The School operates a rolling admissions process throughout the year - i.e. applications are assessed as they arrive instead of being stored and assessed together at a panel. Applicants do not have to wait until they have completed their qualifications before they submit their application.

All applications must be made online through the Universities and Colleges Application Service (UCAS) at http://www.ucas.com/students/. Their website provides a full and comprehensive guide to applying and applicants are strongly advised to read it in full.

Please note that the School of Law will only consider applications from students wishing to transfer in to the second or third year of our degree programmes in very exceptional circumstances. 

When to apply

The School of Law only allows for entry in October each year. Applications can usually be submitted between mid-September in the preceding year. The normal closing date for applications to be submitted is the 15th January each year – however applications between the 16th January and the final closing date of the 30th June will be considered by the School of Law. This period is known as ‘UCAS Extra’. You are advised to apply as early as is consistent with having made a careful and considered choice of institutions and courses.

Entry criteria

We advise that before you chose to apply to the University of Leicester School of Law, you should check that you meet our entry criteria. Please note that we do not require an LSAT or LNAT.

Applicant type

Students at a school or college registered with UCAS

All UK schools and colleges (and a small number of establishments overseas) are registered with UCAS to manage their students’ applications. Advice is available from your teacher or a careers adviser at your school or college. You fill in the online application and submit it to a member of staff. After checking your details and having added the academic reference, your school or college submits the completed application online to UCAS. You pay online using a credit card or debit card. You may also be able to pay through your school or college.

Independent applicants in the UK

Other UK applicants, who are not at school or college, apply online independently. You will not require a UCAS ‘buzzword’. It is likely that you are a mature applicant who, unlike school and college students, cannot readily seek advice from your teacher but can instead consult with various careers organisations. You are responsible for paying the correct application fee, for obtaining and attaching the academic reference and for submitting the completed application online to UCAS.

Outside the UK (EU and worldwide)

Except for those whose school or college is registered with UCAS, individuals from the EU (excluding the UK), and worldwide, apply online independently. Advice is available from British Council offices and other centres overseas, such as your school or college. You will not require a UCAS ‘buzzword’. You are responsible for paying the correct application fee, for obtaining and attaching the academic reference and for submitting the completed application online to UCAS.

How to apply guide

Step 1: Applications must be submitted via www.ucas.com. The application has a number of sections. You must enter:

• Your personal details. If you are applying with the assistance of an agent, please enter your own contact details and not those of the agent.
• All academic qualifications that you have completed since the age of 15 (even if you withdrew, were unsuccessful or are re-taking part of the course.)
• Any academic qualifications that you are currently studying and have not completed (including retakes).
• Details of any employment (if applicable).
• Your ‘fee status’ (this is whether you will be a ‘Home / EU’ student or an ‘Overseas’ student. If you are unsure of this, please contact the admissions department (admissions@le.ac.uk) to request a ‘fee status questionnaire’.
• A personal statement detailing why you wish to apply to university.
• The codes of the university course(s) you wish to apply to – Leicester University’s code is ‘LEICR’ ‘L34’ and the course codes are as follows:
• 3 year LLB - M100
• LLB Law with French Law & Language  - M1R1
• LLB / Maîtrise Double degree – M120
• 2 year LLB Senior Status – M101
• Details of someone who can give you a reference (such as one of your teachers or professors). UCAS will then contact the person who you have named in the reference section and ask them to provide a reference via a secure weblink.

Step 2 (optional): It is also recommended that if you are applying from outside the UK and / or have transcripts or certificates detailing your educational marks (or marks to date), then you should send them to the School of Law. The information will be matched to your application form when it arrives and helps us to assess your application. Please send these at the same time that you submit your application. If you send these via email or you send photocopies, please ensure that you copy the front and back (if there is grading information on the back). Please send to:

• Email: law@le.ac.uk
• Post : Beth Astington, Undergraduate Admissions Administrator, School of Law, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom)
• Fax: 0116 252 5028

Step 3: Once your referee has completed the reference you will be informed via email, and at that point you must pay and then your application will be submitted. UCAS then forward the application to the university / universities that you have applied to.

