[Update 19 January 2026: Call for applicants. The CPE is now open for applications for starting in September 2026.  Please register for the introductory seminar with our Programme Director on 27 January for more information or apply now to secure the limited early advantages]

The  Graduate Diploma in English & Hong Kong Law (Common Professional Examination) ("CPE") jointly run with the Manchester Metropolitan University is  now OPEN for applications. This is your chance to get onto the upcoming class of our most prestigious pathway toward the PCLL towards becoming a lawyer in Hong Kong without the need for additional conversion exams required of similar law courses if you complete the optional third year and choose to top-up to an undergraduate university law degree. As an English (and Hong Kong) recognised law qualification, our students have found success in Hong Kong  and other jurisdictions such as the UK and Australia as well, to name a few. 

The CPE offers a dual-mode study guarantee for 2026 applicants ONLY. This will allow successful applicants in 2026 to attend HK-based lectures entirely live online for additional flexibility. Please click HERE for more information and consider applying now.

Graduates of the CPE are also guaranteed direct entry to the renowned LLB (Hons) programme awarded also by Manchester Met with just 1-year of part-time study to complete all PCLL requirements in-house at HKU SPACE. Students who start the CPE this year will also have the choice of taking the new SQE 1 elective fully online towards a pathway to dual qualification in England and Hong Kong#.

To find out more about Hong Kong's most popular part-time pathway to legal practice, click here. Or you can hear directly from some of our thousands of successful alumni and our recent graduates on our YouTube channel.

^ Face-to-face and live online for lectures by HK-based teachers. Different arrangements apply for tutorials and UK-based lectures. Examinations are normally face-to-face. Arrangement applies to the normal duration of studies, not any extended periods due to deferrals, resitting exams, etc. For details,  click here.

# Places limited and subject to student demand and final approval to be delivered at additional cost. 

The Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law (CPE) and the LLB (Hons) are exempted courses under the Non Local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance. It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognize any qualification to which these courses may lead.