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LPC
LPC Online
Join the largest community of LPC students*.
The Legal Practice Course (LPC) is a postgraduate legal qualification that is the final academic step for aspiring solicitors. Once successfully completed, you can go on to a training contract before fully qualifying as a solicitor. Our LPC Online offers you the best possible preparation to practise law with the skills to succeed in business. If you’re looking for an online route to your career as a solicitor, with the same qualification as our on campus alternative, our supported study programme is the perfect solution.
*Central Applications Board (LawCAB) 2021
Key Facts
Entry requirements
Minimum second class honours Qualifying Law Degree
or GDL/CPE or MA Law
Entry requirementsDuration options
LPC Online
- 41 weeks (full-time)
- 22 months (part-time)
LPC LLM Online or LPC MSc Online
- 45 weeks (full-time)
- 23 months (part-time)
Employment Promise
If you don’t get a job within nine months of completing the course, we’ll give you 100% of your fees back.*
*Terms and conditions apply.
Course Details
LPC Online
Our LPC Online is a completely supported online study programme, offering you the best truly flexible route to your career as a solicitor. You can study where you want, receiving regular online support and feedback on your work from our professionally experienced tutors. You’ll have access to world-class learning materials, adapting our on campus material into a variety of engaging online methods.
The course structure has been designed to allow you to build a portfolio of work to support your job applications and help you to stand out from the crowd. The combination of online learning resources and supervision from your tutor will provide you with relevant knowledge and practical skills needed as a trainee solicitor, while our award-winning careers support will help you with your training contract applications and give you access to over 3,000 pro bono opportunities as soon as you accept your place.
If you are based outside England & Wales or are seeking to use the LPC towards professional qualification outside England & Wales, you must check with your local bar association/legal profession training regulator whether it recognises online courses and assessments as satisfying its requirements before enrolling with the University.
To find out more about the assessment methods of this course, please see the Assessment tab under Course Information below.
When you study the LPC with us you will receive:
- A career-focused approach to learning, developing commercial awareness, critical thinking and the professional skills that legal employers are looking for
- Tailored course options to suit your specialist areas of interest through a wide choice of elective subjects
- Flexible study – choose to study online anywhere with the choice of full-time and part-time course options
- Access to award-winning careers support to help you with your training contract applications with over 3,000 pro bono opportunities as soon as you accept your place. We also work with over 90 of the top 100 law firms
- Choose to study an LLM in Professional Legal Practice or MSc in Law, Business and Management at no extra cost, and you could be eligible for a postgraduate student loan
- 95% of our full-time LPC students were in Highly Skilled Occupations fifteen months of graduating*.
- Our Employment Promise - get a job in nine months or your fees back, up to 50% as cashback and 50% as credit towards another course**.
Required attendance
You are not required to attend a campus for induction.
Attendance is not required for your oral skills practice assessments and final oral skills assessments, which will be conducted online.
With a clear focus on your future employability, we are more confident than ever in your success and offer our Employment Promise to everyone studying this course. Get a job in nine months, or we’ll give you 100% of your fees back*: 50% of your fees as cashback plus 50% of your fees as credit towards any further courses.
Programme Demands
This document explains the demands of the course in order to assess your ability for the course.
Full-time LPC programme demands ➔
Part-time LPC programme demands ➔
*95% of our UK LPC students in employment were in Highly Skilled Occupations 15 months after graduating (2019/20 Graduate Outcomes data). Contains HESA Data © HESA 2022 (www.hesa.ac.uk).
**Terms and conditions apply. Visit our Employment Promise page for details.
What is the LPC?
The LPC is the final stage of training to become a qualified solicitor. You study the LPC after successful completion of a qualifying law degree, or other recognised qualifications.
The LPC is recognised and well-respected and valued by law firms due to the level of practical preparation our students receive, beyond just theory. It’s a hands-on qualification and certifying means that you will be able to adapt to working life as a solicitor and thrive quickly.
