Is the PGDL the same as the GDL?

Jul 11, 2022

Written By Thomas Cserep

As of September 2021, there are two ways of qualifying as a lawyer in the UK – either by taking the traditional Legal Practice Course (LPC) route or the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) pathway. Read on to find out more about the new route to qualification and how it applies to non-law students.

What was the previous route to legal qualification?

Until recently, the route to becoming a solicitor was relatively straightforward. Candidates had to undertake the three year undergraduate law degree (LLB) before enrolling on an LPC course, which takes 10 months to complete.

Subsequently, you had to undertake a two-year training contract with a law firm before qualifying as a fully-fledged solicitor. If you did not have a law degree, you had to enrol on a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) course, which gave you the foundational knowledge base to help you succeed on the LPC.

What is the new SQE pathway?

Introduced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the new SQE pathway is designed to standardise the process of qualifying as a lawyer. It takes a mere eight months to complete the two exams (SQE1 and SQE2), which have to be accompanied by two years of qualifying work experience (QWE) before gaining the right to practice.

However, unlike a training contract on the LPC route, this can be done before or after your legal examinations. Although both two pathways are valid today, the LPC route is set to be phased out by 2032. Furthermore, if you did not start a law course by September 1, 2021, you’ll need to follow the SQE route.

As we have hinted at earlier, if you did not study law at undergraduate level, you cannot directly take the LPC. You have to enrol on a law conversion course that gives you the necessary background information to get you up to speed with the demands of the LPC that students who have studied law at university already have. Whilst there are many, the most conventional one to take is the GDL.

With the LPC being phased out, what will happen to the GDL?

As the SQE gains ground, educational institutions are starting to offer a new qualification called the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) for those who want a career in the legal profession but did not study law at undergraduate level. This essentially replaces the GDL in order to support students who opt to take the SQE pathway.

How is the PGDL different from the LPC?

Since the GDL and the PGDL play a similar role in preparing enrollees for the LPC and SQE legal qualifications respectively, the content of the two courses are quite similar. However, the PGDL contains elements that are designed for the SQE and are not on the LPC curriculum. For example, its content covers modules on legal skills and company law that will help students prepare for the specific demands of the SQE.

It can take as little as eight months to complete an intense PGDL course. However, usually students opt to take a one-year or two-year course, depending on whether they study full-time or part-time.

Is the PGDL necessary?

Unlike the GDL for the traditional LPC pathway, the PGDL is not a mandatory requirement for the SQE route. However, it is highly recommended to enrol on a PGDL course prior to commencing the SQE, as it allows students to cover the content of a three-year law degree in the space of a year. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to meet the demands of the SQE.

Amongst other topics, the PGDL provides comprehensive background information regarding the seven foundational areas of law, on which you will build upon on your SQE course.

Even though the SRA has revised the pathway to becoming a solicitor, barristers-in-training without a law degree cannot practice without having completed a law conversion course. This is because they have to demonstrate that they are proficient in the legal field’s seven foundational areas.

The GDL and the PGDL serve a similar purpose, helping aspiring solicitors who didn’t study law to succeed on the LPC route or on the SQE pathway respectively. Even though their content is almost identical, the PGDL also contains topic areas that help students be up to scratch with the specific demands of the SQE.

PGDL/CPE