University of Edinburgh

  140 spaces on the Diploma course available (total including part time)

   Full-time and part-time study options available

   Full-time course fees: £9,670 (£4,835 for part-time)

   Cost for additional materials: N/A (included in fees)

The Diploma is part one of the Law Society of Scotland’s Professional Education and Training (‘PEAT’) programme. It provides you with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that you need in order to begin a traineeship. Our Diploma is much more than an academic qualification – it serves as a bridge between academia and professional practice and is focussed on the all-round legal skills you need to succeed in your career.

• Study in the heart of the legal profession in Scotland – a great place in which to build your professional network.
• Join and be supported by a strong community, with students drawn from the full range of LLB providers across Scotland, creating a mix of students from different backgrounds, all seeking the best possible grounding for the next stage of their legal careers.

The timetable for full-time students runs for nine months over two semesters. Over this period, students will study seven courses and three elective courses.

The part-time course runs for 18 months over two years (four semesters).

Study hours

On average, full-time students should anticipate between 4-7 hours of lectures and 12 hours of workshops each week. Part-time students should anticipate approximately 2-3 hours of lectures and 6 hours of workshops each week.

In addition to this, students will need to complete self-study tasks which may include reading, podcasts and/or specific preparatory exercises.

The timetable varies slightly week to week to allow for specific skills exercises, such as interviewing; negotiation and team presentations.

All students are guaranteed one day a week which will be clear from lectures and workshops (a ‘study day’), although we ask students to note that specific skills sessions may be scheduled during study days. Students will be given advance notice where this is the case.

For part-time students, workshops will be scheduled over a maximum of 2 days a week to allow students to fulfil other commitments alongside their studies. In addition, as part of the Edinburgh Diploma all students help to run the award winning Free Legal Advice Centre on Monday evenings (each student will only be required to attend on one Monday evening during Semester 1). The Free Legal Advice Centre or 'FLAC' as it is affectionately known, is a very popular student pro bono service aimed at providing access to justice for members of the public. All students are allocated a client, whom they meet and advise, supervised by a qualified solicitor. This allows the students to bring together in a real-life situation the practical skills they have learnt.