We have designed our LPC to fit in with your life and plans - you can study full-time, part-time or take an accelerated course. Whatever you choose, all routes are designed to offer you the best possible preparation to practise law. At ULaw, we focus on the skills that employers are most interested in so that you can enhance your academic knowledge while preparing for the realities of life in legal practice.
Is the LPC the same as the SQE?
Not exactly. The SQE is the new route to becoming a solicitor, being gradually phased in by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) . You can find useful, clear guidance and information surrounding the transition to the SQE on our SQE Hub.
Am I still able to study the LPC?
A large majority of law students can still study the LPC, even with the (Solicitors Qualifying Examination) SQE being phased in over time. If you have already started a qualifying law degree (QLD), GDL, MA Law or training contract there are transition arrangements in place until 31 December 2032 to qualify as a solicitor under the LPC route.
There’s no need to worry if your experience doesn’t match the requirements for the LPC. You’ll be able to qualify as a solicitor by following the new SQE path - find out more about the route available to you over on our SQE hub.
If you’re not sure whether you can study the LPC based on these requirements, get in touch with our friendly team. We’ll advise you based on your own ambition and previous studies.
Email [email protected] or call +44 (0) 800 289 997
Should students choose to study the LPC or SQE?
In more detail
You can still continue with the LPC route to qualify as a solicitor if you have completed, started, accepted an offer, or paid a non-refundable deposit for one of the following by 31 August 2021:
- Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) / Common Professional Examination
- MA Law
- Legal Practice Course (LPC)
- a period of recognised training (also known as a training contract)
For a qualifying law degree (QLD) and exempting law degree (ELD), such as our LLB, you must have completed, started, accepted an offer or paid a non-refundable deposit by 21 September 2021.
In most cases, for the QLD, ELD and CPE, the relevant course must have started at the latest on or before 31 December 2021.
If you started the full-time GDL or MA Law in September 2021, you should be eligible to commence the Legal Practice Course (LPC) in September 2022, once you have successfully completed your course.
What else should I know?
- The LPC is eligible for financial support such as a postgraduate student loan, bursaries and scholarships.
- If you already have a training contract in place, the LPC is the route we would recommend. If you don’t have a training contract arranged already, then the SQE may be more suitable for you because it is more flexible in terms of options for work experience.
- If your underlying law degree did not include the EU Law module you will need to study an extra module before the LPC. This standalone online module provides the additional training that you’ll need to qualify to complete the LPC and gives you the necessary skills and knowledge that you’ll need to study the LPC. Find out more ➔
Course Structure
Stage 1 modules
- Introduction to Professional Practice
• Business Law and Practice Knowledge and Skills
• Dispute Resolution Knowledge and Skills
• Real Estate Knowledge and Skills
Stage 2 modules
Choose three*:
- Advanced Criminal Practice
- Advanced Real Estate
- Banking and Debt Finance
- Commercial Dispute Resolution
- Commercial Law
- Competition Law
- Employment Law
- Family Law
- Immigration
- Insurance
- Intellectual Property
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Litigation
- Public Companies
- Private Client
*All elective modules are subject to availability.
LLM in Professional Legal Practice (optional)
To receive an LLM in Professional Legal Practice you may choose to study either of the following:
- Law and Business module
- Or an additional elective module of your choice
You will also undertake a self-study Professional Practice Research Report module.
If you choose not to complete the LLM in Professional Legal Practice you will be issued with a Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) and will still have completed the vocational stage of training requirements.
MSc in Law, Business and Management (optional)
To receive an MSc in Law, Business and Management you must complete two additional MSc modules:
1. Law and Business
A taught module encompassing the following topics:
- The economy, business environment and globalisation
- The functioning of the City
- Management
- Financial analysis
- Corporate finance
- Business Development
- Strategy
Please note that Law and Business involves a lot of calculations and therefore a basic level of maths is required.
2. Case Study Project
A business based Case Study Project, which is a self-study research module based on some of the themes and topics covered in Law and Business.
