FAQs for Prospective students and applicants

Candidates who are studying A levels are required to have grades A*AA for our 3 or 4 year LLB programmes. IB applicants must have an overall grade of 36 points overall with 666 points from three Higher Level subjects. LLB Senior Status candidates are required to have an Upper Second Class Bachelor’s Degree. For more information see our Entry Requirements page.

Applicants from overseas can find country specific requirements on our international admissions pages.

Legal work experience is not essential. We are most interested in learning about your commitment and enthusiasm to the study of law as an academic discipline. This can be demonstrated in any number of different ways, which may include legal work placements, court visits or through engagement with topical issues that have recently been in the news. We will also be interested to hear about any relevant non-legal work experience that you have undertaken. If you have legal work experience you may wish to comment on any insights you gained and explain how and why it increased your desire to study law.

Queen Mary does not currently require applicants for the undergraduate law courses to sit the LNAT test. The academic and other information that applicants provide enables us to make our selection and ensure that we admit candidates from all backgrounds and meet our commitment to widening participation. We regularly review our position on LNAT, and our admissions policy may change in the future.

The Department of Law typically prefers candidates to meet the entry requirements in one sitting. However, we do accept applications from re-sit students. These applications are looked at on a case-by-case basis depending on the individual candidate's circumstances and re-sit applicants to whom we decide to make an offer may be asked to achieve higher grades than our standard tariff.

Please see our international admissions pages for suitable language requirements from your country.

Candidates studying the International Baccalaureate who achieve 6 or above in Higher Level English are not required to have an additional English language qualification.

**The School of Law will NOT be considering any year 2 transfers for the September 2023 intake**

It is not our policy to encourage transfers into any of our programmes, although we do sometimes consider applications for direct entry into the second year of the LLB programme in exceptional circumstances and as a matter of discretion. It may also depend in part upon the reason for the request and the compatibility of the two programmes. Applications into the third year will not be considered under any circumstances.

It is a standard pre-condition of any application that the applicant's qualifications match the entrance requirements of the programme. We would also look at achievement so far in the applicant's current degree programme and may also attach an academic condition relating to performance in assessments being taken if we do decide to make an offer. Students who are studying on the University of London programme are required to achieve 50 per cent or more in all first year modules to be considered for direct year two entry on our LLB course.

Transfer students are also required to make their application through UCAS during the normal cycle. In accordance with UCAS policy, all applications received by the 26 January deadline in any admissions cycle will be given equal consideration. Applications received after this date may be unsuccessful if competition for places is high.

We welcome applications from suitably qualified and motivated Access and Foundation Year applicants for whom we have a small number of places per year.

Access Students:

Typically, successful Access students are aged 21 and above at the start of the Access programme. It will be important to determine that you have the academic ability to manage and thrive on one of our intensive academic programmes, where the standard mode of assessment is by an unseen examination. In addition to your academic profile, we will also consider skills and qualifications acquired since you were last in full-time education. We will also look for evidence of your commitment to study law at degree level. Access to HE applicants will be required to obtain 60 credits as a minimum, and obtain at least 45 level 3 credits at Distinction.

Foundation Students:

The School of Law will consider only the International Foundation Programmes taught by Russell Group universities, the CEG ONCampus IFP pathway (but not the UFP), and the NCUK International Foundation Year. The grade requirements for foundation programme students will differ between institutions. You are welcome to contact the Admissions team: law-admissions@qmul.ac.uk before making an application so that we can give individual advice.

We generally have a different procedure for selecting students who live in the UK and who are gaining entrance on the basis of an Access or Foundation course (other than the Queen Mary International Foundation Programme).

Admission is based on academic merit and on the proven ability of the applicant to achieve success on their chosen programme of study. Every application to Queen Mary is considered on its individual merits with personal statement and reference taken into consideration.

Candidates who started an Access to HE programme or a Foundation course in the September intake must meet the January 15th UCAS deadline. We then hold all such applications (except those for which there are compelling grounds to decline) until the deadline has passed. In February/March we compile a shortlist, potentially take up second references, and may wish to invite shortlisted applicants for interviews which will take place in March.

Candidates who start a Foundation course in January must apply by 31 March. We then hold all such applications (except those for which there are compelling grounds to decline) until the deadline has passed. We then compile a shortlist, potentially take up second references, and may wish to invite shortlisted applicants for interviews which will take place in April/May.

All applications should be made before the UCAS deadline of the 26 January in order to guarantee equal academic consideration. We do not guarantee applications submitted after this date will be considered, and we may see fit to close UCAS applications to students at any point on or after this deadline.

The official UCAS deadline for Overseas students (generally defined as those living outside the UK or EU) is the 30 June. However, due to the popularity of the Law programme at Queen Mary, and the high standard of applications we receive each year, entry is intensely competitive. As a result, we strongly advise applicants to adhere to the 26 January deadline as set out for the EU students. We do not guarantee applications submitted after this date will be considered, and we may see fit to close UCAS applications to both Overseas and Home students at any point on or after this deadline.

