- Level
- Master Degree
- Duration
- 1 year master degree
- Open intake
-
Off-shoreSep 2027
- Field
- Law, Politics, and Public Administration
- Institution
- Public University
- Offer speed
- Fast Offer Speed5–7 days
Program overview
A one year graduate diploma covering the foundations of legal knowledge, spanning contract, tort, criminal, public, land and equity law with legal research and writing.
This is the law conversion route for graduates of other subjects, and it is the step before the SQE rather than a qualification to practise.
Graduate Diploma in Legal Foundations is taught at Bath Spa University, a public university in England with full degree awarding powers. Because the legal foundations diploma is a degree, it supports an application under the UK Graduate Route, which gives two years of unsponsored work in Britain after you finish. No job offer or sponsor is needed for the legal foundations diploma, but you must be inside the UK on a valid student visa when you apply. Your student visa covers the length of the legal foundations diploma plus a short period afterwards. UK rules from January 2024 bar a dependant partner or child on taught courses, so the legal foundations diploma does not support a family move.
Candidates for Graduate Diploma in Legal Foundations present a completed bachelor degree at 50 percent. The English requirement is IELTS 6.5 with no band below 5.5, and tuition for the legal foundations diploma is recorded at GBP 16,625. Bath Spa charges no application fee, and no scholarship is recorded against the legal foundations diploma. The legal foundations diploma lists three entry windows, one September start in each of three consecutive years. Apply Study Visa manages your the legal foundations diploma application, the deposit, the offer, the CAS and the UK student visa as one process.
What it costs per year · indicative
Living cost is an estimate; tuition is the institute's published international fee. We confirm exact, current figures before you pay anything.
Do you qualify?
These are the published minimums. Whether your profile fits — with your marks, gap and budget — is exactly what a free counsellor check confirms.
Admission requirements
Who can apply (guide for international students):
- Education: A completed bachelor degree from a recognised university, at the percentage stated.
- English (meet any one): IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no band below 5.5; TOEFL iBT 75 with reading 18, writing 17, speaking 20 and listening 17; PTE Academic 65 with reading 50, writing 55, speaking 55 and listening 50; or the Duolingo English Test at 120.
- Application and deposit: Bath Spa charges NO application fee, so applying costs you nothing. Confirm the tuition deposit and its refundability in writing before any money is transferred.
- Scholarship: No scholarship is recorded against this programme. Budget the full tuition.
- Additional requirement: This qualification does not confer the right to practise law in England and Wales. Solicitors require the Solicitors Qualifying Examination and two years of qualifying work experience.
- Work rights: the legal foundations diploma is a degree, so it supports a UK Graduate Route application giving two years of unsponsored work after you finish. No dependant may accompany you on a taught course.
- Student visa: Apply Study Visa prepares the CAS request, the financial evidence and the UK student visa submission with you.
English requirements
Documents you'll need typical · we confirm yours
- Valid passport (6+ months validity)
- Class 10 & 12 marksheets and certificates
- Bachelor's degree marksheets & final certificate
- English test scorecard (IELTS / PTE / TOEFL) or MOI certificate
- Statement of Purpose (SOP)
- Letters of Recommendation (LOR)
- Updated CV / resume
- Financial proof — bank statement / loan sanction
- Passport-size photographs
- Study-gap affidavit or work-experience letter (if applicable)
Getting documents right is the #1 reason applications succeed or get refused — our team checks every file before submission.
Career opportunities
Typical destinations for graduates:
- Trainee Solicitor: after the SQE and qualifying work experience
- Paralegal: law firms and in house teams
- Legal Assistant: litigation and conveyancing
- Compliance Officer: regulated firms
- Legal Researcher: practices and chambers
- Barrister: after the bar course and pupillage
Reality check: a conversion diploma is the first of several steps, so budget for the SQE preparation and examinations that follow it.
About Bath Spa University
- Type
- University
- Ownership
- Public
- Rating
- ★ 4.6
- World rank
- #92
- Established
- 1852
- Reference No.
- 10000571
