Chose psychology, but want to do law......

Original post by clairelou92

Im about to go to university to study undergraduate psychology at a good university. I love psychology and im looking forward to doing my psychology degree and I have always planned to become a Clinical Psychologist and I basically have my career plan organized. However, I have recentley realised that I would quite like to do law (Family law to be precise) and im very interested in law................but its too late for me to apply to do a law degree rather than a psychology degree

Would it be impossible for me to go into law now without going back to university to do a 3 year law degree? I feel that my psychology would be beneficial for family law, but i have no idea how you qualify to become a lawyer. Would my psychology degree put me at an advantage or not?

How do you become a qualified lawyer or family lawyer/career route???? I really need help to decide what to do........

Do you HAVE to have a LAW degree to do a masters in law or a law orientated subject?

Thanks :smile:

You can go into law after completing an undergraduate degree. There is a 1 year full-time course called the Graduate Diploma in Law that you must complete to "convert" to law so you can progress onto legal training.

You must then do the Legal Practice Course (if you want to be a solicitor) or the Bar Professional Training Course (if you want to be a barrister).

Basically if you want to become a solicitor, without a law degree it adds on one year to your training if you do your courses full time.

The University of Sheffield offer a Law MA which is two years long for non-law graduates, which incorporates the GDL and also gives you a Masters degree at the end of it. You would still need to go on to do the LPC and any further training.

I am in the exact same position; I too am about to start a psychology degree but either wish to become a solicitor or a teacher afterwards.

I hope this helps.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

OP

Original post by SpicyStrawberry

You can go into law after completing an undergraduate degree. There is a 1 year full-time course called the Graduate Diploma in Law that you must complete to "convert" to law so you can progress onto legal training.

You must then do the Legal Practice Course (if you want to be a solicitor) or the Bar Professional Training Course (if you want to be a barrister).

Basically if you want to become a solicitor, without a law degree it adds on one year to your training if you do your courses full time.

The University of Sheffield offer a Law MA which is two years long for non-law graduates, which incorporates the GDL and also gives you a Masters degree at the end of it. You would still need to go on to do the LPC and any further training.

I am in the exact same position; I too am about to start a psychology degree but either wish to become a solicitor or a teacher afterwards.

I hope this helps.

That has helped me a lot! Thanks :smile:

I quite like the University of Sheffield :smile:

Reply 3

kate03

1

Original post by clairelou92

Im about to go to university to study undergraduate psychology at a good university. I love psychology and im looking forward to doing my psychology degree and I have always planned to become a Clinical Psychologist and I basically have my career plan organized. However, I have recentley realised that I would quite like to do law (Family law to be precise) and im very interested in law................but its too late for me to apply to do a law degree rather than a psychology degree

Would it be impossible for me to go into law now without going back to university to do a 3 year law degree? I feel that my psychology would be beneficial for family law, but i have no idea how you qualify to become a lawyer. Would my psychology degree put me at an advantage or not?

How do you become a qualified lawyer or family lawyer/career route???? I really need help to decide what to do........

Do you HAVE to have a LAW degree to do a masters in law or a law orientated subject?

Thanks :smile:

Hi there,

I have completed a psychology degree, and I'm now doing a "senior status" degree in law (basically an undergraduate degree in law, but completed over two years rather than three). Other than the route I'm doing, you can also do a GDL, which is a one year conversion course. Like SpicyStrawberry has said, you would then need to do an LPC (to be a solicitor) or a BPTC (to go to the bar) which are one year long.

Having another degree shouldn't hold you back - it varies depending on the law firm, but approximately 50% of the trainees that law firms recruit as trainee solicitors have a non-law degree. It can actually work in your favour if you can demonstrate how it ties in with your legal ambitions.

I'll stop rambling on now but I hope this has helped! Good luck :smile:

Reply 4

OP

Original post by kate03

Hi there,

I have completed a psychology degree, and I'm now doing a "senior status" degree in law (basically an undergraduate degree in law, but completed over two years rather than three). Other than the route I'm doing, you can also do a GDL, which is a one year conversion course. Like SpicyStrawberry has said, you would then need to do an LPC (to be a solicitor) or a BPTC (to go to the bar) which are one year long.

Having another degree shouldn't hold you back - it varies depending on the law firm, but approximately 50% of the trainees that law firms recruit as trainee solicitors have a non-law degree. It can actually work in your favour if you can demonstrate how it ties in with your legal ambitions.

I'll stop rambling on now but I hope this has helped! Good luck :smile:

Oh, great! :biggrin:

Thanks for your help.
Could I ask, where are you completing your law degree?
I have noticed that only a select few universities offer the GDL course.

Reply 5

kate03

1

Original post by clairelou92

Oh, great! :biggrin:

Thanks for your help.
Could I ask, where are you completing your law degree?
I have noticed that only a select few universities offer the GDL course.

I did my psychology degree at Cardiff University and I'm doing my law degree there too. I absolutely love it so I think I'll probably apply there to do my LPC as well if they'll have me! I guess it depends what you want from a place as to where you should apply - I like Cardiff because of the town and the people, and I like the university atmosphere which I was worried I wouldn't get if I did it at a College of Law etc (though they may offer something just as good but different to somewhere like Cardiff). Do you know where you'd like to do your GDL?

Reply 6

OP

Original post by kate03

I did my psychology degree at Cardiff University and I'm doing my law degree there too. I absolutely love it so I think I'll probably apply there to do my LPC as well if they'll have me! I guess it depends what you want from a place as to where you should apply - I like Cardiff because of the town and the people, and I like the university atmosphere which I was worried I wouldn't get if I did it at a College of Law etc (though they may offer something just as good but different to somewhere like Cardiff). Do you know where you'd like to do your GDL?

