updated on 18 March 2022
Find out which institutions offer the Bar courses by using our Course search.
The route to training as a barrister has changed. From July 2020, a range of new Bar courses replaced the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) as the mandatory vocational stage of training before pupillage. The variety of courses may appear confusing, with different fees and learning styles to consider, but all Bar courses approved by the Bar Standards Board result in the same qualification: a Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Practice. This qualification (alongside being ‘called to the Bar’ by an Inn of Court) makes a Bar course graduate eligible for pupillage, the final stage of on-the-job training to qualify as a barrister.
Transitional arrangements for BPTC students
If you started the BPTC before July 2020, you have until 2022 to complete the course and pass the assessments. For information about the timings of assessments running to 2022, see our student’s guide to the barrister training changes.
New Bar courses
The new Bar courses can be studied in one or two parts, with options to combine online and face-to-face learning in different ways. This flexibility means that there are now multiple pathways to become a barrister, rather than just one as was previously the case:
Whichever Bar course you choose, you will learn both the legal knowledge required to be barrister (such as criminal litigation, civil litigation, evidence and sentencing) and practical skills (such as advocacy, opinion writing and drafting, and conference skills).
All students must join an Inn of Court and pass the Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT) before enrolment on a Bar course.
Find out more
Before choosing where to apply to for the Bar course, get as much information as possible about the various course providers. You should try to find out about not only the academic programme, but also any links with the profession, the level of individual career guidance, the facilities available and any relevant extra-curricular activities.
The table below provides key information to get started, but it is not exhaustive.
To find all the available Bar courses, use LawCareers.Net’s Course search.
University/law school |
Name of Bar course |
Locations |
Routes offered |
Annual start dates |
Study format |
Fees |
|
Barrister Training Course (BTC) |
Birmingham Bristol Leeds London Manchester |
Course in one part Course in two parts Course with LLM |
September and January
|
Full time Part time |
Course in one part: £13,416 outside London or £14,446 in London
Course in two parts: £14,446 outside London, £15,576 in London
Part one only: £4,137 outside London, £4,652 in London
Part two only: £10,309 outside London, £10,824 in London
Course with LLM: £14,935 outside London, £16,480 in London |
|
Bar Vocational Studies (BVC) |
London |
Master of Laws Postgraduate Diploma Postgraduate Diploma with Specialism |
September |
Full time Part time |
Course in one part: £16,500
LLM: £19,500
Postgraduate Diploma: £16,500 Postgraduate Diploma with Specialism: £18,500
|
ICCA Bar Course |
London |
Course in two parts |
September and January
|
Full time Online learning (part one) |
Course in two parts: total £14,155
Part one only: including ICCA fee, textbooks and BSB intake fee – £2,000
Part two only: including ICCA fee and BSB intake fee – £12,155 |
|
|
Bar Course Postgraduate Diploma |
Newcastle |
Course in one part Course in two parts Integrated MLaw (course with undergraduate law degree and LLM) |
September |
Full time Part time |
Course in one part: £12,300 LLM: £12,300 MLaw: £9,250 a year undergraduate fees |
Barristers Training Course (BTC) |
Nottingham |
Course in one part Course in one part with LLM |
September September |
Full time |
Course in one part for 2021: £12,000 Course with LLM for 2021: £14,800 |
|
Bar Practice Course (BPC) |
Birmingham
Bristol
Leeds
London Bloomsbury
Manchester
Nottingham |
Course in one part
Course in one part with LLM |
January, July, September |
Full time
Part time |
Course in one part: £12,700 outside London, £14,000 in London
Course in one part with LLM, £15,300 outside London, £16,900 in London |
The University of the West of England |
Bar Training Course |
Bristol |
Course in one part Course in one part with LLM Course in two parts Course in two parts with LLM |
September |
Full time
|
Course in one part: £13,500 Course in one part with LLM: £15,500 Part one only: £7,750 Part two only: £7,750 Course in two parts with LLM: £17,500 |
To help you make your choice, use our Course search to find contact information and prospectuses for information on course modules and funding.