If you choose not to complete the MSc in Law, Business and Management you will be issued with a Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) and will still have completed the vocational stage of training requirements.
Course Start Dates
September 2023
-
Legal Practice Course (LPC)
- Full-time: Online
- Part-time: Online
January 2024
-
Legal Practice Course (LPC)
- Full-time: Online
- Part-time: Online
September 2024
-
Legal Practice Course (LPC)
- Full-time: Online
- Part-time: Online
Online Taster Session
If you want to find out what it’s like to study an online course with us, why not try our free online taster session?
Our taster sessions can be completed at your own pace and include short, structured exercises to help you experience what it will really be like to study online with us. All you need to do is visit our online learning platform (Blackboard ELITE) and, if you've already applied to study with us and received login details for ELITE, click 'sign in' on Blackboard ELITE. Alternatively, click 'sign up' and complete the short registration form.
Add a Free Master's
Rather than enrolling on the core LPC, you may prefer to enrol on one of the following Master’s Degree qualifications which are available to you at no extra cost.
Additionally, for further information on the different LPC award choices, please read our student FAQ sheet.
LPC MSc in Law, Business and Management (optional)
If you want to work for a law firm or an employer with a corporate/commercial focus or if you are interested in understanding business from both the commercial as well as the legal perspective, our LPC MSc will equip you with the key legal knowledge and skills required to work successfully in legal practice and will provide a pronounced business focus which will enable you to better understand your clients' business practices.
The two additional MSc modules are:
1. Law and Business
A taught module encompassing the following topics:
- The economy, business environment and globalisation
- The functioning of the City
- Management
- Financial analysis
- Corporate finance
- Business Development
- Strategy
Please note that Law and Business involves a lot of calculations and therefore a basic level of maths is required.
2. Case Study Project
A business based Case Study project, which is a self-study research module based on some of the themes and topics covered in Law and Business.
LPC LLM in Professional Legal Practice (optional)
Alternatively, if you would like the opportunity to gain a deeper interest in a specialist area of the law and to keep your options open, our LLM will suit your needs. Successfully complete your LPC with either an extra elective of your choice or a Law and Business module and a Professional Practice Research Report and you will receive an LPC LLM in Professional Legal Practice.
If you want to study the LPC only
If you choose not to undertake either the MSc or LLM you can still enrol on the LPC without a Masters award. You will be issued with a Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice and will still have completed the vocational stage of training requirements.
Study On Campus
You can also study this course at one of our campuses across the UK. If you’re looking for a more traditional university experience, why not consider studying on campus?
Course Information
To get a full picture of how studying our LPC Online works during the year, take a look at our course date breakdowns.
There are a range of assessments conducted online, including oral assessments, open book examinations and take home 24 hour assessments.
For closed and open book examinations, these are delivered online but you may choose to sit these at one of our campuses as listed below:
Available campuses: Birmingham, Bristol, Guildford, Leeds, London Bloomsbury, Manchester or Nottingham.
Mock assessments (taken online) are arranged in order to prepare you for the real assessments.
The additional Master’s modules are assessed by a 3000 word written report and oral assessment.
Each of our LPC study options has its own structure, with different assessments to suit.
Employability We Set You Up For Success
We care about your career, which is why we offer support with job applications and other work experience opportunities as soon as you accept your place.
Discover more
Find a career that suits you
Fees and Applying
Apply direct to The University of Law.
2023/24 Course Fee (for courses starting on or after 1 July 2023) - £15,350
Total fees (including £15 SRA registration fee*)
If you choose to study our MSc in Law, Business and Management or LLM in Professional Legal Practice alongside your LPC you could also be eligible for a Postgraduate Master's Loan.
f you’re a ULaw alumnus, you may be eligible to receive our £500 General Alumni Discount.
*This change is set by the SRA and is subject to an increase.
We have students from over 120 different countries throughout our campuses, with a dedicated team to help international students.
