How to apply to the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice

To gain entry to this programme, candidates must:

1. Have obtained an undergraduate law degree from a Scottish university (LLB), including passes in the required foundation subjects or;
2. Have passed or obtained exemption from the professional examinations of the Law Society of Scotland in all subjects required under the Admission as Solicitor (Scotland) Regulations 2011.

At the University of Edinburgh, foundation subjects are normally taken in the first two years of the LLB, or during the Graduate LLB, and include:

• LAWS08123 Public Law of the UK and Scotland
• LAWS08125 European Union Law (Ordinary) A
• LAWS08126 Family Law (Ordinary)
• LAWS08130 Succession and Trust Law
• LAWS08131 Commercial Law (Ordinary)
• LAWS08132 Public Law and Individual Rights
• LAWS08133 Property Law (Ordinary)
• LAWS08134 Business Entities
• LAWS08135 Delict
• LAWS08139 Critical Legal Thinking
• LAWS08141 Evidence (Ordinary)
• LAWS08142 Criminal Law (Ordinary
• LAWS08127 Contract and Unjustified Enrichment
• LAWS08128 Scottish Legal System

These subjects map to outcomes that are universally required regardless of which university you study at. However the individual subjects that are required can differ in name at each university. You should check with your LLB university law school to confirm what the correct subjects are.

Applicants are ranked by grade point average, according to their performance (at first sitting) in the professional curriculum outlined above. This ranking is used by all Diploma providers to allocate places amongst them.

This criterion could be moderated (in either direction and at individual Diploma providers’ discretion) by:

• The class and type of degree obtained;
• Overall number of fails in those subjects designed to meet the Law Society of Scotland’s foundation programme outcomes
• Other qualifications (both undergraduate and postgraduate)
• Special circumstances affecting performance in foundation subjects (unless already taken into account)

The fact that an applicant has an offer of a traineeship at the time of applying for a Diploma place may also be a factor taken into account, but ONLY as another possible factor when deciding among applicants who have extremely similar academic records.

International qualifications

International qualifications cannot generally be used to meet the entry requirements to this programme. If you have graduated from an LLB in a different country, including England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you will need to meet the subject requirements of the Scottish Foundation Programme before proceeding to the Diploma. More information can be found on the Law Society of Scotland's website.

Law Society of Scotland website.

English language requirements

Postgraduate study in the field of law requires a thorough, complex and demanding knowledge of English, so we ask that the communication skills of all students are at the same minimum standard.

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 (at least 7.0 in the writing component and 6.5 in each other module)
• TOEFL-iBT (including Special Home Edition): total 100 (at least 25 in writing and 23 in each other module)
• CAE and CPE: total 185 (at least 185 in writing and 176 in each other module)
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components
• PTE Academic: 70 overall with at least 70 in the writing component and 62 in each other component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, that was taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country as defined by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The UK Government's website provides a list of majority English speaking countries.

View the UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or equivalent, that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries.

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than three and a half years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about the University's English language requirements

• Applications open on 3 March.
• Applications close at 12:00 on 5 May.

Acceptances must be made by 12:00 on the relevant acceptance deadline below.

Round 1 offers 

7 July: Applicants will be notified whether they have been offered a place by one of their chosen Diploma providers.

14 July: Deadline for acceptance of Round 1 offers

Applicants not receiving an offer of a place in Round 1 will need to wait until the round 2 offers to see whether they are offered a place by one of their chosen Diploma providers. 

Round 2 offers

24 July: Deadline for Round 2 offers to be made to successful applicants

28 July: Deadline for acceptance of Round 2 offers

Round 3 offers

4 August: Deadline for Round 3 offers to be made to successful applicants

9 August: Deadline for acceptance of Round 3 offers

Please note that Diploma providers will set individual, bespoke deadlines for any subsequent rounds (eg Round Four onwards).

Your Personal Data

The DPLP Provider(s) to which you apply, together with your LLB Provider, will each be known as the “Data Controller” of your personal data processed in relation to your application to the DPLP.

The Law Society of Scotland (LSS) may also be known as the “Data Controller” of your personal data in relation to your application to the DPLP.

List of Data Controllers for the purposes of DPLP applications:

• The University of Aberdeen*
• Abertay University
• The University of Dundee*
• The University of Edinburgh*
• The University of Glasgow*
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• Edinburgh Napier University
• Robert Gordon University*
• University of Stirling
• The University of Strathclyde*
• Law Society of Scotland

*DPLP Provider

This privacy notice will explain how the individual Data Controllers will process your personal data.

Why we need it

DPLP Providers to which you apply will:

1. collect your basic personal data such as name, date of birth, email address/contact details, academic or LSS qualifications, name of your LLB Provider, any special circumstances and whether or not you have a traineeship, in order to determine whether you are eligible to be offered a place on the DPLP;
2. contact your LLB Provider to request your LLB academic record, including the courses you have completed which map to the foundation outcomes of the LSS; and
3. share data with each other, to monitor acceptance numbers and ensure compliance with the application process.

Data Controllers will only collect data needed in order to provide and oversee this service to you.

Legal basis for processing your data

We must have a legal basis for processing all personal data. In this instance, the legal basis is contract, as you are taking steps to enter into a contract with DPLP Providers. If you do not provide the information requested on the application form, DPLP Providers will be unable to contact your LLB Provider to determine whether you are eligible to be offered a place on the DPLP.

What we do with it and who we share it with

All the personal data you submit is processed by the Data Controllers listed above under “Your Personal Data”, in the United Kingdom. The following steps show how your personal data will be processed.

• The DPLP Providers to which you applied will provide your name and date of birth to your LLB Provider.
• Your LLB Provider will provide information on your academic record, including the courses you have completed which map to the foundation outcomes of the LSS, to the DPLP Providers to which you applied, in order to determine whether you are eligible to be offered a place on the DPLP.
• DPLP Providers to which you applied will share the offer / acceptance status of your DPLP application with each other.
• All the personal data you submit may be shared with the LSS, if relevant.

Your data will be shared securely by the Data Controllers.

How long do we keep it for?

1. If you accept an offer of a place on the DPLP at the University of Edinburgh, the personal data processed in relation to your application to the DPLP will be retained by the University for two years after completion of the DPLP.
2. If you are neither offered nor accept an offer of a place on the DPLP at the University of Edinburgh, your data will be retained by the University for six months after the end of the admissions process, then deleted or disposed of securely.

What are your rights?*

You can request access to the information we process about you at any time. If at any point you believe that the information we process relating to you is incorrect, you can request to see this information and may in some instances request to have it restricted, corrected or, erased. You may also have the right to object to the processing of data and the right to data portability.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact records management at recordsmanagement@ed.ac.uk

*Please note that the ability to exercise these rights will vary and depend on the legal basis on which the processing is being carried out.

Complaints

If you wish to raise a complaint about how we have handled your personal data, you can contact the University Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter.

Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dpo@ed.ac.uk

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Visit the Information Commissioner's Office website