The LLB, or Bachelor of Laws, is the English undergraduate law degree, for which candidates must study seven modules in different subject areas, including public law, European Union law, criminal law, procedural law, property law, law of obligations, and trusts and equity. The LLB is a three-year program. As in the United States (where students can opt to study in a pre-law program as undergraduates), British students are not qualified to practice law after this undergraduate degree, but by following a year-long program (LPC or BVC), they can become licensed solicitors or barristers.
Students who wish to become solicitors, after finishing their LLB, must enroll with the Law Society of England and Wales. While they will not be considered full members, they are "student members," and enroll in a Legal Practice Course, or LPC, which lasts for one year. Afterward, they work as apprentices under a training contract for two years. Barristers, on the other hand, take a one-year course called the Bar Vocational Course, or BVC, also under the auspices of the Law Society, and then serve a year of "pupilage" in the chambers of an established barrister.
While an LLB is the most common educational option, British lawyers may wish to change specialties after practicing or training for a time; for example, from corporate law to human rights law. A Master of Laws, or LLM, allows them to do this. This one- to two-year program provides specialty training and cross-training in different fields of law, helping lawyers gain a more in-depth understanding of their field or explore an entirely new field.
A postgraduate diploma in law, also known as a PDL or conversion course, qualifies students to become lawyers, no matter what they studied as undergraduates. This graduate program allows students to study for one or two years (full-time and part-time, respectively), qualifying them for an LPC or a BVC afterward.