After your application has been submitted

The School operates a rolling admissions procedure and we will deal with your application as soon as it arrives from UCAS. Once your application has been submitted, it takes approximately 1 week to reach the School of Law. We will make a decision on your application as quickly as possible.

After we have assessed your application

You will then be informed via a letter and UCAS Track if your application has been successful or not.

If we make you an offer of admission you will receive an offer letter from the University.
If your application has been successful then you will be given a ‘Conditional offer’ or an ‘Unconditional Offer’.

• A ‘Conditional Offer’ means we wish to accept you, however there are conditions that you must meet before we can accept you. For example, we may give you an offer conditional on you obtaining ‘AAA at A Level’, ‘b- average in your completed degree’ or ‘Pass the OSSD with an average of 75% in six grade 12 subjects including English’.
• An ‘Unconditional Offer’ means that we are accepting you based on the information and documentary evidence that you have provided us with.

All UK offer holders are invited to a Visit Day during the Spring term. The Visit Day will include a presentation about the University, a tour of the campus and accommodation, a presentation from the school of Law Admissions tutor, a guided tour of the School of Law, a chance to meet with current School of Law students and staff.  Non-UK offer holders should contact law@le.ac.uk if they wish to attend a visit day.

Accepting your offer (important!)

Once you have received an offer from us (and the other universities that you have applied to) you must decide which University’s offer you wish to accept. You are required to reply to your offers making the following decisions:

• ‘Firm choice’ – this is the University that is your first choice.
• ‘Insurance choice’ – this is the University that you wish to attend if you do not meet the conditions of your firm choice.
• ‘Decline’ - you must decline the offers of the other universities.

You will be informed of the deadline date that you must reply by. You must not wait until you are made ‘Unconditional’ as your deadline date may be before your results are available. Your deadline date will appear in UCAS Track. Deadline dates will vary depending on when a student applies, and when they hear from all of the universities that they have applied to. Failure to respond may mean that a student loses their place. See this section of the UCAS site for more information.

Once you have made Leicester your firm choice

The University’s Admissions department and UCAS will write to you to notify you of what you must do next. This will include (but is not limited to):

• Providing evidence that you have met the terms of your offer (unless you are an A-level candidate, as A-level results are sent to us directly). Once you have provided us with evidence that you have met the terms of your offer, you will become ‘Unconditional Firm’. If you are sending a degree transcript, make sure that ‘degree awarded’ (or similar) is stated on your transcript, or send us a copy of your degree certificate as well.
• Applying for accommodation (the Accommodation application opens in March each year. All students that submit their accommodation application before September 1st are guaranteed a room).
• Applying for a visa (if required). Please note that you must be ‘Unconditional Firm’ before you can be issued with the CAS number that is required for a visa application.
• You can also join our facebook group to meet other Law applicants!

Full joining instructions are sent out in August. This will include information about registration, payment of fees and arrival in Leicester. Please note that timetables and reading lists are not provided until the start of term, however, applicants may wish to prepare themselves by reading the following texts:

• ‘Constitutional and administrative law’ by A. Bradley and K. Ewing, published by Longman in 2010 (ISBN 1405873507).
• ‘How to Study Law (6th Edition)’ by A. Bradney, F. Cownie, J. Masson, A. Neal, and D. Newell, published by Sweet and Maxwell in 2010 (ISBN 0421717203).

Equal Opportunities in Admissions

It is the policy of the University that in considering an application by a prospective student the criterion for selection shall be the potential of the applicant to achieve success in his or her chosen course of study. In assessing this potential, admissions tutors will consider factors relevant to the applicant’s academic aptitude. No applicant will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, social class, age, disability, colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins. No condition of entry will be imposed which members of a particular group of potential applicants, defined by sex, sexual orientation etc, (as above) are less likely to be able to satisfy than applicants not of that group, unless such a condition is justifiable on academic grounds.

Further information

For further information about the application process, please contact the Admissions Office website or contact the Admissions Office on 0116 252 5281 or email admissions@le.ac.uk. For a full explanation and guide to UCAS, visit their website. Alternatively please contact law@le.ac.uk