The University of Law
The University of Law dates its history to 1876 and to Gibson and Weldon, a firm of legal tutors that the Law Society merged with its own law school in 1962 to create the College of Law. Degree awarding powers were granted in 2006, and in 2012 it became the UK's first for-profit institution to hold university title. Global University Systems has owned it since 2015, and it presents itself as the UK's largest legal education provider.
Law remains its central activity, spanning qualifying LLB degrees, postgraduate conversion courses and professional preparation for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination. More than 65 leading law firms from the UK and US use it as their exclusive SQE training provider. The university added a Business School in 2016, and today its undergraduate range also covers psychology, computer science, criminology and policing. Many lecturers hold professional qualifications in law or business. Its principal campuses are in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and London, where it has sites in Bloomsbury and Moorgate. It also teaches at partner universities' sites in other cities and at overseas centres in Hamburg and Hong Kong, alongside an extensive online offer.
Information for International Students
The student body at the University of Law includes more than 100 nationalities, and entry to its law degrees and postgraduate courses is open to holders of many different international qualifications. Applicants who fall short of direct entry requirements can take undergraduate degrees, the LLB among them, with an integrated foundation year. Where English needs strengthening before starting an LLB, an MA in Law or the Graduate Diploma in Law, a pre-sessional English course of either seven or twelve weeks is available.
According to the university, every first-year LLB student who accepts a place and selects it as a firm choice before the relevant deadline is guaranteed an offer of accommodation, and additional housing appears on the Studentpad portal. Holding a Student sponsor licence, the university issues the CAS required for a Student visa, and graduates who are eligible may subsequently apply for the Graduate Route. A combined careers and pro bono service supports students in gaining legal experience and planning their future, while the CampusSwitch scheme gives some students the chance to spend time at more than one campus during their studies.