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LLM in Legal Professional Practice (SQE Preparation Course)

Is your goal to become a solicitor via the SQE route? Prepare for your Solicitors Qualifying Examinations, whilst enhancing your wider employability skills on this focussed course.

Block teaching designed around you

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive community. That’s why most of our postgraduate taught students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You will benefit from more regular assessments and feedback, a better study-life balance, and a simplified timetable that provides more time for work, professional development, caring responsibilities, and everything else that's important to you. Our block-taught courses are informed by industry practice, often accredited by professional bodies, and are delivered by passionate and talented academics, who will help you develop the skills to achieve your goals.

Read more about block teaching

Overview

Hear from Senior Lecturer Kelly Hughes as she outlines the opportunities, benefits and unique features of the SQE LLM course at DMU.

DMU’s SQE preparation course has been thoughtfully designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to prepare for the challenging Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE 1 and SQE 2), the new route to qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales.

On this course, you will be taught by legal experts who have a wealth of professional experience, many having led careers as barristers and solicitors. Under their guidance, you will learn how to apply relevant core legal principles and rules at the level of a competent, newly-qualified solicitor to meet the requirements for SQE 1. Our suite of law facilities will enable you to bring learning to life, developing key skills such as practical legal research, drafting, advocacy, legal writing and interviewing across business law, property law, civil and criminal litigation. You will also be introduced to the five practical legal skills tested in SQE 2; key knowledge employers are seeking. In your final block of teaching, alongside an academic supervisor, you will complete a Dissertation in Legal Practice, which presents the opportunity to personalise your learning by focusing on a relevant area of law of particular interest.

Employability is embedded throughout the course, helping to prepare you for success not only in the SQE exams, but also for life as a solicitor.

Key features

  • Enjoy access to BARBRI SQE Prep software at no extra cost, which features exam-focused workbooks, study materials and mock exams to help you prepare for your SQE examinations. In the July SQE 1 sitting, BARBRI candidates outperformed the average pass rate by 13%.
  • Receive dedicated support every step of the way with an SQE personal tutor - a qualified solicitor who can offer tailored careers advice, CV and cover letter support, and help you obtain placements, which could count towards the two years of qualifying work experience (QWE) needed to qualify via the SQE route. 
  • Benefit from the Law Mentoring Scheme, which is designed to introduce law employers to skilled graduates who are studying on our LLM SQE. Work opportunities can count towards your two years of QWE and provide vital connections for future success.
  • Bring learning to life in our dedicated suite of specialist law learning spaces, including our crown court – a site of trials since the Middle Ages – a training courtroom and a dedicated law library.
  • Benefit from the support of our Advisory Board, comprised of 20 leaders from local and global organisations. Law students can look forward to industry visits, guest lectures, mentorship and internship opportunities.
  • Boost your CV at DMU Street Law, or DMU’s Law and Mooting Society. These extra-curricular activities present opportunities to take part in mooting, presentations, mock trials and interviewing.
  • Benefit from block teaching, where most students study one subject at a time. A simple timetable will allow you to really engage with your learning, receive regular feedback and assessments, get to know your course mates and enjoy a better study-life balance.

The SQE route to becoming a solicitor

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) have replaced the old route, known as the Legal Practice Course (LPC), to become the new way of qualifying to become a solicitor in England and Wales.

In order to qualify as a solicitor via the SQE route, you will need to:

  • have a degree in any subject or a qualification or experience that is equivalent to a degree
  • pass both the SQE1 and SQE2 examinations
  • complete two years full-time or equivalent of qualifying work experience (QWE)
  • pass character and suitability requirements.

Although completing a postgraduate course is not obligatory via the new route, the SQE examinations are challenging and test a wide range of legal topics, meaning you will need to have a thorough and broad understanding to succeed. DMU’s LLM SQE has been thoughtfully created to cover all of the skills and knowledge tested in the SQE1 assessment, whilst introducing you to the competences needed for your QWE and SQE2 assessment, assuring you are well-prepared to qualify as a solicitor via this route.

Scholarships:

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International Scholarships

Find out about available scholarships and country specific fee discounts for international students. 

 

 

DMU has been shortlisted for the Postgraduate Award in the 2024 Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs), as voted for by students.

  • UK
  • EU/International

Programme code: M25090

Start date: September

Duration: One year full-time

Fees and funding: 
2025/26 tuition fees for UK students: £11,450

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

 

Programme code: M25090

Start date: September

Duration: One year full-time

Fees and funding: 
2025/26 tuition fees for international students: £18,450

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

 

Entry criteria

Applicants will normally hold a undergraduate law degree at 2:2 or above (or equivalent).

Alternatively, an undergraduate degree in any subject at 2:2 or above, plus a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL).


English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessment

Teaching contact hours

 

  • Block 1: Business Law and Financial Management in Practice
  • Block 2: Property Law and the Administration of Estates in Practice
  • Block 3: Dispute Resolution in Practice
  • Block 4: Criminal Litigation in Practice
  • Block 5: Dissertation in Legal Practice

See detailed module descriptions


Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Teaching and assessment

You will be taught through a combination of lectures and guest lectures, seminars and tutorials, PC Labs and Trading Floor Labs and asynchronous support.

Assessment is through assignments, essays, exams, and projects. Some assessment opportunities will have additional support via groupwork, such as simulations and case studies; and students have access to a personal tutor for mentoring and signposting for additional needs.

Teaching contact hours

This is a full-time course and in total you should be prepared to devote approximately 2 hours of lectures, 6 hours of workshop and 2 hours of asynchronous activity each week.

Facilities and features

 
Placements
Placements
Placements
 

Hugh Aston Building

You will have access to our purpose-built Hugh Aston Building and our new £5.5 million extension called The Yard. These buildings are home to the Faculty of Business and Law, and are equipped with lecture theatres and classrooms, break-out spaces for group work, quiet study zones for individual work and IT labs.

Law students also benefit from dedicated learning spaces to facilitate scenario-based learning, including a crown court, a training courtroom and a simulated Judge's Chambers suite. 

Library services

As a law student, you will have access to a dedicated law library based in the Hugh Aston building, which is full of books, journals and law reports to assist you with your learning.

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Learning Zone, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

Learning zones

Our Learning Zones and The Greenhouse also provide space for group or individual work and study.

There are 1,600 study places across all library locations, more than 700 computer stations, laptops to borrow, free wi-fi and desktop power outlets.

You can also book rooms with plasma screens, laptops and DVD facilities for group work and presentations, secure an individual study room with adjustable lighting or make use of our assistive technology.

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

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Graduate careers

If your goal is to become a solicitor in the modern day, our SQE LLM is an excellent choice.

The Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (SQEs), which this course prepares you for, are the centralised assessments that form part of the newly-introduced, four-stage route to becoming a solicitor in England and Wales. The SQEs will eventually replace the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and become the only way of qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales.

Additionally, our SQE LLM students benefit from dedicated careers support in the form of an SQE Careers Tutor. They are a qualified solicitor, and will be able to offer you tailored careers advice, CV and cover letter support, and will work with you to help you achieve your goals.

Take your next steps

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