Law Degree vs. Conversion Course

Jun 04, 2024

Written By Jos Weale

Your Dilemma: UCAS application deadline is fast-approaching and you’re torn. You’ve got that gut feeling you’d make a cracking lawyer and it’s definitely the career for you. The trouble being; which route do you go for? Law degree, or non-law followed by a law conversion course? This calls for a delicate blend of some logical thinking… with a chunk of your heart thrown in there too.

Interests outside of law

Though it is important to study a subject at university that will stand you in good stead for your future career, there is still a lot to be said for studying something that you really have a passion for.

If you already eat, breathe and sleep law, then the odds are a law degree might just be right for you. An LLB will set you up with all the theory to get started, and once you’ve graduated you’ll be eligible to move straight onto either the LPC, BPTC, or an SQE prep course. A BA in law, however, will not – you’d still probably have to do a law conversion course to give you the foundational legal knowledge following graduation.

There’s nothing hurting your future legal career by going for a non-law subject. You are eligible to apply for a law conversion course with a degree from any discipline. Three or four years is a long time to dedicate to anything, so if you have a big itch for another subject apart from law then it might be wise to go ahead and scratch it.

Another subject, particularly those with skills such as modern languages that could be utilised by a law firm, could even open up further doors to you as you begin to build up your law career. They never fail to look impressive in applications, and could end up giving you the edge.

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Costs of a law degree & a law conversion course...

A university degree will currently set you back up to £9,000 a year – with most courses lasting either three or four years.

Non-law students and those who study BA law rather than the LLB, might need to fork out for a law conversion course, and then their chosen vocational course. The average fees for a law conversion course currently stand at £7,250 to £10,200, whilst the LPC costs around £7,500 to £14,765, and the BPTC even more at £12,965 to £18,175.

This still may not mean a horrific debt sentence. Non-law students can apply for funding for postgraduate law courses. If budding solicitors secure a training contract with a law firm, they will often pay for the trainee to take any mandatory courses.

Try our Should I do a law conversion course? tool in the AllAboutLaw Academy to help you make this key decision!

Differences between LLB and GDL

Whichever route taken, in reality by the time students begin their LPC or BPTC course, there isn’t much between someone who did a law degree first, and someone who took the non-law path. In fact, one of our interviews with an LPC course director, it was noted that at this stage the difference between the law degree and non-law students is barely noticeable.

The LPC and BPTC differ significantly from law degrees and the law convrrsion course, meaning it’s pretty much level pegging for all students whatever route they take to get there.

Law Degree