Postgraduate Diploma in Law - PGDL/CPE

Looking for a law conversion course in Birmingham? Our Postgraduate Diploma in Law is open to graduates from all subjects.

The PGDL is an ideal stepping stone into either a full-time law career or advanced legal study. If you do not have an LLB Law degree awarded by a university of England and Wales, completing this course enables you to go on to professional training as a barrister or a solicitor.

Upon completion of the PGDL, you are eligible to undertake the Bar Professional Training Course if you want to qualify as a barrister, or the Legal Practice Course if you want to qualify as a solicitor. If you do not intend to qualify as a solicitor or barrister, the PGDL can also be a stepping stone into further advanced legal study.

What's covered in the course?

We have an established record of providing this course and have excellent links with Birmingham Law Society and professional practice in the area. We also have a successful LPC course, which our PGDL students can progress to. Our innovative approach to legal education is demonstrated by our very successful American legal placement scheme and our active Student Mooting Society.

PGDL courses at all institutions necessarily have a degree of similarity in content and assessment. However, the PGDL at Birmingham City University focuses on supporting you to develop relevant legal skills as well as knowledge content and at the same time offers you a unique opportunity to apply for our US internship scheme.

We have active student-led Legal and Mooting Societies. Our Student Mooting Society is one of the most successful in England. Our students have reached numerous finals and semi-finals in the past few years and have regularly beaten teams from some of the country’s most prestigious universities. In the past 10 years, we have beaten eight of the elite Russell Group of universities, including Cambridge, Oxford, Nottingham, Leicester and Warwick.

With excellent links with Birmingham Law Society and professional practices in the area, this course provides you with the attributes and knowledge you will need to progress in the law field.

By choosing to study this course, you will be part of the School of Law, providing you with a wide range of activities and opportunities to gain valuable experience.

You will be part of a friendly and inclusive learning environment, with regular access to friendly and supportive tutors, ensuring your individual study needs are met. You will be taught through face-to-face workshops, with opportunities for formative assessment and supported by online materials.

The course is aligned to the Joint Academic Stage Board, which represents the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board of England and Wales.

Why Choose Us?

• By being part of the School of Law, you’ll have the option to take part in a number of extracurricular activities, as well as being able to take advantage of the School’s close relationships with Citizens Advice Bureau, and Birmingham and Coventry Law Centres.
• The School has strong professional links with the Birmingham Law Society, the UK’s largest law society outside of London.
• Our courses are held in the University’s newest facility, The Curzon Building, ideally located on our City Centre Campus and containing a range of excellent resources.
• Our Law Clinic can give you opportunities to volunteer with local charitable legal advice providers and to work alongside legal professionals undertaking pro-bono work, allowing you to make a genuine difference to the lives of Birmingham residents.
• You’ll be able to take advantage of the School’s cutting-edge facilities, including two mock courtrooms that can be used to bring study to life.
• You’ll receive proactive and attentive tutor support, ensuring you get the best out of your studies. Our team of staff have extensive experience, providing you with relevant and in-depth knowledge and information.

Find out more

• Our Facilities
• Our Graduates
• Our Placements
• Our Students
• Our Trips

Essential Requirements

Additional information for EU/International students

Note: Part time study is unavailable for international students who are tier 4 visa holders.

Additional costs

There may be additional costs associated with purchasing text books. If you are joining the course which has a professional body accreditation you may be required to pay membership or examination costs. For details of these costs, please click on the link below.

Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £50 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials. All our students are provided with 100 free pages of printing each year to a maximum total value of £15.

Find additional costs for your course

Financial support

Find out more about possible financial support during your studies.

For the first part of the course, you will learn primarily through a focus on problem-based learning supported by face-to-face teaching sessions and directed learning exercises provided through the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (Moodle).

In this first part of the course you will learn about how to study law and how to present legal argument, as well as the key substantive legal rules and principles relating to certain ‘foundation’ areas of law. For those who have enrolled for the LLM version of the course, the Masters stage of the course enables you to further develop your legal knowledge, research, presentation and analysis skills either in relation to a particular theoretical topic of interest to you or in the context of a practical placement.