O ok

Ermm I have no idea to be honest. It took me long enough to chose a university for Psychology :biggrin:

I think I will wait until next year until i start to look for law. Im going to Birmingham for my psychology degree.

Reply 7

kate03

1

Original post by clairelou92

O ok

Ermm I have no idea to be honest. It took me long enough to chose a university for Psychology :biggrin:

I think I will wait until next year until i start to look for law. Im going to Birmingham for my psychology degree.

Birmingham's an excellent uni, I have a couple of friends that went there and loved it :smile:

I think you're right in waiting a year or so before looking. Good luck with it all and if I can help at all down the line feel free to send me a PM :smile:

Reply 8

OP

Original post by kate03

Birmingham's an excellent uni, I have a couple of friends that went there and loved it :smile:

I think you're right in waiting a year or so before looking. Good luck with it all and if I can help at all down the line feel free to send me a PM :smile:

Thank you

Reply 9

Frankster1992

15

Original post by beepbeeprichie

Social sciences...BOOO!

What do you study? something that is vastly greater than any other subject I should presume?

Reply 10

Frankster1992

15

Original post by beepbeeprichie

Not really. I just did the GDL.

Ok, I presume you want to venture into Law then?
It is acceptable If you do not like 'social sciences' but could you not keep that to yourself instead of directing your hate for the subject group at another individual of whom is studying 'Psychology' of which is within the social sciences category.

Reply 11

easter_bunny

13

I don't know anything about Law but I am pursuing Clinical Psychology and it is a total nightmare/minefield. Only about 10-20% ish Psychology graduates pursue further study, and the chances of getting an Assistant Psychologist job at the moment are about 1/100. If you're aware of all this that's fine, but if you aren't it is a very rocky road and a lot of people I know trying it have given up already, so if you aren't 100% sure you want to do Psychology Clinical probably isn't worth aiming for.

By the way, that coursework bot is totally shameless and I cannot believe that the post has not been removed.

Reply 12

iammichealjackson

Original post by beepbeeprichie

I'm just expressing my disapproval of the social sciences. It wasn't meant to help you.

Fair enough if you don't like the social sciences because your a hard scientist working on nuclear fusion energy which would revolutionise the world... but from a ****ing lawyer, I don't think anyone cares what you have to say. I'm not saying lawyers are bad or anything, especially if I was in business or needed legal advice, but the world would be severly worse without social scientists, if you take things like economics and sociology in that bracket.

Plus psychology is too eclectic to define as a 'social science', for example many psychologists work on the genetics of behaviour or the cogntive and biological processes of sleep/vision/memory. Others are therapists... who aren't scientific in any sense of the world, and others are therapists who use methods based on scientific research.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 13

LouKat

Original post by clairelou92

Im about to go to university to study undergraduate psychology at a good university. I love psychology and im looking forward to doing my psychology degree and I have always planned to become a Clinical Psychologist and I basically have my career plan organized. However, I have recentley realised that I would quite like to do law (Family law to be precise) and im very interested in law................but its too late for me to apply to do a law degree rather than a psychology degree

Would it be impossible for me to go into law now without going back to university to do a 3 year law degree? I feel that my psychology would be beneficial for family law, but i have no idea how you qualify to become a lawyer. Would my psychology degree put me at an advantage or not?

How do you become a qualified lawyer or family lawyer/career route???? I really need help to decide what to do........

Do you HAVE to have a LAW degree to do a masters in law or a law orientated subject?

Thanks :smile:

Hi there, I have been in this position before so i figured I might be able to help you :smile:

Basically I was doing and English degree but I felt it wasnt going anywhere so I decided to to a law degree instead, as it is something I always wanted to try.
Luckily I managed to get the last place on the course for the following year but I did need to drop out for the year, and saas had to agree to refund me ( I live in Scotland).

First thing I have to warn you is that law is very difficult. I am not in any way insinuating that psychology isnt but I definitely had a shock at the case load and the amount of reading required. Law is one of those subjects that requires dedication so it has to be something you definitely want to do. As far as Im aware there is no way that you can do family law on its own, you would either have to start over completely doing a law degree or do a joint honours with your psychology, but again you would have do other law subjects as well such as contract and business law.

There is the possibility of a post graduate in law, but the only way you can become a lawyer is to do the full law course (whether full or fastrack-2 years) which includes all the recommended subjects (not just family law).
To become a qualified lawyer you have to do the law degree followed by the legal diploma (one year) and then two years traineeship.

I must also warn you that family law is extremely competitive, at least half my course are planning on doing it an honours level.

In general what I am saying is that yes, you would probably have to start over. I would never recommend to anyone to do a law course alongside different degree modules because its a pretty independent subject with a lot of reading/ case memorising. Family law especially is pretty case heavy.

Maybe consider a family law work experience to see if its really what you want to do just to get an idea before diving in at the deep end.

Good luck and I hope this helps :smile:

x

Reply 14

Rascacielos

19

You can do the Law conversion course after you get your Psychology degree.

Reply 15

Original post by beepbeeprichie

Psychology is social science is stupid.

Law is also a social science, dependant on the context.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 16

iammichealjackson

Original post by SpicyStrawberry

Law is also a social science.

Is it a science? :s-smilie:

I thought it was more about reasoning then empircal data... i don't know much about law though so please correct me!

Reply 17

Original post by iammichealjackson

Is it a science? :s-smilie:

I thought it was more about reasoning then empircal data... i don't know much about law though so please correct me!

I'm not entirely sure why but at many university departments they seem to lump Law in with the social sciences, but this will vary from place to place of course! I would assume it's because a lot of logic and evidence for your findings is required but it doesn't involve the traditional sciences.

Reply 18

SPMS

12

Should of done Economics.

Reply 19