Russell Groups & LLB/MA Law/MA English

Do you have the right to work in the U.K.?

Not quite right.

Firms will still have to meet the basic requirements for the tier 2 visa, and many of the regional firms won’t meet the required salary benchmark.

Didn’t realise IM was paying £36k in the regions

There are salary bands for different professions. The one for law is £36k.

The right to work is a moot point if you are getting married anyway.

No - go with what works best for you. By the time you start any course, you won’t need a QLD if you want to be a solicitor anyway thanks to the SQE.

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Do you have any response to my original question, beyond your concern for right to work?

Thank you! That's more information I've been able to find. So you would say definitely Bristol over Gloucestershire (though it's my preferred location and would be about £3k cheaper).

Next question is, the MA Law isn't a true MA, so would it be equally beneficial for me to do an MA creative + Critical writing (at Glos, since it's higher ranked for this than law, but there may be one at Bristol). I'll already have an undergraduate degree in Literature / French / West European Studies from an accredited US uni, so would it matter if I get a grad degree in law or English?

Side note, there's also a course at Glos for MRes for English or for "Accounting and Law".

J-SP and John might have an opinion. I have pretty much said everything I think: you don't have to study MA Law (Grad LLB will do) and Gloucestershire is too much of a step down from Bristol. It might be £3k cheaper (also do factor in accommodation and living costs being higher in Bristol), but that does not justify studying at a random no-name uni. I am curious where you study in the US (as if that is impressive enough, you needn't worry about the quality of the course you top up with). We won't be able to guess your ID simply off your college.

I have no opinion on the accounting course. I am not sure what an MRes in English would achieve, unless you're looking to go into academia. It is a time-consuming undertaking which does not have the academic rigour, given it's Glos, to impress anyone more than your US BA alone could. You might find it interesting or have an idea of going into academia, and then I would suggest you take it. But probably at a more reputable university/a university where their research interest matches your own.

To be honest, planning is great and all that, but it's a bit too early to make life decisions. In your ultimate year, I would look at the various master's courses on offer and try to research them in depth.

Not getting involved, but are the MA's GDLs in disguise? If not then what would be the point and why not take that? Think MA is the wrong qualification.

Notwithstanding SQE, then I wouldnt rule out Sheffield for GDL or whatever it is you will take as besides the major IR offices in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester are close by plus the other regionals. Sheffield has a good rep for being recruited from by these and the overall student retention levels for the area is high. Not sure Bristol would give that much of an advantage.

Thank you for your thoughts. I'm fairly torn between Bristol and Sheffield now. I'd prefer to work in Bristol though there may be more job opportunities in Manchester (unsure). If I'm married prior to qualification, I won't need the £30k salary, but I will otherwise...so I'm also not sure if Sheffield and Manchester offer this like London. Bristol is higher ranked and has the uni law club which is one of the top in the country (they do recruitment things with top firms). I'm just very split.

As for the purpose of me taking the MA, because I want more in depth knowledge about English law. Bristol also offers an LLM elective in second year. Sadly, the SQE really confuses everything (GDL/LPC are being completely eradicated). Also, if I were to apply for a training contract, I'd have to do it quite soon; in US unis, many of our activities, internships, etc are in our penultimate & final year. I could go on for ages about it all.