Accelerated 2-Year LLB Programmes

If you have already completed a good undergraduate degree in a subject other than Law and wish to gain a Law degree to pursue a career practising law or to pursue other career paths then these programmes may be for you.

Other career paths law graduates tend to pursue beyond practising law include working as counsel or in other managerial roles within corporations, charities, campaign groups, governmental organisations and agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs such as the United Nations).

The entry requirements for both programmes are the same:

• Neither LSAT nor LNAT is required for these programmes.
• See the 'Entry Requirements' tabs under

• Accelerated LLB : which allows you to fulfil the qualifications required toward the practice of law in Scotland in 2 years (or 4 years part-time).
• Accelerated LLB, Law with English Law : which helps prepare you in 2 years (or 5 years part-time) for qualification toward the practice of law
  • not only in Scotland,
  • but also, in:
    • England & Wales,
    • Northern Ireland,
    • And jurisdictions further afield such as Canada (other than in the province of Québec) upon fulfilling NCA requirements. Please see: https://nca.legal/
      • For more information about studying law in the UK vs Canada, please see Studying Law in UK vs Canada

We offer 2 programmes to provide choice for our students.

• Students in the Accelerated LLB programme will complete 120 credits per year. In Year 2, they may select 30 credits of elective subjects.
• Students in the Accelerated LLB, Law with English Law programme will complete 135 credits per year and do not have any credits of elective subjects. This is because students in this programme are learning about both Scots law (and the civil law tradition from which it hails) and English law at the same time. Civil law and English common law are the two major legal traditions in the world. The English common law element helps prepare students toward gaining practice qualifications in England, Northern Ireland, and the common law parts of Canada.

• Each year, we welcome a small and intimate community of Accelerated LLB students who are allocated an academic coordinator. This community of students often continues their relationship and provides peer support for each other well after they complete their studies and their professional careers.
• All students have full access to our Careers and Employability Service that has dedicated staff for Law and works closely with the School of Law. Please see: Careers and Employability | School of Law | The University of Aberdeen (abdn.ac.uk)
• Each undergraduate student at the University of Aberdeen is assigned a personal tutor who would (where possible, but subject to staff members taking leave) follow the career of the student from admission in Year One to graduation. (Please see Personal Tutors | Students | The University of Aberdeen (abdn.ac.uk) ) Those in the Law School will be assigned an academic within the Law School as their personal tutor to guide them through their time in Aberdeen and also toward career paths after they graduate from the University.
• The Law School boasts a very active student body which initiates societies that provide not only a vibrant community life for students but also hands-on experience in gaining important skills such as advocacy and client service. Please see Student Activities | School of Law | The University of Aberdeen (abdn.ac.uk) .
• The student and staff population at the University of Aberdeen and its Law School are diverse and hail from over 40 countries. Students develop important life-long international professional contacts during their time here.
• Throughout the past decades, the Law School has developed strong Energy-related connections. Located in Aberdeen, Europe's energy capital, the University is close to many high-profile energy organisation headquarters and has fostered important links to them.
• With law as one of the founding disciplines of the University in 1495, the University has a rich collection of resources for learning and research.
• Aberdeen, is nestled on the picturesque northeast coast. The University is located within a 5 minute walk to Seaton Park and 15 minute walk to the Aberdeen Beaches . The beautiful countryside, including the well-known Royal Deeside is just within a 20-minute drive of the campus.
• Aberdeen has an international airport that offers short direct flights to major European cities for attending conferences as well as European holiday resorts (All Destinations | Aberdeen Airport ). As the third largest city in Scotland, it also has excellent bus and rail links. Studying in Aberdeen thus offers an enriching experience not only within Aberdeen but also well beyond!

In Canada...

• Students must first complete an undergraduate degree or some years within an undergraduate degree before gaining admissions to a law school. The first professional degree granted by law schools is the Bachelor of Law (LLB)or, as has become common in recent years, the Juris Doctor (JD).
• To gain admissions to almost all English language law schools in Canada, students must sit the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The LSAT score is then taken into account as part of the admissions criteria.
• Upon completion of an LLB or JD degree, to qualify as barristers and solicitors in their chosen province or territory, students must then fulfil the relevant Law Society's requirements which generally include a course work or self study component as well as a work experience component.

In the UK...

Students may enter law school directly upon graduation from high school.  UK Law schools generally do not require applicants to sit the LSAT (or LNAT - the Law National Aptitude Test). Instead applicants are assessed based on their high school record, along with their personal statement and references. Applicants for 2-year Accelerated programmes (please see below) at the University of Aberdeen are assessed based on their undergraduate record, along with the personal statement and references.

The School of Law at the University of Aberdeen offers a range of Law programmes including:

• LLB Law (4 years) (M114)
• LLB Law Accelerated (graduate entry, 2 years) (M115)
• LLB Law with English Law (4 years) (M2M1)
• LLB with English Law (Accelerated) (graduate entry, 2 years) (M116)

For a complete list of programmes, please refer to the School of Law website.

