than the UK

If your first degree is from a country other than the UK you must have at least one degree or other recognised qualification which has been completed over a minimum of three years to an "excellent" or "very good" standard.

Please contact us if you have any questions about whether your degree meets our entry requirements.

llm.distance@ed.ac.uk

Other qualifications and professional experience

You are eligible to apply for the postgraduate certificate in law if you have a postgraduate qualification, such as an MA, an MSc, an MBA or a PhD.

Professional experience in appropriate areas is also considered as part of an application, although candidates, including qualified lawyers, will in almost every instance be expected to have reached the required academic levels.

English language requirements

If your first language is not English, you will need to provide documentary evidence of competence in both written and spoken English.

English language tests

A number of tests are available and accepted by the University as evidence of competence in English. One of these is the IELTS English Language Test. At present, entry onto our postgraduate programmes in Law requires a minimum IELTS aggregate score of 7.0, with at least 6.5 scored in each section.

Tests must have been successfully completed no earlier than two years before the start date of the programme for which candidates are seeking admission.

Details of the English language tests and scores approved for admission by the University of Edinburgh can be found on the College of Humanities and Social Sciences English requirements webpage.

Find out more about English language requirements for our postgraduate programmes

Your local British Council Office can advise you on taking an English-language test.

Visit the British Council website for more details

Test exemptions

Language test exemptions may be granted, at the discretion of the Postgraduate Admissions team (College level):

If you can provide evidence that the degree you are offering as evidence in support of your application was taught and assessed in English, and
If you completed your degree no earlier than two years before the entry date of the postgraduate programme.

If you completed the degree over two years ago we may accept evidence that you have regularly continued to use academic-standard English in the interim. Acceptable evidence would include testimonials from line managers from an English-speaking company who can attest to written and spoken English language capability.

Currently studying for another degree?

If you are currently studying for a postgraduate qualification you may still be able to apply for the Postgraduate certificate in Law on the assumption that all written work for that postgraduate qualification will be submitted for examination before the start of week 0 in the year of entry to the postgraduate certificate in law.

Candidates admitted on this basis who do not provide evidence of such completion by the end of Week 4 of their first semester will be formally withdrawn from their studies at the University of Edinburgh.

Please note that during the period of your registration with the University you must not take courses or pursue studies in this or in any other institution with a view to obtaining any degree, diploma or professional qualification other than the one for which you are registered at this University.

Please see section 2.6 of the University's general postgraduate degree programme regulations

Contact us

If you have any questions about our entry requirements or would like further advice prior to submitting your application please contact our online distance learning team.