SQE scholarships and bursaries in 2026

If you're searching for SQE scholarships, you've probably already worked out that the SQE itself is expensive and that firm sponsorship isn't guaranteed. The good news is that scholarships, bursaries and grants do exist alongside firm funding. The less good news is that they're scattered across prep providers, charities and one flagship scheme, each with its own rules, deadlines and award sizes that change from year to year.

This is a map of where to look. Because amounts, eligibility criteria and deadlines shift regularly, treat every figure below as a starting point, not a promise, and confirm the current terms on the provider or charity's own page before you build a funding plan around it.

Start with the Law Society's Diversity Access Scheme

The Diversity Access Scheme (DAS), run by the Law Society, is the best-known bursary aimed specifically at people qualifying as a solicitor who face financial hardship or other significant barriers to entering the profession. It isn't tied to already having a training contract or apprenticeship place, which makes it unusual among funding routes.

DAS is designed to fund SQE-related costs for successful applicants, including assessment fees and preparation costs, rather than offering a token contribution. It's also selective: the scheme receives far more applications each year than it can fund, so a realistic view of the odds matters when you're deciding how much of your plan to build around it.

Applications typically open on a set annual cycle with a defined closing date, and the eligibility criteria (financial circumstances, background, sometimes a personal statement or references) are reviewed periodically. Check the current window and criteria directly on the Law Society's DAS page rather than relying on last year's dates, since both can move.

Provider scholarships: BARBRI, BPP and the University of Law

The three largest SQE prep providers each run their own scholarship or bursary schemes, separate from DAS. These aren't standardised across the industry: each provider sets its own award sizes, number of places, application windows and eligibility focus, and all of these can change between intakes.

• BARBRI has offered scholarships tied to specific criteria in past cycles, sometimes linked to essay-based applications or partnerships with diversity-focused organisations. Check BARBRI's current SQE scholarships page for what's open now.
• BPP runs bursary and scholarship schemes as part of its law school offering, often aimed at candidates from underrepresented backgrounds or those with a demonstrated financial need. Award structure and the number of places vary by intake.
• The University of Law (ULaw) has historically run its own scholarship programmes for SQE and related courses, again with criteria and deadlines that shift year to year.

Because none of these schemes are fixed, the only reliable approach is to go to each provider's website directly, search for "scholarship" or "bursary," and read the current terms before you apply anywhere or commit to a course. Don't rely on a figure you saw quoted elsewhere, including in this post: verify the live amount and deadline yourself.

If you're comparing providers on price as well as scholarship availability, our SQE prep course comparison covers the baseline fee ranges you'd be applying a scholarship against.

Charity and third-sector grants

Beyond the Law Society and the prep providers, a smaller set of legal charities and professional bodies occasionally fund aspiring solicitors, particularly those from underrepresented or lower-income backgrounds. These tend to be smaller in scale than DAS or the big provider schemes, and availability can be patchy from year to year, so persistence and early research pay off.

Worth checking directly:

• Legal charities and trusts that support access to the profession, some of which fund conversion courses, SQE prep, or living costs during study.
• Diversity-focused legal networks and associations, which sometimes run small grants or partner with firms on funded places.
• Local Law Societies and regional legal associations, which occasionally offer smaller bursaries tied to a geographic area.

These schemes are rarely well publicised outside their own websites, so a direct search for "[cause or background] solicitor bursary UK" alongside checking relevant charity sites is usually more productive than searching for a single master list, because no reliably maintained one exists.

Firm and apprenticeship funding sits alongside scholarships

Scholarships and bursaries aren't the only routes worth having in the mix. If you secure a training contract or graduate scheme place, many firms fund some or all of your SQE prep and assessment fees directly, and solicitor apprenticeships fund your study as part of the employment package. Neither of these counts as a "scholarship" in the traditional sense, but for a lot of candidates they end up covering more of the cost than any bursary would.

We've mapped firm sponsorship and apprenticeship funding in detail in how to fund the SQE and which law firms fund your SQE, including what's typically covered and the questions worth asking before you accept an offer.

How to verify a scholarship before you rely on it

Scholarship pages get out of date, cached search results show old figures, and a scheme that existed last year may be paused or restructured this year. Before you factor any named award into your funding plan:

1. Go to the provider or charity's own current page, not a search snippet or a third-party summary (including this post).
2. Check the application window is still open and note the actual closing date, not an approximate one.
3. Confirm what the award actually covers: assessment fees, prep course fees, living costs, or some combination.
4. Look for how many places are awarded, if published, to gauge how competitive it is.
5. If anything is unclear, email the provider or the Law Society directly and ask. Scholarship teams expect these questions.

Applying to several schemes at once is generally fine and sensible, since most aren't mutually exclusive, but check each one's own rules on that before assuming.

Building deadlines into your study timeline

Scholarship and bursary deadlines often land months before your actual sitting date, sometimes tied to a course start date rather than an exam date. If you're weighing whether to apply for funding, book a course, or wait for a firm offer, it helps to see all of those dates on one calendar rather than tracking them separately. A free SQE study planner can hold your target sitting, your prep schedule and your application deadlines in the same view, so a scholarship closing date doesn't sneak up on you mid-revision.

It's also worth checking the current SQE sitting dates before you apply anywhere, so any funded course lines up with the exam window you're actually aiming for.

Frequently asked questions

Are there any scholarships specifically for the SQE? Yes. The Law Society's Diversity Access Scheme is the best-known bursary aimed at SQE candidates facing financial or other barriers, and the major prep providers, including BARBRI, BPP and the University of Law, run their own scholarship or bursary schemes alongside it. Terms and award sizes change regularly, so check each one's current page directly.

How competitive is the Diversity Access Scheme? It's selective. DAS typically receives significantly more applications each year than it can fund, so it's worth treating as one strand of a wider funding plan rather than something to rely on exclusively. Current application numbers and success rates aren't something to guess at, so check the Law Society's own published information if it's available.

Do SQE prep providers really offer scholarships? Yes, the larger providers generally run some form of scholarship or bursary scheme, though the specifics (amounts, number of places, eligibility) vary by provider and change between intakes. Always confirm on the provider's own current website rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere.

Can I apply for more than one SQE scholarship at once? In most cases yes, since these schemes are typically run independently of each other, but check the individual terms of each scheme, since some may ask whether you've applied elsewhere or have conditions around combining awards.

What's the difference between a scholarship, a bursary and firm sponsorship? The terms overlap in practice, but a scholarship or bursary is usually awarded by a provider, charity or the Law Society based on merit, need or background, independent of a job offer. Firm sponsorship, by contrast, is funding tied to a training contract or graduate scheme place at a specific employer. Both are worth pursuing, and they aren't mutually exclusive.