Law - International Justice

Work placement opportunities are available as part the programme with partner civil society organisations including the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Transparency International, the Irish Penal Reform Trust, Trócaire and Oxfam.

Teaching is delivered by means of small class lectures, in-class simulations and workshops. Students will also benefit from guest lectures delivered by international speakers.The programme is very attractive to law graduates who wish to specialise in the fields of international law and human rights, and to non-law graduates who are interested in questions of social justice and in acquiring legal tools and skills for future career options.

Students must complete 90 credits in total, completing 35 taught credits in semester 1 and 30 credits in semester 2. A 25-credit dissertation is completed during the summer.

Professional Development and Public International Law are compulsory modules. Outside of these compulsory elements, students may choose any combination of modules they wish.

Students also have the option of graduating with a Postgraduate Diploma instead of an LLM. The structure of the Postgraduate Diploma follows that of the LLM's structure, but students do not complete a dissertation.

Not all modules offered will run every year; offerings are dependent upon demand and other potential constraints.

Candidates should have a minimum 2.2 grade, honours (level 8) undergraduate degree in law or a cognate discipline, such as international relations, social studies, sociology, politics etc). This must be a recognised primary degree that is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level. A personal statement of up to 1,000 words outlining why an applicant is suitable for the programme should be included as part of an application. This personal statement will form part of the assessment by the Admissions Committee.

These are the minimum entry requirements and meetings these requirements will not guarantee an offer of entry onto the programme. Applications by applicants with other types of diplomas or who do not reach this minimum level of qualifications will be determined by the Admissions Committee in line with the University's policy on recognition of prior experiential learning. The programme will also be accessible to international students from all jurisdictions, as no prior knowledge of the common law is required.

Minimum English language requirements:

•IELTS: 6.5 minimum overall score
•TOEFL (Paper based test): 585
•TOEFL (Internet based test): 95
•PTE (Pearson): 62

Maynooth University's TOEFL code is 8850

Closing Date : 30 June 2023

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time

In general, there are two levels of fees payable. EU students from EU countries including Ireland pay a subsidised level of fees for both taught courses and research programmes. Tuition fees for students from outside the EU are not subsidised and are thus somewhat higher than for EU students.

The programme will prepare students for policy and advocacy work in national, regional, and international organisations with a social and economic justice mandate. It will provide students considering a career in the legal profession with the tools necessary to pursue work in the field of human rights law, which could also include legal practice in European courts or international criminal tribunals. The programme is also an ideal launchpad for students interesting in a career in further research on legal, policy or philosophical questions of justice. A number of graduates from the LLM programme have proceeded to doctoral studies.