How to apply to the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice

The Law Society of Scotland provides a guidance note to help Diploma applicants understand the process and additional factors to consider when deciding to do the Diploma.

Download Diploma in Professional Legal Practice Guidance note for applicants 2024-25 [PDF]

We also provide key information about the process of admission to any of the providers of the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice for the academic session 2024-25.

Key information - admission to the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice academic session 2024-25 [PDF]

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.

Selection criteria

Detailed information on our selection criteria can be found in our Admissions Policy document.

Diploma in Professional Legal Practice Admissions policy 2024-25 [PDF]

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

Our online application form comprises of nine sections (Personal, Contact, Programme, Qualification, Employment, Finance, Referees, Document upload and Submit). Depending on your circumstances, not all sections will be required or applicable. 

Applications for 2024-25 entry will close at 12 noon on 10 May 2024.

Please follow the Application Guidance document for a step by step guide as to what is required, we recommend that you read this carefully before starting your application.

• DPLP Application Guidance 2024-25 entry [PDF]

In brief:

1. Personal: all applicants must complete this in full.
2. Contact: all applicants must complete this in full.
3. Programme: all applicants must state which two providers they are applying to, in order of preference. Any applicants who have accepted a traineeship offer should states so here.
4. Qualifications: applicants must set out whether they are studying, or have studied, for an LLB Hons, LLB Ordinary, Graduate (accelerated) LLB or the Law Society of Scotland Examinations (via the pre-PEAT training contract route).
5. Employment: applicants who have been employed in a legal role or with an employer in the legal sector for a period of six months or more should provide details here.
6. Finance: applications should provide details of any applicable scholarships or payment of fees by the law firm with which they have accepted a traineeship.
7. Referees: no references are required.   
8. Document upload: applicants should use this section to upload the following (as applicable) – (1) the transcript or degree certificate for a non-law degree (if a Graduate LLB student); (2) evidence of any additional circumstances (see the Application Guidance document for details) of what this covers; (3) evidence of employment in a legal role or with an employer in the legal sector; (4) evidence of a traineeship.
9. Submit: all applicants must complete this in full.

• Friday 8 March 2024 - Applications open
• 12 noon, Friday 10 May 2024 - Application deadline 
• Tuesday 9 July 2024 - Round One decisions
• 12 noon, Wednesday 17 July 2024 - Round One acceptances
• Wednesday 24 July 2024 - Round Two decisions
• 12 noon, Monday 29 July 2024 - Round Two acceptances
• Monday 5 August 2024 - Round Three decisions
• 12 noon, Wednesday 7 August 2024 - Round Three acceptances

Diploma providers will set individual, bespoke deadlines for any subsequent rounds (i.e. Round Four onwards) as required.

Please ensure that you apply by no later than 12 noon on Friday 10 May. Application forms which are submitted late will not be accepted.

It is not possible to defer the offer of a place until a later year.

This policy document sets out how the University of Edinburgh will process applications for the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (the Diploma) for the academic session 2024-25.

Diploma in Professional Legal Practice Admissions policy 2024-25 [PDF]

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: (a) your LLB academic record, including the courses you have completed which map to the foundation outcomes of the LSS; and (b) whether you were eligible to receive a widening access offer when applying; 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; and
  - on whether you were eligible to receive a widening access offer when applying for the LLB
  - 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