• Keep the content simple and clear but appropriately formal and academic
• Use plain English. It is a popular misconception that lawyers use fancy and flowery language. Precision in expressing ideas is best achieved by using accurate and ordinary words.
• Use short sentences (15-20 words)
• Check grammar and spelling
• Use quotations sparingly and for a specific purpose. Remember, it is your personal statement. If you use quotations think about why, and do not let them speak for themselves. Make sure you have demonstrated explicitly why you are quoting. Integrate them into your argument.
• Make sure you write a reasoned and coherent statement justifying your application. Use the statement to show you can build an argument and back up your statements with evidence. Asserting a 'passion' for law, particularly if you have never studied it, is an extravagant and intriguing claim. It might be better to consider if it is a passion. But if it is, you need to justify your claim in a way that the reader can assess it.
• Include information about your non-academic interests and accomplishments, skills and achievements.
• Use the statement to explain anything unusual about your application. For example, if you are a mature applicant, indicate (a) what skills and qualities you have acquired since being in full-time education; (b) why you are seeking to return to education. If you are re-sitting A levels, make this clear.
• Take care when using humour as it is subjective.
• This is your personal statement. It is therefore important that you do not copy or include other people's words without appropriate acknowledgement. To do so may have an adverse affect on the outcome of your application. And remember that UCAS will be screening your application and reporting its findings to the universities to which you have applied.

Decisions are based on the application as a whole. We pay close attention to a candidate's academic profile, the quality of the personal statement and academic reference. We do not normally interview candidates. Each year we have more applications than we have places available. So even if you have been predicted to achieve the grades that we normally ask for, it does not guarantee that we will make you an offer. There is a different selection process for Access and Foundation students.

Email the School of Law admissions team on law-admissions@qmul.ac.uk.

We have approximately 340 places available on our undergraduate law courses. We receive in the region of 3,500 applications each year.

No. All applications should be made through UCAS.

Some applicants may find it difficult to include all of their qualifications in a UCAS form (especially those with non-standard qualifications).

In the case of students where extra transcripts or information is required we will put a request through on MySIS (our online application portal for which you will receive log in details once we receive your UCAS form).

If you feel there is something you are unable to explain through your UCAS form or you have extenuating circumstances please contact us on law-admissions@qmul.ac.uk  for advice.

In cases where applicants narrowly miss the conditions of an offer when they receive their results, we will consider whether we can still confirm the place. This will partly depend on consideration of the individual application, and also if we have any places available.

We are never able to guarantee places will be available through this route, concerned applicants are advised to contact the admissions team to get a sense of that year's cycle.

At Queen Mary, we do not consider extenuating circumstances in assessing academic qualifications for entry onto our programmes. We appreciate there may be circumstances, outside an applicant’s control, that they feel may have impaired their assessment performance and ability to meet our minimum academic entry requirements and, in these instances, we advise applicants raise this with their previous school/institution or examination board so that they can factor it in when awarding grades.  

Our entry requirements clearly state the minimum academic grade applicants need to attain, as well as required or cognate subjects needed, where applicable. In circumstances where an applicant has not attained the minimum required grade for entry, due to extenuating circumstances, we will have expected applicants to have notified their school, university or examination board and outlined the circumstances that have impacted their learning. Where applicable, we would expect this to be considered in the final examinations or assessments and reflected in the final grades awarded. Queen Mary will therefore not further consider these circumstances as part of its decision making.

Education providers and examination bodies can provide reasonable adjustments for disabilities or long-term conditions (including specific learning differences and mental health diagnoses) that may affect students during their studies or examinations and we would expect that adequate and appropriate measures would have been put in place. Circumstances like this would not be considered as extenuating circumstances. 

Queen Mary’s mission is to create a truly inclusive environment where we support talented students regardless of their background or personal experience, please be aware that extenuating circumstances are separate to our Contextual Admissions criteria and guidance.

The Department of Law will confirm places of students who, after any re-mark, meet the terms of their offer by 31 August. In addition, applicants must notify the Department that they have applied for a re-mark, by emailing law-admissions@qmul.ac.uk with their UCAS id number and details of the paper(s) that are being re-marked. Students who fail to notify the Department will not be eligible to have their place confirmed. Once you have the outcome of your re-mark application, please make sure you email us the details as soon as possible before 31 August.

Yes. The Department of Law regularly has open days throughout the application period/cycle. Open days in the Department of Law are on an invitation basis only to students who have received offers from us. The College also has general open days.

All of the programmes within the School of Law are recognised as a qualifying law degree by both branches of the legal profession in England and Wales.

Yes. The two-year Senior Status LLB is a programme for advanced students (those with a degree in another discipline). It is primarily designed for graduates who wish to obtain a professionally qualifying degree and is a fast tracked version of the three-year LLB.

We do not offer any part-time or distance learning undergraduate degree programmes; nor do we offer a graduate diploma in law (although non-law graduates may be interested in our two-year Senior Status programme).

In their first year students studying all programmes besides the Senior Status programme typically have 12 hours of contact time per week. Each module normally has two hours of lecture supplemented by a one hour weekly or fortnightly tutorial. Students studying on the Senior Status LLB will generally have 15 hours of contact time per week.

The Department expects students to dedicate around 30 hours a week to private study. There is a similar pattern of study in subsequent years, although contact arrangements may vary (particularly for optional modules), and there is a greater emphasis on independent learning by the time you reach the final year of your degree programme. All students are required to be available from 9.00am to 6.00pm from Monday to Friday as timetables may alter.

In their first year students studying all programmes besides the Senior Status programme typically have 12 hours of contact time per week. Each module normally has two hours of lecture supplemented by a one hour weekly or fortnightly tutorial. Students studying on the Senior Status LLB will generally have 15 hours of contact time per week.

The Department expects students to dedicate around 30 hours a week to private study. There is a similar pattern of study in subsequent years, although contact arrangements may vary (particularly for optional modules), and there is a greater emphasis on independent learning by the time you reach the final year of your degree programme. All students are required to be available from 9.00am to 6.00pm from Monday to Friday as timetables may alter.

Term dates can be found on the Queen Mary calendar.