Birmingham Law School is proud to announce that the Kalisher Trust scholarship is now open for LLM students to apply for funding for 2021 entry.

Funded by the Kalisher Trust and Birmingham Law School, and specifically for students on the LLM Criminal Law and Criminal Justice pathway or the LLM (General) pathway, this scholarship will cover the cost of tuition fees and provide a generous contribution of £6,000 towards maintenance costs. As well as meeting the academic entry requirements of the Birmingham LLM programme, applicants for this scholarship must also meet the eligibility criteria detailed on the scholarship webpage. 

So what is the Kalisher Trust? Andrew Fisher QC from the Trust provided us with the following insight:

"The Kalisher Trust has been working toward greater access to the Criminal Bar for those with talent for more than 25 years. We support young people from diverse backgrounds as they seek a career in the profession; and we do so across England and Wales. We work with schools from some of the most deprived areas to ensure that no matter what your background, ambition can drive achievement.

Our partnership with the University of Birmingham has led to the scholarships for those at Masters level; each year, a competitive process allows us to identify those with ability; we provide a maintenance grant and the tuition fees are waived, thus reducing debt and allowing our award-holder to explore the Law at postgraduate level. We are delighted to continue this work with the University, and look forward to the applications for the 2021 award".

We asked the LLM Criminal Law and Criminal Justice pathway lead, Dr Marianne Wade, why studying this pathway at Birmingham is a great choice for someone hoping to pursue a career in the Criminal Bar.

Dr Wade said: "Studying on our LLM enables students to choose from a wide range of criminal justice modules taught by internationally recognised experts. You will be able to gain specialist knowledge across a range of domestic issues including areas in urgent need of reform within substantive criminal law and for the proper functioning of the criminal justice system. Furthermore, Birmingham Law School's uniquely wide range of specialisation relating to international developments enables you to build an understanding of advocacy roles in international fora including the International Criminal Court. Our students furthermore benefit from events organised by the School and your teachers' broader research network meaning that corresponding networking opportunities will usually arise".

To apply for the award please visit the scholarship webpage where you will find full details about the application process. We look forward to being able to grant this scholarship to a successful applicant.