The Diploma providers are as follows:

• University of Aberdeen
• University of Dundee
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Glasgow
• Robert Gordon University
• University of Strathclyde

For academic session 2024/2025, you may apply to up to two Diploma providers.

Diploma providers are concerned that provider choice has a disproportionate significance if applicants can apply to only one Diploma provider.

Let’s say one Diploma provider receives lots of additional applications one year. Many of those applicants would not receive an offer, simply because they chose a popular provider. By allowing applicants to apply to two Diploma providers, applicants have more chance of securing a Diploma place based on their ranking and not on their choice of Diploma provider. Diploma providers will, however, place weight on applicants’ choice of provider.

Unfortunately, Diploma providers cannot receive any late applications and you would need to apply again next year.

Allowing applicants to accept more than one offer would skew Diploma providers’ numbers and unfairly affect the number of offers made to other applicants. Further, Diploma providers would be unable to place reliance on their number of acceptances, which would have a knock-on effect on preparation for the academic session.

In order to deter applicants from accepting more than one offer, and to help ensure fairness for all applicants, Diploma providers are clear that any applicant who does accept more than one offer will be unable to undertake the Diploma that year.

Yes. If you are clear that you do not wish to accept an offer, please formally decline that offer via the relevant Diploma provider’s system.

If you do not accept an offer by the relevant deadline, then you will be deemed to have declined that offer and will be unable to accept at a later date.

That will be a matter for you.  If you accept the offer then you will not receive an offer from your first choice in any subsequent round.  However, if you decline there is no guarantee that you will receive an offer from your first choice in any subsequent round.  It is up to you to decide whether to take that risk.

Yes, on the basis it is likely to result in chaotic administration if applicants were able to switch acceptances across different rounds.

Some Diploma providers may reject applicants in the first round, if there is no feasible chance of those applicants receiving an offer from that Diploma provider at all.

There is never any guarantee of a Diploma place, unfortunately.  This is due to the number of applicants often being greater than the number of places available.  However, it is likely that most Diploma providers will take a few rounds to fill up their places, so please don’t be disheartened if you do not receive an offer in the first or second rounds.

The main criterion for a Diploma place is your grade point average (GPA) across the foundation subjects (for most people that means the subjects in first and second year). The foundation subjects are those which the Law Society of Scotland insist every practising solicitor has passed and so it makes sense for these to be of importance when determining Diploma places. 

Further, some people do the accelerated degree or the Law Society of Scotland exams so don’t have Honours at all, while others might have done joint Honours and so studied subjects unrelated to law. 

However, please note that Diploma providers have discretion to take into account some other factors, such as the number of fails an applicant has.  If this is a matter of concern for you, then it is worth researching the position via providers’ websites. 

Diploma providers have discretion in this regard. Most providers will take traineeships into account when dealing with applicants with similar, or identical, grade point averages.  However, some providers may place more significant weight on traineeships.  If this is a matter of concern for you, then it is worth researching the position via providers’ websites. 

Diploma providers do have discretion to take into account mitigating or special circumstances.

The circumstances will only be considered where they affected your grade point average in the foundation subjects.

Circumstances will not be taken into account where they have already been considered by your undergraduate institution (regardless of the outcome).

The Admission Criteria, as currently worded, does not cover factors such as work experience.

No, Diploma providers do not take this into account at all.