Barrister Training Course (Master's)

Entry requirements

The entry requirements to study the Barrister Training Course (BTC) are:

• A qualifying law degree or non-law degree plus our Law Foundations Course, or a CPE/GDL/PGDL (minimum 2:1)
• Fluency in English
• Membership of an Inn of Court
• Receipt of a satisfactory reference

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

Tried and tested training to secure your barrister career.

Our barrister training courses support you from the exam room to the courtroom. Learn specialist knowledge and skills in the context of realistic legal scenarios, giving you the edge to secure pupillage.

Learning that feels like practice

Our BTC is taught through an integration of knowledge and barrister skills which replicates real-life practice, while receiving support and regular feedback from our expert tutors.

• Learn from experienced barristers
  
• Advocacy taught in groups of max. five students
  
• Practice in a courtroom environment
  
• Includes hard copies of the White Book and Blackstone’s Criminal Practice (worth over £1,200)
• Written skills are taught in both common law and commercial practice contexts
• Centralised BSB assessments are split out over the course of the programme

Employability support

• Bridge to the Bar: 40 hours of preparatory content, including legal tech and employability resources
• Career Guarantee: Free employability courses if you don’t secure pupillage within six months of passing the BTC

View our employability support here.

Innovative learning methods with proven results

• Virtual Practice Environment: Experience realistic briefs and case handling in a way that mirrors a legal practice intranet in a Barristers’ chambers.
• Adapt: Our unique platform embeds your course learning in AI that tracks your progress, measures your strengths, and develops your target areas for improvement.

Find out more about how you learn at BPP here.

Assessment method

• Bar Standards Board (BSB) centralised assessments
• Coursework (to test written and oral skills)
• Examinations (including multiple choice and problem-based questions)

Modules

Preparing for Pupillage 1:

• Civil Litigation & Evidence (30 credits)  
• Submission Advocacy (15 credits)  
• Drafting (15 credits)  

Preparing for Pupillage 2:

• Oral Skills (20 credits)  
• Criminal Litigation, Evidence & Sentencing (20 credits)  
• Opinion Writing & Legal Research (20 credits)  
• Professional Ethics (non-credit bearing)  

Professional project

Information for international students

Fees and funding

To widen access to the legal profession, we offer an extensive range of funding options and scholarships to ensure finance isn’t a barrier to a promising legal career.

Master’s funding: This course is eligible for Postgraduate Loan Funding.

Scholarships: £1.4m+ of dedicated funds awarded solely to applicants of BPP’s postgraduate law courses (More information on our scholarships can be found here.

Please visit our website to find out more about funding your studies.