UCL Laws Undergraduate Programmes

National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT)

The National Admissions Test for Law, or LNAT, is run by a consortium of UK universities. The LNAT must be taken by all candidates applying to an undergraduate programme at one or more of these universities. The following ten universities are participating institutions:

• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• Durham University
• University of Glasgow
• King's College London
• University of Nottingham
• University of Oxford
• University College London
• National University Ireland Maynooth
• IE University, Spain

All applicants to UCL undergraduate law degrees are required to take the LNAT as soon as possible after submitting their UCAS application and no later than 20 January in the admissions cycle in which they are applying (final registration 15 January). It is the responsibility of candidate's to register and book the LNAT as soon as possible to ensure they can get a test slot by the deadline. Please note that candidates who register for the LNAT just before the registration deadline may experience difficulties finding an available test slot by 20 January. Applications are candidates who have not taken the LNAT by the deadline will be LATE applications and we therefore we not be able to consider the application for a place on one of our LLB degree programmes, even if their original application was submitted by the UCAS deadline of 15 January.

The test is designed to provide an assessment of a candidate’s potential for law degree courses. It is not a replacement for A levels. It will be used as an additional piece of information for selection decisions alongside A levels, GCSE results and the other information available to law schools on a candidate’s application form, as well as, where applicable, the candidate's performance in interview.

The LNAT is intended to improve the selection process and to make it fairer to all candidates, whatever their educational background, by:

• helping to identify applicants with the aptitude and skills necessary for success on law degree courses
• providing objective evaluations of candidates from a wide range of social and educational backgrounds by assessing essential general intellectual skills of comprehension, analysis, logic and judgment
• enabling more informed and equitable selection decisions to be made on candidates with the highest possible grades in public examinations
• enabling more informed and equitable selection decisions to be made on candidates who may have more modest grades for a range of reasons but who have the potential to succeed on law degree courses
• decreasing the overall burden of testing of candidates by substituting a uniform national test for the tests that the individual law schools would otherwise use
• enabling the fair selection of candidates with many different academic qualifications, from many different countries

The test will be of two hours and 15 minutes duration and will have two sections:

• the first, of 95 minutes, will be multiple choice questions assessing candidates’ ability to read, understand, analyse, and make logical deductions from 12 passages of text in formal English. There are 3 or 4 questions for each passage.
• the second, of 40 minutes, will be an essay chosen from a list of titles.

Since these are not tests of knowledge but of fundamental intellectual skills, no prior legal study will be necessary. It is believed that the test will be relatively impervious to coaching.

It is hoped that by eliminating the need for any extra study the test will be fairer to all candidates and particularly those candidates whose educational or social background may not provide equal opportunities for preparation. In this way the test will help to widen participation in higher education.

See the LNAT website for a sample test and FAQ page

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page before you contact the Admissions Office.
Telephone:
(lines open 3pm - 5pm, Monday to Friday)
020 7679 1492
020 7679 1415
020 7679 1009

Fax:
020 7679 1414

E -mail: admissions.laws@ucl.ac.uk

The Undergraduate Admissions Team does not accept drop-in visitors or visitors by appointment. Please refer to Contact Us for information regarding visiting UCL and Open Day events.