Law - LLM

Our Law LLM programme is offered by the College of Business & Law at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland. It has been offered by our School of Law since 1992 and remains a very popular vehicle for postgraduate study at the School. Students may either focus their interest in one area, for example, business or international law, or choose from a broad variety of legal subjects. This programme also provides students with the opportunity to pursue a dissertation in their area of interest under the supervision of dedicated and experienced lecturers.

Our LLM offers you a wide choice of options ranging from criminal, medical, and human rights law to internet, environmental and intellectual property law. Students can choose to specialise in one or two chosen areas of interest or they can sample modules from across the broad range of possibilities as detailed in the module selection below.

Postgraduate Diploma in Law

Applicants for the LLM Degree also have the option of registering for a Postgraduate Diploma in Law. Students take 60 credits of taught masters' modules from those on offer for the LLM. The Postgraduate Diploma can be completed over 9 months full-time or 18 months part-time. Those who wish to apply for the Diploma should contact the department at lawpostgrad@ucc.ie for application details.

This shorter programme may be attractive to legal professionals and others who may prefer not to make an initial commitment to a full-time master's level programme. It is possible for graduates of the Postgraduate Diploma to progress their studies by completing a 15,000-word research dissertation and qualifying them for a Masters in Law (LLM)

Why Choose this course
Top 100 ranking
UCC School of Law has been ranked among the world's best Law Schools in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject (2021).

A primary advantage of this course is that it allows students to choose from a wide choice of modules across a range of areas and can either focus their interest in one area, for example business or international law, or choose from a broad variety of legal subjects.

This programme will provide you with a high-quality, broadly-based postgraduate experience where our commitment to academic excellence is combined with a firm commitment to developing student appreciation of law's practical and policy implications.

Connected Curriculum
Our learning approach also reflects our commitment to the Connected Curriculum where we emphasise the connection between students, learning, research and leadership through our vision for a Connected University. Our staff are at the forefront of this integrative approach to learning and will support you in making meaningful connections within and between disciplines such as law, human rights, governance, global issues, and the importance of law to a functioning society.

College of Business and Law Available Scholarships
We support our postgraduate community by offering scholarships and bursaries to prospective and current students. Please see the College of Business and Law Scholarships & Prizes page for more information.

LLM Modules
Students take 90 credits in total, including 30 credits of core modules and 60 credits of elective modules.

Core Modules:

LW6538 LLM (Taught) Dissertation (30 credits)
Elective Modules:

LW6507 Comparative Family Property Law (5 credits)
LW6536 Intellectual Property Law (10 credits)
LW6544 Criminology (10 credits)
LW6545 Penology (10 credits)
LW6546 Juvenile Justice (10 credits)
LW6549 International Children's Rights (10 credits)
LW6550 International Criminal Law (10 credits)
LW6560 Law of Cybercrime (10 credits)
LW6563 Children's Rights Law in Practice (10 credits)
LW6566 Contemporary Issues in International Law (10 credits)
LW6568 The Family and the Law (10 credits)
LW6574 Intellectual Property and Internet Regulation (10 credits)
LW6578 Consumer Rights: Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6579 Law of Credit and Debt (5 credits)
LW6580 Environmental Law in Practice (5 credits)
LW6581 Method in Environmental Law (5 credits)
LW6589 Contemporary Issues in EU Competition Policy (5 credits)
LW6592 Mental Capacity Law (5 credits)
LW6606 International Human Rights Law (10 credits)
LW6609 Mental Health Law (5 credits)
LW6612 IT Law Clinic (5 credits)
LW6617 International Biodiversity and Ecosystems Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6618 Climate Change Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6622 Sale, Insurance and Carriage of Goods by Sea (5 credits)
LW6623 Global Maritime Security (5 credits)
LW6627 International Environmental Law (5 credits)
LW6634 Refugee and Forced Displacement Law (10 credits)
LW6636 European Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency and Rescue (5 credits)
LW6640 E-Commerce Law (5 credits)
LW6645 Marine Environmental and Natural Resources Law (10 credits)
Full details of this programme can be found in the College Calendar. Please see the Book of Modules for a more detailed description of programme modules. Modules are subject to change from year to year.

Dissertation
In addition to their chosen modules, all LLM students pursue an individually supervised 30-credit minor dissertation in an area of interest to them. As part of the preparation for their thesis, students take a course on research methodology. This opportunity allows students to learn advanced research methods and to make a presentation on their dissertation topic

Requirements
(a) Hold a BCL (Hons) Degree from the National University of Ireland with at least a Second Class Honours Grade I;

Or

(b) Have such other relevant third level educational qualifications and/or professional experience as, in the opinion of the School of Law, qualifies the candidate under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to undertake the LLM Degree.

Applications from overseas candidates are welcome and their qualifications will be considered on a case-by-case basis under (b) above. Non-EU applicants should contact the International Education Office by email at internationalpostgrad@ucc.ie for application details.

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland:
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements.

International/non-EU applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

For more information please contact the International Office.

How to apply
1. Choose Course
Firstly choose your course. Applicants can apply for up to two courses under one application. Details of taught courses are available on our online prospectus.

2. Apply Online
Once you have chosen your course you can apply online at the online application portal. Applicants will need to apply before the course closing date. There is a non-refundable €50 application fee for all courses apart from the Education - Professional Master of Education - (Secondary School/Post-Primary Teacher Training) which has a €100 application fee.

Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health Nursing must apply on the PAC website when the programme opens for applications.

3. Gather Supporting Documents
Scanned copies of the following documents will need to be uploaded to the online application portal in support of your application. Applicants may need to produce the original documents if you are accepted onto a course and register at UCC.

Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC
Any supplementary items requested for your course.
Please log into the online application portal for more details.

4. Application processing timeline
Our online application portal opens for applications for most courses in early November of each year. Check specific course details.

5. Rounds
For courses that are in the rounds system (Irish and EU applicants), please check the rounds closing dates below.

The UCC application portal will open on November 1st for admission in September 2022.

Irish, EU, UK, EEA and Swiss Applicants: UCC operates a rounds closing date system for the majority of postgraduate taught courses, which means offers are made at a minimum of four times a year on a rolling basis.

The UCC rounds closing dates for postgraduate taught courses are below. Applicants are advised to apply as soon as possible.

Deadline for receipt of full applications/ Offers will be made:
For all completed applications received by January 17th, 2022 -
Offers will be made by January 31st, 2022
For all completed applications received by March 7th, 2022 -
Offers will be made by March 21st, 2022
For all completed applications received by May 3rd, 2022 -
Offers will be made by May 17th, 2022
For all completed applications received by July 1st, 2022 -
Offer will be made by July 15th, 2022

After July late applications may be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis for any courses that have remaining capacity.

Applicants from outside of EU, UK, EEA, Switzerland: Information may be found on the International Office Website.

NON-EU CLOSING DATE: 15 June

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)
Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. We strongly encourage you to complete all sections as this will support your application. The additional information requested includes:

Please enter all details of professional or voluntary positions held.
Please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning and professional training relevant to this programme.
Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.
Please enter the names and email addresses of two referees.

Students are examined by continuous assessment throughout the year and the dissertation must be submitted in September. Individual module assessments can be viewed in the Book of Modules.

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time.

Additional Teaching Mode Information
The part-time option will be taught during weekday working hours over 2 years.

Start Date 7 September 2020

Skills and Careers Information
The LLM degree provides students with a high-quality, broadly based postgraduate experience where a commitment to academic excellence is combined with a commitment to developing student appreciation of the practical and policy implications of the law.