GDL Scholarships
Students can apply for scholarships to support them during their law conversion course. Eligible courses for an award are: Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), LLM conversion course, and the two-year postgraduate LLB conversion course. These courses may be taken full time or part time.
In 2022, the Inner Temple will offer £200,500 in GDL scholarships.
GDL Scholarships Application Procedure
Applications for 2022 are now closed.
In order to apply for a scholarship you will be required to submit an online application form, which will be linked below, when the application window is open.
The application form is broken down into 6 sections – contact information; educational details; legal and non-legal work experience; supporting information; references and equality monitoring. The ‘supporting information’ section includes professional statement/ essay style questions, which are specific to the scholarship you are applying for.
Please note that if you submit an application, you will be asked to provide details on your financial circumstances, in May 2022, via a separate form within the scholarships portal.
Candidates submit one application form and are considered for all Inner Temple GDL Awards (listed above) at the same time.
Breakdown of Awards
GDL Scholarships: awards available
Two Princess Royal Scholarships One award of £10,000 and one award of £7,500
Four Major Scholarships & up to 30 Exhibition Scholarships
Budget of £183,000. Awards will be made on merit, then for each successful applicant, financial means will be considered to decide the award amount
The Guaranteed Funding Scheme
The Inner Temple is the only Inn that will guarantee a GDL scholarship winner an award of at least equal value for their Bar Course.
Students who receive a GDL award from the Inn, and successfully complete their law conversion course, will automatically receive an award of the same amount for their Bar Course, without further interview. GDL award holders therefore have the certainty that a minimum level of funds will be available to them from the Inn throughout their period of study for the Bar.
Holders of GDL awards are, however, encouraged to apply for a higher award for their Bar Course year. This application should be made in the autumn prior to the start of the Bar Course. By applying for a higher Bar Course award, scholars will not jeopardise their right to the guaranteed funding.
Applicants who are unsuccessful at obtaining a GDL award are welcome reapply for a GDL award in the following application round, and are also welcome to apply for a Bar Course Scholarship Award on obtaining a Qualifying Law Degree.
Differing Course Types
It is also possible to undertake the GDL part-time over 2 years at certain providers, which enables the splitting of the cost of fees. If undertaking the GDL part time, it is possible to apply for an Inner Temple scholarship in the spring before you start the course as well as the spring in the first year of your training, if your application is unsuccessful first time around.
Alternative sources of funding for the GDL
- Student Finance
If applying for the LLM conversion course, students are eligible to apply for a Masters Loan (of £11,222 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2020) from Students Finance England.
- Postgraduate Loans
Post-graduate loans which cover the cost of course fees and living expenses are available from companies such as Future Finance and LendWise.