University of Salford • Salford
Business law beside the North’s legal capital — Manchester’s firms and in-house market ten minutes away, at a band opening £16,000.
Our take
Manchester runs the UK’s largest legal market outside London — national firms’ northern headquarters, a deep in-house sector, and the paralegal economy that feeds the SQE route — and Salford’s business-law LLM sits ten minutes from it at fees opening £16,000. The specialism matches the market: commercial contracts, corporate work and cross-border transactions are what the city’s firms actually do. For lawyers weighing the London-versus-North question, the honest arithmetic often lands here: comparable commercial exposure, meaningfully lower costs, and qualifying-work-experience competition a notch kinder than the capital’s.
| Duration | 1 year full-time |
| Intake | September & January |
| Accreditation | University of Salford — Salford Business School (Law) |
| Tuition | Within Salford’s 2026/27 international postgraduate band of £16,000–£22,140; exact fee confirmed in your offer. The £5,500 deposit is deducted from tuition. |
Where this leads: An academic law degree — no practice rights conferred. England-and-Wales qualification runs through the SQE exams plus qualifying work experience; Manchester’s market is the North’s deepest source.
Both intakes run across Salford’s law portfolio.
Why Salford
Manchester hosts national firms’ northern bases and the in-house depth that generates commercial paralegal roles — ten minutes from campus.
Much of the capital’s commercial work is staffed from Manchester offices at northern salaries and rents — the arbitrage extends to students.
Fees from £16,000 undercut the city-centre law schools across the river.
September and January intakes serve both recruitment seasons.
What you study
Entry requirements
English language
Salford expects a formal English test from most international applicants. Salford's published exemptions are narrow: qualifications from majority English-speaking countries and a short list of named institutions (for example, certain Malaysian colleges, with a letter confirming teaching and assessment in English). For Pakistani, Indian and UAE qualifications an approved test is normally required. Nigerian applicants are the useful exception — WAEC or NECO English at grade C6 or above usually removes the need for a separate test at bachelor's and master's level.
Also accepted: PTE Academic 59 overall (minimum 59 in each skill), Oxford ELLT 6 (for courses asking IELTS 6.0), LanguageCert Academic SELT, WAEC/NECO English C6+ (Nigerian applicants, degree-level courses). Pre-sessional English is available if you fall short.
Careers
Your country
Salford publishes clear Pakistan requirements and has a recruitment advisor based in-country. Undergraduate entry typically needs HSSC at 75% or above (FA Humanities is not accepted); students below that can route through the International Foundation Year with HSSC or DAE at around 50-60%. For master's entry, a 4-year bachelor at 2.5/4.0 CGPA or 55% is the usual benchmark, a 3-year honours degree needs around 3.0/4.0 or 75%, and a 2-year bachelor plus 2-year master combination needs around 60%. Plan for IELTS 6.0 (5.5 per band) or PTE — an MOI letter will not normally replace a test.
Full guide for PakistanSalford sets Standard XII requirements by board: typically 70% for CBSE and CISCE, 60% for West Bengal, and 75% for other state boards (roughly BBC-ABB equivalent). For taught master's courses the benchmark is a three- or four-year bachelor degree at around 55% (or 5.8 CGPA); applicants slightly below may still be considered with relevant work experience. The university has regional representatives based in Mumbai, and strong grades qualify automatically for the Gold or Silver Excellence Scholarships.
Full guide for IndiaNigeria is one of Salford's better-served markets. WAEC or NECO English at grade C6 or above usually means no separate English test for bachelor's or master's study — a genuine cost saver. Master's entry typically needs a 4-year bachelor degree at second class lower (2:2) or above from a recognised Nigerian university; undergraduate applicants are considered with an OND, HND, recognised foundation or year one of a Nigerian degree. Salford has an in-country advisor and, given naira volatility, suggests the super priority visa service once your CAS is issued.
Full guide for NigeriaSalford does not publish a dedicated UAE requirements page, so treat this as a guide: students with A Levels, IB or strong CBSE grades from UAE schools are typically considered for direct undergraduate entry, while those with the UAE secondary school certificate usually route through the International Foundation Year first. For master's courses a recognised bachelor degree at a good standard (typically a 2:2 equivalent or above) is usually required. The January intake in business, engineering and construction suits Gulf-based professionals who miss September — ask us to pre-check your documents at /contact/.
Full guide for the UAECompare
FAQ
The strongest outside London: national and international firms run major northern offices there, staffing commercial work at scale, and the in-house market spans the North West’s corporates. For the SQE route’s qualifying work experience, it is the capital’s only serious rival.
Fees sit in the £16,000–£22,140 band for 2026/27, exact figure in your offer, with the £5,500 deposit deducted and Salford rents below central Manchester’s.
No LLM does — qualification runs through the SQE exams plus two years of qualifying work experience. Manchester’s paralegal market makes that experience realistically reachable, and we plan the sequence together.
Budget and market thesis decide. London maximises optionality at maximum cost; Manchester delivers comparable commercial exposure with kinder competition and costs. We run your numbers both ways before any deposit moves.
Fees, entry requirements, English-language policies and intake dates are correct to the best of our knowledge at the date shown, but universities review them every cycle and immigration rules change. Always treat figures as a guide — we confirm the exact, current requirements with the university before you apply. Facts on this page last checked July 2026.
Intakes shown are for this course specifically; Salford runs other intakes for other programmes — see the full Salford profile.
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