Guidance notes for Professional Legal Practice (part time) PGDip
Fees for other providers
- Fees are set annually by each provider.
- Full-time and part-time fee structures differ across providers.
Student loans
Information about postgraduate student loans and eligibility criteria is available from the SAAS website. Please refer to the information there before making your application and, if in any doubt, contact SAAS for guidance about your eligibility.
Admission criteria for other providers
- Admission criteria are set by individual providers, with emphasis on results relevant to the foundation outcomes required by the Law Society of Scotland.
- Providers may consider additional factors in admissions decisions.
Ranking of applicants
We will prioritise applicants who have put Dundee as their first preference.
Our primary criteria for ranking candidates and allocating places is selection by GPA. However, we also intend to take into account the contextual factors above, particularly in the allocation of our final spaces. We reserve the discretionary right to allocate final spaces to students with a slightly lower GPA but who have some of these contextual factors.
We understand that grades can be influenced by things outside your control, we therefore look at each application in detail, including any circumstances out of your control which may have impacted your potential. Details of this approach are further explained on our contextual admissions policy webpage.
Evidence for contextual factors
We may ask for supporting evidence for contextual factors after you apply.
However, if you:
- studied your LLB at the University of Dundee and
- have submitted the same reason for a contextual offer
then you will not have to submit evidence a second time.
If you have any further questions about this, please contact Sophie Harris.
Traineeship employment market
- Traineeships are competitive, with approximately 87% of Diploma students securing a traineeship.
- Trainee salaries are reviewed annually, with a minimum requirement to meet the Living Wage.
Fitness and properness
Note for all Intending Diploma Students re “Fit and Proper Person”
In deciding to apply for a place on the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice, you are no doubt at least considering the possibility of a career in one or other branch of the legal profession in Scotland. Both the Faculty of Advocates and the Law Society of Scotland are pleased to have this opportunity to introduce themselves to you, and to congratulate you on having taken this first step along the road leading to a career in Scottish legal practice. The officers of the Faculty and the Society whose addresses are shown below will be happy to deal with any individual queries which you may have in relation to your future career. Please note, however, that enquiries about whether or not you will receive a Diploma place or funding for that place should be directed to your undergraduate university or Diploma provider.
You will remember the Law Society of Scotland from the various visits made to your undergraduate classes. However, we need to remind you that the Society and the Faculty are interested in much more than your academic qualifications. As the professional bodies they have duties to protect the interests of both the profession and the public in relation to the profession.
In order to be granted an Entrance Certificate by the Law Society, you must satisfy the Society that you are a "fit and proper person" to become a solicitor. The Society’s processes in relation to determining fitness and properness of those who wish to enter the profession are set out in the guidance available on the Society’s website.
When you apply to the Society for an Entrance Certificate, you will be asked to complete a form on which you are required to state, amongst other things, whether you have ever been convicted of any offence – no matter how trivial it may seem to you - and, also, whether you have ever been declared bankrupt. You will also be required to fill in an application form for a Standard Disclosure. The Society, as the governing body, then applies to Disclosure Scotland for a Disclosure Certificate. Accordingly, if you are in any doubt as to how seriously some past misdemeanour or difficulty may be viewed, you are advised to contact the Society NOW, before entering the Diploma. The Society will be able, at this stage, to offer guidance only as to how a particular matter might affect the issue of an Entrance Certificate, with any final decision being taken only when an application for an Entrance Certificate is made following completion of the Diploma.
The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates exercises a similar discretion over the admission of intending advocates, and the foregoing advice accordingly applies equally to those who may be considering a career at the Bar.
If you are in any doubt, write to the appropriate officer named below in the first instance, giving as much information as you can about the matter and you will be given further guidance as quickly as possible.
Dean’s Secretariat
Faculty of Advocates
Parliament House
Parliament Square
Edinburgh
EH1 1RF
0131 260 5795
admissions@advocates.org.uk
Admissions Manager
The Law Society of Scotland
Atria One
144 Morrison Street
Edinburgh
EH18EX
0131 476 8162
legaleduc@lawscot.org.uk