At Aberdeen, students can choose to pursue our traditional LLB degree in Scots Law or the LLB with English Law. Both the LLB and the LLB with English Law are also offered as two-year Accelerated options, for students who already have a good undergraduate degree.

LLB degrees give students full exemption from the professional examinations of Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates. Further qualifications are nevertheless required (as would be required of all LLB graduates from Scottish Universities) to become a solicitor (please see Law Society of Scotland) or an advocate in Scotland (please see the Faculty of Advocates).

Additionally, the LLB with English Law degrees, both the 4-year and the 2-year Accelerated degrees, cover a suite of English Law courses which help prepare students who are interested in practising law in England and/or Wales. For those seeking a career as a solicitor, courses from the degree will help them prepare for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (please see Solicitors Regulation Authority). For those pursuing a career as a barrister, courses from the degree can help fulfil the academic component of the training for the Bar (please see Bar Standards Board).

For students wishing to practise law in Canada, the LLB with English Law degrees offer a suite of English Law courses which can help pave the way for gaining qualification to practise law in Canada (other than in Québec).

To gain their qualification to practise law in Canada (other than in Québec), all lawyers trained outside of Canada must apply to the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) which is a part of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada that assesses the legal education credentials of those trained outside of Canada seeking to gain admission to a law society in a Canadian Common Law jurisdiction.      

The NCA uses a uniform standard to determine the requirements that each applicant must meet to satisfy the requirements for practising law in Canadian Common Law provinces and territories.  It considers applications on a rolling basis. However, it would only do so once an applicant has received the final law school transcript. The NCA assesses each applicant on an individual basis and takes into consideration a number of factors.  These factors include:

1. The law courses and the degree programme which have been completed abroad;
2. The applicant’s academic performance in these courses;
3. The applicant’s professional legal experiences (if any). 

Among the core Common Law subjects required by the NCA are Contracts, Torts, Property, and Business Organisations – subjects which are covered within our suite of English Law courses.  In addition, the NCA also requires a further 5 Canada-specific core subjects:  Canadian Administrative Law, Canadian Constitutional Law, Canadian Criminal Law, Foundations of Canadian Law, and Canadian Professional Responsibility.  The NCA may also assign further course requirements based on the factors considered for each applicant on a case by case basis.  For full details, please visit the NCA website.

There is a variety of ways for meeting the Canada-specific core subject requirements as well as the applicant-specific subject requirements. Students may self-study to prepare for the NCA challenge examinations, students may complete the assigned subjects at a Canadian law school, or undertake a combination of self-study and taking the assigned subject at a Canadian law school.  

To gain their qualification to practise law in Canada (other than in Québec), all lawyers trained outside of Canada must apply to the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) which is a part of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada that assesses the legal education credentials of those trained outside of Canada seeking to gain admission to a law society in a Canadian Common Law jurisdiction.      

The NCA uses a uniform standard to determine the requirements that each applicant must meet to satisfy the requirements for practising law in Canadian Common Law provinces and territories.  It considers applications on a rolling basis. However, it would only do so once an applicant has received the final law school transcript. The NCA assesses each applicant on an individual basis and takes into consideration a number of factors.  These factors include:

1. The law courses and the degree programme which have been completed abroad;
2. The applicant’s academic performance in these courses;
3. The applicant’s professional legal experiences (if any). 

Among the core Common Law subjects required by the NCA are Contracts, Torts, Property, and Business Organisations – subjects which are covered within our suite of English Law courses.  In addition, the NCA also requires a further 5 Canada-specific core subjects:  Canadian Administrative Law, Canadian Constitutional Law, Canadian Criminal Law, Foundations of Canadian Law, and Canadian Professional Responsibility.  The NCA may also assign further course requirements based on the factors considered for each applicant on a case by case basis.  For full details, please visit the NCA website.

There is a variety of ways for meeting the Canada-specific core subject requirements as well as the applicant-specific subject requirements. Students may self-study to prepare for the NCA challenge examinations, students may complete the assigned subjects at a Canadian law school, or undertake a combination of self-study and taking the assigned subject at a Canadian law school.  

Students can apply for LLB programmes through UCAS. The deadline for home students is January 15th. International students can apply up until June 30th. 

Entry Requirements - LLB

• LLB and LLB with English Law - Our website lists the minimum requirements which students need to meet in order to be considered for admission. 
• LLB (Accelerated) and LLB with English Law (Accelerated) - Our website lists the minimum requirements which students need to meet in order to be considered for admission, however the general requirement for either of our LLB Accelerated programmes is a cumulative GPA of 3.3 (or equivalent).

Programme Enquiries

Dr Catherine W Ng
Senior Lecturer, School of Law
B Comm (UBC, Vancouver), LLB (U of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario), LLM (Osgoode Hall Law School, York U, Toronto), DPhil (Oxon, Oxford) 

• e: c.w.ng@abdn.ac.uk
• t: +44 1224 273897