Bar Scholarship 2025/26

To be eligible to apply for the Bar Course Scholarship for September 2025 you must:

• Be a Home, EU or International applicant
• Have already applied to study the Bar Course at Northumbria University, commencing in September 2025 - Please note, you do not have to be holding an offer at the time of application
• Subsequently meet the terms and conditions of your offer for the Bar Course
• Be a self-funded student and not have fees which are paid in full or in part through a sponsorship arrangement, i.e. employer funded

• Students selected for the Bar Course Scholarship will no longer be eligible for any other postgraduate discounts
• Sponsored students are not eligible for the Bar Course Scholarship
• Students who are progressing form a partner institution where reduced fees have been agreed are not eligible for the Bar Course Scholarship
• The Bar Course Scholarship is awarded as a reduction on the tuition fee and is not a cash sum
• The reduction to the fees will be made following enrolment
• If you defer your place, the scholarship offer will be withdrawn
• If you transfer to an ineligible course, your scholarship offer will be withdrawn
• If you withdraw from the Bar Course during the period of study you may be liable to pay a sum of fees
• Northumbria University reserves the right to withdraw this scheme at any point
• The University’s decision is final and cannot be challenged; there is no right of review and no right of appeal
• Owing to the number of applications received, individual feedback cannot be provided to applicants at either stage of the process however, personal support, feedback and interview guidance inc. mock interviews are regularly offered to students studying the Bar Course at Northumbria

Eligible Courses

• Bar Course one year Full-Time
• Bar Course two years Part-Time
• Bar Course (LLM) one year Full-Time
• Bar Course (LLM) two years Part-Time

The Bar Course Scholarships are awarded on merit alone. Offers are based on an assessment of each applicant’s ability to demonstrate the following criteria at both stage one and stage two of the selection process.

• Intellectual ability – Evidence of high academic achievement, analytical skills, and use of judgment.
• Advocacy - Evidence of oral and written clarity, articulacy, persuasiveness, and, if shortlisted, an ability to respond to questioning.  
• Legal Ethics - Evidence of integrity, reasoning, awareness of civic role and challenges at the Bar. 
• Character and Interpersonal Skills - Evidence of motivation for a career at the Bar, self-reliance, and teamwork.

The application process for a Scholarship is as follows:

Stage 1 - The Written Application - Applications will open on Monday 13 January 2025

• Applicants will complete an online application form.  The form requires candidates to provide personal details, relevant degree/qualification transcripts achieved thus far (note you must upload evidence of individual module marks) a CV and a personal statement explaining how you have met the criteria above.  Incomplete applications will not be considered.

• Please upload documents in Microsoft Word/Adobe PDF only. 

• The maximum word count of the personal statement is 1500 words although applicants are encouraged to be concise and demonstrate brevity.  Your statement should convey how you meet, or have the potential to meet, the criteria stated above by referring to specific examples.  Examples can be taken from academic studies, extra-curricular activities and engagements, positions of responsibility, work experience such as mini-pupillages, or indeed voluntary/employed work.

• Please note if you would like the panel to consider any particular mitigating circumstances that has impacted academic achievement or if there are any barriers (e.g, monetary, health etc) that you have experienced please include such information clearly in your personal statement.

Successful applicants at Stage 1 will then proceed to Stage 2 (please note that progression to Stage 2 is no guarantee of an award)

Stage 2 – The Interview

• Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed by academic members of Northumbria Law School who will form a Scholarship panel.  For 2025 the interviews can either take place face to face or remotely using an online video platform such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom.  As part of the interview, you will be expected to make a short oral presentation on a topic notice of which will be given at the time of invitation for interview.  The interview will be loosely based on what applicants might expect to face when applying to Chambers for a pupillage.