Law - GDL
GradDip
Key facts
Start dates
September 2020
Location
Course length
Full time: 12 months
Part time: 24 months
Department
School of Law
Overview
We pride ourselves on providing a quality law conversion course. The course combines academic rigour with the problem solving and research skills to help you stand out as a legal professional. You can study with us full-time (one year) or part-time (two years).
We’re known in the legal world for producing graduates that have both:
- a thorough grasp of legal knowledge
- the confidence to apply it to real-life situations.
Our classes are small and our teaching staff are supportive. They are passionate about the work and research they do, incorporating their published work into their specialist teaching. So you'll be able to experience an active engagement with the laws of the society in which we live, while you study.
You will develop employability skills and we have an outstanding record of student success in the following:
- national mooting
- international mooting
- client interviewing competitions
- solicitor mentoring scheme
- barrister mentoring scheme.
You can participate in our solicitor and barrister mentoring or pro bono schemes.
How to apply
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
You will normally have, or be predicted to have, a second class degree or above and your application should also demonstrate a commitment to the legal profession.
However, all applications are considered on their merits and we will consider applicants who do not have or may not be predicted to have an upper second class honours degree who can demonstrate a commitment to pursuing a career in the legal profession and who have other strengths or evidence of achievement such as awards, scholarships and work experience - paid or unpaid.
A Certificate of Academic Standing is required for applicants whose intention it is to become a barrister and who do not hold a UK first Degree. Applicants are strongly advised to apply to the Bar Standards Board (BSB) https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/ as soon as possible for a Certificate of Academic Standing for the GDL as these can take some time to obtain.
Please also see the University's general entry requirements.
English language requirements
Students whose first language is not English will need A-level English, or an IELTS score of 7.0, including a minimum of 6.5 in each component. This is for all applicants whose first language in not English including those who may have a degree from the UK.
Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.
English requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Pathways courses for international and EU students
We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.
Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.
If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.
Terms and Conditions of Enrolment
When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Application process
Applications are made through the Central Applications Board, PO Box 84, Guildford, Surrey, GU3 1YX.
Please ensure that you select Oxford Brookes School of Law from the options available.
All potential applicants, and especially those with non-standard qualifications, are advised to consult the Guide to Common Professional Examinations, which can be obtained from the Central Applications Board (CAB).
Important deadlines
The closing date for full time and part time applications for the Graduate Diploma in Law is 31st August 2020.
Part-time applications
Applications for the part-time course are received directly to Oxford Brookes University:
Tuition fees
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
Tuition fees
Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year your fees will increase each year.
Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course, if any, are detailed below.
Financial support and scholarships
A scholarship is available for students who will be studying on the Graduate Diploma in Law at Oxford Brookes University in 2019-20.
To enter, please submit a 1,000 maximum word answer to the following question:
A signal English public law case is Entick v Carrington [1765] EWHC KB J98. In it Lord Camden said [2] ‘if this is law it would be found in our books’ implying that anything not in the law books is not law. Read and consider this principle and the judgment which is available at http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/1765/J98.html&query=(Entick).
Now consider the fact that in 2017–2019 there are (as of this writing) 288 bills before Parliament. This does not even consider secondary legislation produced by ministries and regulatory authorities.
If a hallmark of the rule of law is making the law public and knowable, has the sheer quantity of new law undermined the rule of law?
The scholarship is worth £2,000 to be put towards payment of GDL fees and will be awarded for the best 1,000 word essay.
To be eligible to enter the competition, you must have accepted a place on the GDL at Oxford Brookes commencing in 2018–19 by Thursday 1 August 2019. The deadline for entry into the competition is midday on Thursday 8 August 2019.
To find out how to enter, the criteria by which essays will be judged and the declaration which you must attach to your essay, please read the terms and conditions document.
Learning and assessment
The first two weeks of the GDL is an induction course which includes a study of the English legal system and introductory lectures in:
- legal theory
- legal writing skills
- problem solving.
There are also opportunities to explore the city with an Oxford guide. The induction course ends with a welcome reception in Headington Hill Hall. The intensity of the induction course develops a strong sense of community among students.
The induction course is assessed on a pass/fail basis. You must pass before you can progress to the main body of the course.
Study modules
Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from that shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.
Learning and teaching
Our teaching methods give you the best opportunity to gain legal knowledge and skills and include:
- two hour lectures
- one and a half hour workshops.
Our teaching staff have qualifications and experience as barristers or solicitors. A significant number of others hold research degrees.
Assessment
Assessment methods used on this course
You will have an ongoing awareness of your progress. Assessments are spread throughout the course and include both coursework and exams.
Our staff and students monitor and analyse the effectiveness of teaching and assessments. Our methods are described in the course handbook.
Research
Research strengths and interests among staff include:
- public law
- international law and human rights
- employment
- religion and the law
- criminal justice
- IT and the law.
- Research areas and clusters
Research degrees can be undertaken in the following areas:
- access to justice
- accountability
- company law
- comparative constitutions
- criminal justice
- family law
- human rights
- information law
- international economic law
- international law and policy
- international trade and commercial law
- international and European environmental law
- intellectual property law
- law and religion
- migration
- workplace rights and employment law
- WTO law.
After you graduate
Career prospects
Having completed the GDL most students go on to become solicitors or barristers by taking the Legal Practice Course (LPC) or the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC).
Training contracts
Many of our students come to the GDL having already obtained training contracts with solicitors’ firms, and their GDL studies are funded by these firms. Recent students have secured training contracts at firms such as Clifford Chance LLP, Freshfields and Blake Morgan.
Scholarships for barristers
Oxford Brookes GDL students going to the bar are exceptionally successful in securing much sought-after funding and scholarships. Each year a significant proportion of Brookes students gain prestigious scholarships through the Inns of Court. Recent students have gained pupillages at a number of well reputed barrister chambers including Quadrant Chambers, 4 Pump Court and XXIV Old Buildings.
Further careers options with law
A small number of our students use the legal knowledge and analytical skills gained through the GDL course to pursue a business, public sector or financial career, or continue on to further academic study.
Student profiles
Programme Changes: On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website.
For more information, please visit our Changes to programmes page.