BPTC scholarships

Jul 13, 2021

Written By Jos Weale and Becky Kells

The BPTC is an expensive part of becoming a barrister, but there are lots of scholarships out there to help you out.

From the enticing offers of Inns of Courts to some financial support opportunities from BPTC providers, it’s worth having a snoop round to check out what BPTC scholarships are out there. The majority of scholarships are offered on a merit basis, but there are diversity-focused awards and bursaries awarded on the basis of financial need too.

Inns of Courts scholarships

The first port of call for many will be Inns of Court Scholarships. Around £4.5 million is awarded annually and a sizeable chunk of this goes to BPTC students. Applicants must be a member of the Inn of Court to apply for the scholarship.

Inner Temple

In 2019, the Inner Temple aims to award £1,836,306 across all courses, with most of the funds—about £1.5m—intended for BPTC students. The largest BPTC scholarship awards on offer are:

Peter Taylor Scholarship of £22,000;
Stephen Chapman Scholarship of £21,000;
And five Princess Royal Scholarships of £20,000.

The remaining funds will be allocated on merit, taking into account each applicant's needs. Inner Temple also has disability grants for those affected by serious disability.

Middle Temple

Middle Temple offers a number of scholarships to BPTC students, interviewing every candidate who secures a place on the course and intends to become a member of Middle Temple. In 2016, over £1m was offered in scholarships. Major scholarships include:

The Queen Mothers’ Scholarship, which is intended to assist “outstanding candidates”;
Diplock Scholarships, preference being given to those undertaking the BPTC who didn’t study law at undergraduate level;
Jules Thorn Scholarships;
Diana, Princess of Wales, and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge scholarships: awarded to a candidate who is “specially deserving of financial assistance”; who has "overcome adversity".

There are numerous more scholarships, with a list of more than 30 benefactor's scholarships on the middle temple website. Scholarships are merit-based, but there are some which have additional criteria, such as a state-school education, for example.

Lincoln’s Inn

Lincoln’s Inn has around £1,400,000 in BPTC scholarship monay to offer each year. These are all awarded based on merit: taking into account personality and presentation as well as intellectual qualities.

Scholarships include:

The Lord Mansfield. Up to five of these scholarships are awarded per year, with a minimum value of £20,000.

Lord Denning; Marchant and Tancred, the next most prestegious awards.

Cassel; Droop; Kennedy; Mary MacMurray; Sir Thomas More. These minor scholarships are all offered at the same level.

Gray's Inn Scholarships

Gray's Inn has said that it will award BPTC scholarships to the total of at least £1.2 million. In addition, it has introduced four New scholarships, each with a minimum value of £20,000, to be awarded in 2019.

Alongside these, the following scholarships are also available:

Up to 8 Bedingfield Scholarships, worth a minimum of £5,000 and a maximum of £30,000.

Up to 4 Prince of Wales Scholarships, worth a minimum of £5,000 and a maximum of £30,000.

Up to 50 Named Scholarships, worth a minimum of £5,000 and a maximum of £30,000.

Residential Scholarships, which are awarded in addition to BPTC scholarships, worth £10,000.

Study for free with a ULaw scholarship

Don’t let the cost of studying law put you off. Find out if you're eligible for a scholarship or bursary now.

Learn more

BPTC provider scholarships

BPP

BPP have quite a significant scholarship programme, many of the awards are aimed at, or specifically for, their BPTC students. Some are merit-based, whilst others take into account financial circumstances and diversity.

These include:

BPTC Excellence Scholarship: up to £5,000

BPTC Advocacy Scholarship: up to £5,000

Manchester Met Manchester

Met University offers one student the chance to win a BPTC scholarship of £4,000 to go towards their tuition fees.

There are a further two awards of £3,000 each, and two awards of £1,000 each.

Assessment is carried out on the basis on the BPTC application and interview, and candidate must have placed MMU as their first or second choice of provider.

University of Law

The University of Law has a total of 21 BPTC awards on offer in areas including:

One Master / Mistress of the Moots award: £6,500
Two Senior Scholar awards: £4,000
12 Advocacy Scholarships: £2,500
Six Advocacy Scholarships: £2,000

There are also a number of scholarships available which can be used for any course studied at the University of Law. It is worth checking the University of Law's website to keep up-to-date with these.

Scholarships