Teaching sessions and directed learning exercises will be designed to help develop the skills and techniques needed to successfully complete the module assessments, and to forge a successful career in the legal sector. Engagement with teaching sessions and materials on the VLE is monitored by teaching staff to encourage engagement and provide a basis for individual and group feedback.

There are a range of assessments on the course, including oral assessment, written coursework, portfolios, employer assessment, reflective essays and more traditional exams. The range of assessments has been designed to ensure achievement of the course learning outcomes and the development of skills that we view as essential for a future successful career in practice or the further study of law, while retaining balance to ease assessment pressure points.

For more information on attendance requirements, course contact time and suggested self-study hours, download the course specification.

Trips and visits

Our Student Mooting Society is one of the most successful in England. Our students successfully enter mooting teams in a variety of prestigious national mooting competitions including:

• The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting
• Oxford University Press
• English Speaking Union
• Inner Temple Inter-Varsity Competition

They organise a range of internal mooting and social activities throughout the academic year, including the School of Law Internal Mooting Competition.

In the past, Law students have visited The Supreme Court in London, as well as the UN in Brussels.

Previous students have gone on to successful careers in the legal professions. We have recent ex-students currently working as solicitors at  regional law firms such as Duncan Lewis, Syeds Law Office Solicitors and Wragge & Co, as well as national and international firms, such as and at national and international firms such as DLA Piper. We also have ex-students who have qualified as barristers and one who is a QC.

We also have a number of students who have used the course to further their own business or current career paths and those who have entered non-legal professions (such as banking). 

Our PGDL includes several ways you can help improve your employability: 

• Graduate Plus Scheme
• US internship (within an optional module)
• Pro bono projects that provide voluntary legal work experience opportunities and networking opportunities
• Parliament and Supreme Court trip
• Legal careers sessions and networking events
• Debating and Mooting societies

OpportUNIty

OpportUNIty: Student Jobs on Campus ensures that our students are given a first opportunity to fill many part-time temporary positions within the University. This allows you to work while you study with us, fitting the job around your course commitments. By taking part in the scheme, you will gain valuable experiences and employability skills, enhancing your prospects in the job market.

It will also allow you to become more involved in University life by delivering, leading and supporting many aspects of the learning experience, from administration to research and mentoring roles.

The School of Law at Birmingham City University is home to students from a wide number of countries studying on traditional degree programmes and short-term international courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

A legal education at Birmingham City University is widely recognised and many of our international students return to their home country to either pursue legal practice or requisite professional qualifications in their jurisdiction.

As a law student you will not only develop and refine knowledge in discrete areas of English and international law but also develop key transferable skills designed to enhance your employability profile. Many international students have travelled thousands of miles to study at Birmingham City University and the School offers you an engaging and diverse study experience based in the city of Birmingham which is the second largest city in the UK.

Due to our proximity close to the legal and business district of the city we enjoy strong links with Birmingham Law Society and law firms around the West Midlands. The benefit of these links is passed directly onto you so that you can enhance your network of contacts whilst seeking relevant legal practice experience to enhance your employability profile.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

• Explore some of the good reasons why you should study here
• Find out how to improve your language skills before starting your studies
• Find all the information relevant to applicants from your country
• Learn where to find financial support for your studies

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our Facilities

We are constantly investing in our estate and are currently in the process of spending £260 million on new learning facilities.

The Curzon Building

This course is based at the City Centre Campus – and specifically The Curzon Building, alongside other Law, Business, Social Sciences and English courses

The £63m building offers students a unique social learning space, including a dedicated student hub incorporating student support services, in the heart of Birmingham’s Eastside development.

The facilities at the Curzon building include two bespoke Law Courtrooms, replicating a Crown court and a Magistrates court. These rooms will play a key part in your learning experience, allowing you to try your hand in mock court cases, whilst also being the venue for our Mooting and Debating Societies.

On top of this, the Curzon building houses an extensive Law library, with books covering every aspect of Law history.

The Curzon Building also features:

• An impressive new library with access to over 65 million full text items and stunning views of Eastside City Park
• Your Students’ Union which is located in a beautifully restored 19th century pub, The Eagle and Ball
• A modern 300-seat food court with space to study and socialise
• Brand new, accessible IT facilities with full Office365 for all students for free
• Shared facilities with the wider campus including the Parkside Building and Millennium Point