Funding your law course
The University of Bristol Law School has a number of scholarships, grants, and bursaries available to its students, both to support students from low-income households and to award academic brilliance. Below you will find details of financial support for undergraduate and postgraduate applicants and students.
25 per cent discount for University of Bristol Graduates
University of Bristol alumni can get a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Find out more.
Undergraduate funding options
As part of the University's Access to Bristol Scheme, students who complete the Pathways to Law programme at the University of Bristol will be considered for an enhanced financial support package, provided they have firmly accepted an offer to study at the Law School, and have a residual household income of £25,000 or below.
The EDSA Fund supports undergraduate students in the first year of study. Successful applicants receive £9,000 to cover first-year tuition fees. The £1.5 million pledge has created a permanent scholarship fund for law students.
- more information coming soon Law firm Hogan Lovells make an annual donation of £1,000 to the Law School to be put towards bursaries. The bursaries reflect the firm's commitment to fostering diversity and social mobility within the legal profession and are intended to ensure that prospective university students are not deterred from studying law. In 2015-16, Hogan Lovells Bursaries of £500 were awarded to two UoB law students.
Funding towards tuition fees for one student from Hong Kong, studying a three-year undergraduate Law degree in the University of Bristol Law School.
One scholarship of £6,500 per year is available. It must be used towards the cost of tuition fees. This scholarship has been funded by a donation from a University of Bristol alumnus.
Find out more, including eligibility and how to apply.
Postgraduate taught funding options
The Government has introduced loans to help towards the costs of Masters-level study for UK residence. Read more about the benefits and your eligibility for a postgraduate loan.
The Think Big about Law and Justice Scholarship is funded by the Law School for international postgraduate students studying law. One scholarship of £13,000 and one scholarship of £6,500 are available. These awards must be used towards the cost of tuition fees for an LLM qualification.
Applications from Central and South America students who demonstrate the highest level of academic achievement can apply for a UoB Santander Masters Scholarship. Please view the website for full details.
Exclusive for students wanting to study MSc Socio-Legal studies or MRes Sustainable Futures and take a further 3 years of doctoral research. The Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC) studentship will either partially of fully fund the student's postgraduate research programme. The scheme is open to UK, EU and international students, full time or part time.
If you have any questions about the socio-legal pathway, please contact the MSc pathway lead Dr Katie Cruz or law-pgr-admissions@bristol.ac.uk.
The Bristol Master's Scholarship awarded 50 talented home/UK students from widening participation backgrounds £2,000 each towards their taught postgraduate study (MA, MSc or LLM) at the University of Bristol.
Applicants must have already applied for a postgraduate taught programme at Bristol to start an application.
Some casual employment within the University may be available, both in term-time and in vacation, provide that this is compatible with the academic requirements of your programme. For further details about part-time employment opportunities please visit the Careers Service website, where you can log into 'mycareer' (once you are a current student). Guidance is also available on the Fees and Funding page.
Guidance on 'Working whilst Studying' is available for International Students.
Opportunity Bristol provides financial support to UK students from Black backgrounds to undertake a fully-funded research-related Masters degree.
The scheme is part of the University of Bristol's Black Bristol Scholarship Programme, which is supported by philanthropic donations and seeks to address the lack of representation of the Black community at every level of study in higher education, from undergraduate students to those completing PhDs.
Postgraduate scholarships are available for applicants to the LLM Health, Law and Society programme, from low and middle-income Commonwealth countries. Funded jointly by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) and participating UK universities.
Find out more on our Commonwealth Shared Scholarships page.
Postgraduate research funding options
A Government Student Loan is now available for PhD students. Please visit our Fees and Funding webpage for more information, including eligibility criteria.
Scholarships for UK and international students are available where research proposals align with the University of Bristol Research Challenge Areas. Scholarships include full fee funding and a stipend to cover living costs for PhD programmes. Find out more.
Applicants wanting to conduct research in Socio-Legal Studies or Climate Change, Sustainability and Society can apply for an SWDTP studentship under these pathways by applying to the PhD in Law and PhD in Sustainable Futures.
The standard funding offer for PhD studentships is typically 3 years and 3 months plus 3 months ‘Research in Practice’. You do not need a Masters qualification to apply, but if you do not have one, it is likely that PhD funding will be conditional on passing, at an overall grade of 60% or above, a Masters course that is linked to the pathway (e.g. MSc Socio-Legal studies), which will be funded by SWDTP, extending the funded period by one year.
