Information for Applicants from Canada

Because of our shared Common Law heritage, studying law in the UK is an attractive option for Canadian students and is quite similar to studying law in Canada. However, you will almost certainly find that class sizes in Buckingham are smaller than you are used to.

A significant number of Canadian students have taken advantage of our two-year LLB programme. If you already have a first degree in a non-law subject, you may qualify for our International Scholarship. Despite taking less time to complete than most law degrees, the Buckingham LLB (Single Honours Law) covers, not just the fundamental subjects required for a UK Qualifying Law Degree (QLD), but also a number of electives of particular interest to Canadians, including:

• Company (Corporate) Law
• Law of Evidence
• Commercial Law

Most of our Canadian students return home to Canada after graduating to qualify as lawyers and, ultimately, go into legal practice. Canadian students who graduate with a QLD and who wish to be admitted to the bar of a common law province or territory in Canada must demonstrate their competence to do so to the satisfaction of the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA).

The NCA assesses each application on an individual, “case by case”, basis in order to decide what further examinations and/or legal education should be undertaken by the applicant.

Demonstrating competence will usually entail taking examinations in a number of subjects,  the minimum being five of the “core” subjects specified by the NCA which are not included in a QLD. These are:

• Principles of Canadian Administrative Law
• Canadian Constitutional Law
• Canadian Criminal Law and Procedure
• Foundations of Canadian Law
• Professional Responsibility.

Whether you will required to by the NCA to take more subjects is dependent upon the grades you obtain and the subjects you take in your LLB: taking Company Law and Evidence amongst your electives, for instance, is strongly recommended, since these are also specified as “core” subjects by the NCA. Furthermore, your education prior to taking the LLB may also be taken into consideration (for example, whether you are already a graduate in another discipline before you take your LLB).

Students may normally “self-study” for these examinations: the NCA provides syllabuses and a sample exam for each subject.

Canadian applicants are advised to visit the NCA website for further particulars:   http://www.flsc.ca/en/nca/

For further information about the Buckingham LLB, contact the Admissions Tutor, Gavin Love, email gavin.love@buckingham.ac.uk. For entry requirements, go to www.buckingham.ac.uk/international/coming-from/canada-2.

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