Program Overview

Our LLM Bar Training Course offers intensive, postgraduate-level studies to those who wish to qualify as a barrister but who also wish to undertake research at Master’s level. This course is taken after undergraduate study and before the period of work-based learning, known as pupillage.

This programme enables you to acquire the skills, knowledge of procedure and evidence for you to meet the Bar Standards Board (BSB) criteria, as set out in their Professional Statement for Barristers.

Our programme aims to foster a professional and ethical approach to practice as a barrister, whilst giving you an informed view of a barrister’s working life and the opportunity to reflect on the challenges facing the legal profession in today’s world.

The teaching is timetabled between Monday and Thursday (i.e. no more than four days), to provide time for personal study. Advocacy and conferencing will be taught intensively in two-hour sessions to no more than six students. You will also be able to undertake a specialist advocacy option.

You’ll be provided with guidance that will identify the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Stage 1 knowledge for criminal litigation and dispute resolution covered during the teaching of the BTC and given additional guidance on that content where it has not been dealt with during the delivery of the programme.

You’ll also have the opportunity to undertake the BSB centrally set assessments in December, April and August during the academic year you are enrolled as a student.

On successful completion, you will be eligible to be called to the Bar of England and Wales (subject to meeting the qualifying session requirement of your Inn of Court).

  Program Notes

Please note: The BSB is currently reviewing the BCAT as a requirement for enrolment on the vocational component of Bar training and a decision on the future of the BCAT is scheduled to be taken in March 2022. Until a final decision has been taken and a timeline set out for the implementation of that decision, the BCAT remains a requirement for entry onto a Bar training course. We will communicate our decision to everyone concerned and provide clear instructions for those intending to apply for a Bar training course once the implementation timeline is set.

To enrol on the course you need to have:

• completed your academic stage;
• obtained a 2:1 class degree or higher (a 2.2 class degree will be considered on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration the application in its entirety);
• been admitted as a student member of one of the four Inns of Court;
• satisfied the English language requirement; and
• passed the Bar Aptitude test.

Application deadline

We allocate places on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend you apply as early as possible. Applications overall close on 31^st July. 

Selection process

Applications will only be treated as having been received by Cardiff University when both the application and the reference supporting the application have been received. We will review your completed application and if you meet the entry requirements, your application will be scored against a set of evaluative criteria taking into account academic achievement, the quality and content of your responses to the questions posed, and your written English and communication skills. If you meet the minimum score required you will be made an offer.