Where a student comes to the SWDTP with a prior Masters or equivalent professional experience but where that does not fully meet the ESRC’s training requirements the student will be required to undertake 'top up' training, the need for which will be determined from on-going Development Needs Analysis (DNA), beginning at the point of application. Where a student is required to undertake ‘top up’ training during their PhD, the funding offer can be extended.
The scheme is open to UK, EU and international students, full time or part time.
If you have questions about the socio-legal pathway, please contact pathway-lead Dr Katie Cruz, and for the Climate Change, Sustainability and Society pathway, please contact Prof Margherita Pieraccini.
For questions about application, please contact law-pgr-admissions@bristol.ac.uk.
AHRC/South West & Wales Doctoral Training Partnership
SWWDTP offers two types of studentships: Student-led awards and Collaborative Doctoral Awards (CDA).
China Scholarship Council - Bristol Joint Scholarship Programme
The University of Bristol has a collaborative agreement with the China Scholarship Council to further the development of research collaborations between the UK and Chinese Universities and Research Institutions. Chinese PhD (or LLM/MSc and PhD, 1yr+3yrs) applicants can apply for up to four years of tuition Fees (paid by the University centrally) and a stipend (paid by the CSC).
Becas Chile (Conicyt) Scholarship
Currently offers full scholarships to cover tuition fees, living expenses, airfare and English language courses to Chilean postgraduate students. Please visit their website for more information.
Postgraduate or master's and doctoral scholarships are a great option to achieve high specialization in your area of study and get better professional opportunities.
Graduate scholarship programs have several objectives:
- They help people who do not have sufficient economic resources and want to reach a level of specialization.
- They offer opportunities to all sectors of society to access excellent educational programs.
- They contribute to increasing a country's competitiveness.
Types of scholarships offered by the Foundation for Masters and Doctorates:
- Face-to-face, blended or online
- In Mexico or abroad
Requirements:
- Being Latin American.
- Be over 21 years of age.
- Have completed a bachelor's or master's degree, as applicable.
- Have a minimum grade point average of 8/10 (or equivalent) in the immediately preceding grade.
Bristol Postgraduate Research Scholarships for candidates of Black and mixed Black heritage, who are UK domiciled with Home fee status
We are pleased to announce that fully-funded Bristol Postgraduate Research scholarships will be offered to candidates who self-identify as being of Black and/or mixed Black heritage, who are UK domiciled (with UK Home fee status), and who demonstrate exceptional research potential. Applicants for these PhD scholarships may submit research proposals in any area of study within the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, and do not have to demonstrate alignment with the University’s and Faculty’s strategic priorities (outlined above), though they may wish to do so.
The Bristol-Macquarie Cotutelle programme is an exciting opportunity for students to spend two years studying at the University of Bristol and two years studying at Macquarie University, Australia. Established in 2018, the programme between Macquarie University and the University of Bristol has resulted in 21 Cotutelle projects to date. Cotutelle students represent the University of Bristol internationally, and we are especially keen to support research collaboration with our international partners.
This scholarship is available for applicants from any country and for any PhD programme offered within the Schools in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law. We actively encourage applications from all parts of the world, and from under-represented and non-traditional groups, both from within and outside of the UK. All applications, whether requiring home or overseas fees, will receive equal consideration.
Some casual employment within the University may be available, both in term-time and in vacation, provide that this is compatible with the academic requirements of your programme. For further details about part-time employment opportunities please visit the Careers Service website, where you can log into 'mycareer' (once you are a current student). Guidance is also available on the Fees and Funding page.
Guidance on 'Working whilst Studying' is available for International Students.
For postgraduate research students, a number of part-time teaching assistant posts are available within the Law School. These vary from year to year. All current research students who have completed one year of study are eligible to apply. Appointments are made on the basis of merit and subject specialism.
This scholarship covers the cost of a PhD course for an Indian student. It's available for up to four years of study in all disciplines. It covers:
- all University of Bristol tuition fees
- a yearly living stipend in line with UKRI funding levels
- one return flight to/from India.
Applications are closed and may not reopen until 2027/28. Find out more.
Other awards, bursaries, and scholarships
There are a number of other funding opportunities available. Students and prospective students alike are encouraged to search our funding database to discover more opportunities.