A conversion course to Law for graduates from other disciplines. If you are thinking of qualifying as a lawyer in England and Wales, our Graduate Diploma in Law enables you to study the structure and doctrines of the legal system in England and Wales and the seven core (foundation) subjects of a law degree: contract law, criminal law, equity & trusts law, EU law, land law, public law and tort law. You’ll study these intensively over one year, instead of the three years usually required for a Law degree. If you are thinking of qualifying as a barrister, the GDL gives you the academic modules you’ll need to pass before progressing to a Bar Training Course (BTC) which can also be studied at the School of Law and Politics. If you are thinking of qualifying as a solicitor, the GDL may allow you to progress to the current professional stage of legal training, the Legal Practice Course (LPC). Alternatively, the GDL gives you the academic knowledge of black-letter law you’ll need as part of your preparation for the new centrally assessed Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), which is due to be introduced from September 2021. Before undertaking the SQE, you’ll also need to have studied the professional aspects of practice currently taught through Legal Practice Courses (LPCs) but once the new centralised assessment regime is in place, LPC courses will be replaced by a range of courses aimed at preparing students for the SQE. Cardiff is currently developing SQE preparation courses to succeed its current LPC course following the introduction of the new regime. Career prospects - Completion of the GDL allows you to progress to the current professional stage of legal training, either the Bar Professional Training Course or the Legal Practice Course, either of which may be studied at the School of Law and Politics. To become fully qualified under the current system, completion of the BPTC or LPC then needs to be followed by a period of work-based learning, either pupillage in a barristers’ chambers or a training contract with a solicitors’ firm. Alternatively, the GDL or one of the professional courses may be directly followed by legal work in some other capacity, with the option of seeking full qualification at a later date. Please note that the route to qualification both as a solicitor and as a barrister will be changing in the near future. For further information please refer to the websites of the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board.