MA in Law FAQs

• A transcript (showing individual marks awarded) from your Bachelor’s degree (interim ie. showing all marks to date if not completed degree).
• An English language certificate if applicable – but your application can be processed without one.
• A personal statement (one to two pages only) - you should include why you are applying for the programme, why you are applying to the University of Bristol, why you think you are a suitable candidate for your programme of study, and how your choice of programme fits with your future career plans.
• Two academic references - ideally these should be from academics who taught you most recently. It is essential that we have academic rather than professional references. We accept professional references if it is more than 5 years since graduation. We will process an application with only one reference at this stage in the admissions cycle.

Academic requirements

MA in Law – A 2.1 honours degree (or international equivalent) in any discipline.

English Language requirement

Our English Language requirement is the same for all PGT Law programmes:

IELTS 7.0 overall, minimum 6.5 in all bands.

We accept other language tests, our requirement is called Profile B internally, and all the tests accepted are listed on profile B page.

Is LNAT required for the MA in Law? No. Offers are made on the basis of academic and language requirements, the personal statement and references are also considered.

In your statement you should describe the reasons for your choice of postgraduate programme and why this is important to you. Please also explain why you are applying to the University of Bristol, why you think you are a suitable candidate for your programme of study, and how your choice of programme fits with your future career plans. 

For the MA in Law we admit between 50 and 80 students per year. 

We usually allow applicants to defer an offer for one year (only unconditional offers can be deferred and for international students, deposits of £1500 must be paid in advance). Deferrals can be requested by emailing ChooseBristol-PG@bristol.ac.uk

No, it is not a requirement. We suggest you might find it useful to undertake some legal work experience to help you make up your mind that studying law is for you, but it does not make any difference to whether you receive an offer.

The Law School is committed to excellence and innovation in teaching, and to ensuring that law students’ learning experience is both stimulating and challenging.

The Law School is a top 10 UK law school (Complete University Guide UK 2024) and ranked top 60 in the world (QS World University Rankings 2023). The University of Bristol is the fourth most targeted university by top UK employers (High Fliers Research 2023). 

Our law degrees are underpinned by research from world-leading academics - ranked third best in the UK for excellence in legal research according to the THE analysis of REF 2021. In the latest Teaching Excellency Framework (TEF), the University was given a silver award. From a student perspective, studying law at the University of Bristol means being taught by a range of talented academics working at the cutting edge of their research fields, bringing world-class legal expertise directly into the classroom.

The MA can be studied part-time over 4 years. Two units are studied each year – see the programme catalogue for more information.

The MA is for either non-law graduates or non-UK lawyers wanting to get a Master's level qualification in law; the LLM is aimed at law graduates who are keen to specialise and enhance their CV.

The MA in Law programme consists of 4 compulsory units in year 1, 3 compulsory units and 1 optional unit in year 2. Students can choose from a range of optional units or conduct an independent research project. MA in Law structure can be found in the programme catalogue.

There are a range of ways in which we aim to support our students in the Law School; who come from a diverse range of backgrounds. In the Law School, we have a personal tutor system – each student is allocated to a personal tutor, who is responsible for their academic and pastoral well-being, and monitors their progress through the degree programme. This is overseen by the Senior Tutor and we also have a Law School Disability Adviser, who works closely with the university disability services, for students with declared disabilities. There is also a range of university support for student wellbeing – Counselling service; Student health service including on campus GP service; Big White Wall, Just Ask.  

Second year MA students can apply to a number of mentoring schemes within the Law School and wider university, matching students with mentors in a wide variety of sectors such as corporate/commercial law, government, human rights and many more.

A peer-to-peer mentoring scheme is also run, allowing second year MA students to mentor first years.

We provide extra language support (via the Academic Language and Literacy programme) to students who need that.

We provide specific Postgraduate Study skills sessions – ‘Mastering your Masters’ for example Common Law Studies, The Doctrine of Precedent, Judiciary and Judicial Reasoning, Civil Justice System, Writing and researching Law Essays.

The variety of practical skills and networking that you can gain through activities delivered by the Law School and Careers Service provide a solid foundation for you to further explore career paths open to you. We recognise that your postgraduate degree can open many doors for you in a variety of sectors and we are here to support you on that journey. We traditionally offer a wide range of initiatives such as mentoring, advocacy, international mooting opportunities and the chance to work in our pro bono law clinics. Our Law Spotlight Series hosts over 80 top law firms and chambers, including virtual breakout talks in a diverse range of topics. We hope to offer activities in a virtual format, where possible to widen scope for student participation. Find out more about our careers and employability provision via our webpages here.

We also have a dedicated Law School Employability Adviser, on hand to provide one-to-one careers support throughout your time as a student here. We also have a flourishing alumni network who provide guest lectures throughout the year and many of whom are also part of our mentoring schemes.

Student societies play a big role in the student experience in the Law School with over 10 societies currently active. They can offer you the chance to take part in mooting, debating, negotiation and commercial awareness activities plus much more. Read more about the student societies and partnerships here. 

The postgraduate MA in Law programme is a two-year accelerated Master of Arts in law, suitable for non-law graduates of any discipline. The degree offers the opportunity for more sustained engagement with core legal areas than is possible on one year course.

It is particularly attractive to those who wish to enter the English and Welsh legal profession. By studying over 2 years of intensive postgraduate-level work, students gain a greater depth of understanding than is possible in 1 year programme, together with experience in a specialist area of their choice.

On completing the MA in Law you will have a postgraduate degree rather than another undergraduate degree.

The MA curriculum builds on the fact that students will have already benefited from a university-level education. Students will graduate with a wider legal knowledge and a deeper understanding of law and legal reasoning, than can be obtained in a one-year law conversion course.

The MA Law curriculum is based on the seven 'Foundations of Legal Knowledge', providing students with the skills associated with graduate legal work.

The route to qualifying as a solicitor has now changed, with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) introducing a new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE).

The route to qualifying as a barrister has also changed, with the Bar Standards Board having introduced the Bar Training Course.

The Law School has partnered with BPP University to offer the free BPP Bridge Programme to students wishing to get a head start on their qualification. You can find out more about the routes to qualification, the programme and available scholarships on our webpage.

The majority of home students can now apply for a Postgraduate Study Loan (amount and process varies by country of residency). For the MA in Law, the loan is paid in 50% instalments over the two years).

Visit our PG funding page for links to each home country’s application and eligibility.

For details of awards, bursaries and scholarships, please visit the Fees and Funding website.

MA places do not come with any scholarships attached. Most students seek a placement in their first year and will try to find a law firm to sponsor them for their second year. It is also possible to take out bank loans at preferential rates for this kind of postgraduate study in the UK (and elsewhere). Visit the FindAMasters webpages to find out more about potential funding from a range of countries (and information on UK loans, if you live overseas but are eligible to pay home fees).

The University of Bristol welcomes applications from disabled students. We strongly encourage you to tell us about your disability so that we can prepare to support you. No applicant will be disadvantaged in the admissions process due to a disability, learning difficulty, health or mental health condition. When you disclose a disability, the admissions process we follow is identical to the process for all applicants. For more information visit the Disability Services web page. 

The Law School is committed to sustaining a positive and mutually supportive working environment for staff and students, ensuring individuals are treated equally and are able to access the same opportunities. To support this, the School's Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) Committee provides a point of contact for staff, students and external persons if they have issues or ideas concerning LGBT, Income, Gender, Disability or Racial inequalities, and to address ways to improve Law School policies in these areas.

Yes, check out our Law School tour video by one of our law graduates, Raeesa Rajmohamed.

You can also view our full campus tour to get an idea of what studying in Bristol is really like.