Financing your study
We understand that studying at City can be expensive. Studying for a law undergraduate, postgraduate or professional qualification can be expensive especially when you have to progress through the various stages required to qualify as a lawyer.
There are a variety of loans, bursaries and scholarships available to both undergraduate, postgraduate and professional studies students to help fund your study.
Scholarships
The City Law School is firmly committed to a generous programme of scholarships awarded on the basis of academic excellence. Our scholarships range in value and include both partial and full fee waiver awards. They are open to students across all of our programmes and both home and international students are strongly encouraged to apply.
The City Law School's Scholarships Committee looks carefully at the full range of qualities possessed by each individual and it closely considers the broader context in which the academic excellence has been achieved. We also believe that it is important to value the potential of applicants to make a positive contribution to the School, the legal professions, and the community when we evaluate applications.
The following scholarships are available in 2019/20:
Undergraduate Scholarships
Lord Mayor of London Excellence Award
We believe that exceptional performance should be rewarded. Our Lord Mayor scholarships are available to undergraduate students (UK / EU) who achieve excellence at A Level, and are rewarded in the form of a fee waiver.
The scholarship is paid for a maximum of three years, subject to satisfactory academic performance each academic year. Eligible students will be invited to register during the relevant period of the application process
Check if you are eligible and read full details
The Cunningham Undergraduate Bursary
The Cunningham Undergraduate Bursary is a generous bursary providing £4,000 per academic year towards maintenance. The bursary is aimed at undergraduates from low household incomes who have achieved outstanding results in their A’ Levels or equivalent qualifications. There is one bursary to be awarded in 2019/20 worth £4,000 each for a maximum of three years.
Find out more and apply for The Cunningham Undergraduate Bursary
International Students
The City Law School offers an International Scholarship of £2,000 for any international student who obtains AAA (or above) at A-level or IB 35+. This scholarship requires students to register as well as meet the conditions in order to receive it, details will be sent to students after an offer is made. The scholarship will be in the form of a fee waiver.
Postgraduate Scholarships
Postgraduate scholarships are available for the following postgraduate courses:
- Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)
- Graduate Entry LLB (GE LLB)
- Bar Vocational Studies (BVS)
- Legal Practice Course (LPC)
- Master of Laws (LLM) - excluding International Business Law distance learning
Information on the scholarships available, eligibility and how to apply will appear here shortly.
If you hold an offer of a place on the LLM in International Business Law programme, please refer to our scholarships page for this course.
Prizes
The City Law School Memorial Prizes
In addition to the fee based scholarships we offer, each course also has a number of memorial prizes available. Each prize is course specific and available to all students enrolled on that course in any given year.
We work very closely with the profession and other relevant bodies and organisations and as such can offer students on all courses a number of externally funded gifts and prizes. There are currently around 30 different prizes on offer varying in value from £50 up to £5,000.
Graduate Loyalty Discount
Once you have studied at City we are sure you will want to stay with us to progress to the next stage of your legal training. As an added incentive, we offer City students a loyalty discount upon enrolling on a second course here at the School. All you need to do is meet the entry requirements for your second course (postgraduate level) and we will automatically take 10% off of your tuition fees.
This can be received in addition to receiving a scholarship and will be applied to the second round of payments due.
The following prizes are available at The City Law School:
GELLB and LLB
The City Law School are proud to offer a large variety of prizes to current LLB students.
The prizes are awarded by the School annually during or following the course and are usually based on students’ academic performance.
Prizes available for 2020/21 will appear here in due course.
Graduate Diploma in Law
External prizes:
Prize Essay Competition
The prize essay competition is open to Graduate Diploma in Law students studying at The City Law School. A prize is offered in each of the seven foundation subjects by a set of chambers prominent in that field of practice. The sponsoring chambers select the winners.
3 Verulam Buildings
3 Verulam Buildings chambers each year awards a prize to a Graduate Diploma in Law student for the best overall performance on the course.
Legal Practice Course
External prizes:
Bishop & Sewell LLP Legal Research Award
Exclusively for current LPC students at The City Law School, in conjunction with Bishop & Sewell LLP. Prizes are awarded for the best legal research submissions on a given task. Shortlisted candidates are invited to present and discuss their submissions at the firm, followed by an awards ceremony.
Prizes
1st Prize: £200 and a one week internship at Bishop & Sewell LLP2nd Prize: £150
3rd Prize: £100
For more information about the Award, please visit the Moodle page.
Sweet & Maxwell Law Prize
Sweet & Maxwell books worth £50 are awarded to the student obtaining the second highest aggregate mark in the assessments on the LPC.
Sibel Dedezade Pro Bono Award
A prize is awarded to a BPTC or LPC student for exceptional work on The City Law School pro bono programme as nominated by advice clinic supervisors or pro bono partners.
LLM
Pinsent Masons Prize for Commercial/High Value Litigation in London
This prize is awarded to the student achieving the highest Distinction level mark on the LLM module Commercial/High Value Litigation in London. The prize is worth £50, and the winner will receive an invitation to lunch at the firm.
Edward Elgar Prize for the LLM (Master of Laws) Dissertation
This prize is awarded to the student achieving the highest Distinction level mark in the LLM (Master of Laws) Dissertation. The prize is £80 worth of books from Edward Elgar Publishing.
Simmons & Simmons Prize in World Trade Law
This prize is awarded to the student achieving the highest Distinction level mark on the LLM module World Trade Law. The prize is worth £200, and the winner will receive an invitation to lunch at the firm.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner Prize for International Corporate Finance
This prize is awarded to the student achieving the highest Distinction level mark on the LLM module International Corporate Finance. The prize is worth £50, and the winner will receive an invitation to lunch at the firm.
Loans, Awards and Bursaries
There are a range of student loans, awards and bursaries available to help fund undergraduate or postgraduate law study.
Undergraduate funding
UK and EU students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan from the Student Loans Company to help with paying tuition fees and living costs. City also offers a range of scholarships and bursaries that you may be eligible for.
Learn more about undergraduate funding and financial support.
Postgraduate funding
The full Staff Survey runs every two years. On alternate years we run the shorter ‘Pulse Survey’ so we can capture any ongoing concerns and feedback on a regular basis. The last full staff survey was carried out in 2016.
Learn more about postgraduate funding and financial support.
Future Finance Loans
Future Finance offers students loans of between £2,500 and £40,000 to help cover tuition fees and living expenses. All students and courses are considered. All loans are subject to credit checks and approval for further details please visit city.financemyfuture.co.uk.
Discretionary LEA Awards
Although, there is limited support available from Local Education Authorities (LEAs) for postgraduate students a number of discretionary awards are available. Contact your Local Education Authority directly to find out the discretionary awards available to students undertaking postgraduate study.
Sponsorship
If you are an aspiring solicitor it is possible to obtain funding for your Legal Practice Course and Graduate Diploma in Law (if applicable) before you start your course. Some training contracts offered by firms include sponsorship of Legal Practice Course and Graduate Diploma in Law. In return they would normally expect you to serve your two year training contract with them and possibly make a longer employment commitment.
The Training Contract and Pupillage Handbook and lawcareers.net provide lists of firms who are willing to sponsor students:
The Diversity Access Scheme
The Diversity Access Scheme offers assistance with Legal Practice Course (LPC) fees to exceptional individuals who face or have overcome exceptional obstacles to qualify as a solicitor.
For more information visit the Diversity Access Scheme website.