Law - Law & Technology

Overview
This advanced programme helps students gain a deep appreciation of how law interacts with technological innovation, for instance, with generative AI; or autonomous vehicles; or algorithmic decision-making in courts. What social challenges are posed by technological change? How does law address those challenges? And what impact does technological innovation have on the practice of law?

Drawing on the School of Law’s substantial profile in technology, e-governance, intellectual property and innovation, students on the programme have the opportunity to develop specialist expertise in law, governance and the ‘fourth industrial revolution.’

The programme places employability skills at its heart. Employers are very interested in law graduates who are tech-savvy and are clear and comfortable communicators, whether with clients or more generally. Guest contributors from major firms co-create our curriculum and are active in introducing LawTech applications in our teaching. We embed skills-development directly into the curriculum as such, through project-based learning work, computational skills and elsewhere.

Year 1
Core Modules
• Innovation & Creativity Clinic: Project Based Learning (10 credits)
• Approaches to Legal Research (10 credits)
• Law and the Challenges of Technology (20 credits)
• Data, Privacy and the Law (10 credits)
• Dissertation (Law and Technology) (60 credits)
• Regulating Innovation (20 credits)

Optional Modules
• IP, Green Economy, and Sustainability (20 credits)
• Business and Human Rights (20 credits)
• Platform Regulation:IP Enforcement & Content Moderation (10 credits)
• (Metaverse Law) Copyright, Trademarks & Immersive Technologies (10 credits)
• Artificial Intelligence and the Law (20 credits)
• Computational Methods and Skills (10 credits)
• Advanced Issues in Medical Law and Ethics (20 credits)
• Foundations of Cyber Security (10 credits)
• Dissertation in Practice (60 credits)
• Critical Approaches International Economic Law (20 credits)

Course Structure
Students may enrol on a full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) basis. Students must complete core modules (80 CATS points), optional modules (40 CATS points) and a research dissertation (60 CATS points).

The Masters is awarded to students who successfully complete all taught modules (120 CATS points) and a research dissertation (60 CATS points).

Graduate
Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or above or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in Law, Social Sciences, Humanities, Computer Science or a cognate discipline.

Exemption from these requirements may be considered for those applicants who hold a Master's degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) OR for those applicants with a 2.2 Honours degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) along with a minimum of 2 years relevant experience.

Admission under Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) may be considered for this course. The University's Recognition of Prior Learning Policy provides guidance on the assessment of experiential learning (RPEL). Please visit http://go.qub.ac.uk/RPLpolicy for more information.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 16th August 2024 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Application Portal against the programme application page.

How to Apply
Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Assessment

Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:

Assessed coursework
Dissertation

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

Contact Teaching Hours
Small Group Teaching/Personal Tutorial
8 (hours maximum)

In addition to 6-8 hrs of teaching per week , students should set aside 10-12 hours per module for reading and preparation to engage meaningfully in classroom discussions, group work and other forms of active engagement.

Entry Year: 2024/25

Career Prospects
Introduction
This employer focused programme places employability skills at the core of the student experience (including problem based learning and leadership modules), introducing students to the interplay of and interfaces between technology and law.