Graduate Diploma in Law (Graduate Diploma)

If you have graduated in a subject other than law and would like to switch to a legal career, the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) is for you.

If you are thinking of qualifying as a lawyer in England and Wales, this course enables you to,

- study the structure and doctrines of the legal system in England and Wales and

- the seven core (foundation) subjects of a law degree: contract law, criminal law, equity & trusts law, EU law, land law, public law and tort law.

The GDL allows you to study these intensively over one year, instead of the three years usually required for a Law degree.

If you are thinking of qualifying as a barrister, the GDL gives you the academic modules you will need to pass before progressing to a Bar Training Course (BTC). We also offer a BTC course.

If you are thinking of qualifying as a solicitor, the GDL gives you the academic knowledge of legal principles and their application you will need as part of your preparation for the new centrally assessed Solicitors Qualifying Examination (“SQE”), introduced from September 2021.

Please see the ‘Career Prospects’ section of this entry for further information on the options available to you following completion of the GDL.

Career prospects

Qualification as a barrister

Our GDL includes the core subjects you need to progress to a Bar Training Course (BTC) which we also offer. More information on qualifying as a barrister can be found on the Bar Standards Board website.

Qualification as a solicitor

The Solicitors' Regulation Authority (SRA), the body which regulates the profession, has changed the recognised route to qualification.

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) was introduced in September 2021. Since then it is no longer essential for students to hold a law degree or GDL to become a solicitor.  However, the foundational modules studied on the GDL will cover subjects which are examined as part of the SQE.  The GDL offers the benefits of a fully rounded legal education and a qualification that is well respected and valued within the legal profession.

To qualify when you have completed your GDL, you’ll need to take a preparation course aimed at GDL and law graduates, covering the professional and practice elements of legal knowledge and preparing for the SQE.  Some courses are already available from providers, and more are under development. We aim to introduce an SQE preparation course in September 2025.  Further information on qualifying can be found on the Solictors Regulation Authority website.