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Technological University Dublin - City Campus

Law

The Post-Graduate Diploma in Law offers a firm grounding in law for those wishing to pursue careers in the public service, regulation, professional services and other sectors requiring comprehensive legal knowledge and analytic skills.

The programme aims to provide students with a deep understanding of the institutional framework and principles of Irish Law, enabling them to apply and critically evaluate legal rules and processes. Students will learn how to draw upon legal sources to propose novel solutions to a range of regulatory difficulties and thus develop high-level reasoning and analytic skills. They will acquire advocacy and policy development skills through engagement with a range of social, commercial and regulatory issues at a national and EU level.

The programme is offered on a modular basis; students must take Legal Skills in their first year of registration, but can choose their remaining modules from the full suite offered.

Classes are held, in the main, during the day. Some subjects are offered in the evening. A sample timetable is available from the law office: law@tudublin.ie

Full-time students are expected to devote approximately 40 hours per week to class attendance and self-study. Examinations are held once a year in May. Coursework is set throughout the academic year.

Entry requirements

Admission to the Post-Graduate Diploma in Law requires at least a second class honours level 8 primary degree (2.2 or higher).

If English is not your first language you will need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency as detailed on our website. Applicants for this programme should have a minimum IELTS (Academic Version) English Proficiency of 7.5 overall (or equivalent) with nothing less than 6 in each component.

Due to competition for places, satisfying the minimum entry requirements is not a guarantee of a place.

What are the criteria for admitting students?
Admission to this programme is based solely on merit. The Programme Committee will consider first, the academic profile of the student; second, his or her motivation for studying law; third, whether he or she has any prior experience of law. We discourage canvassing by or on behalf of students

Duration

Full Time - 1 Year
Part Time - 2 Year

Instruction is provided through a combination of lectures and coursework. Students are expected to complement timetabled hours with private study and self-learning. There are approximately 13 timetabled hours per week, depending on the modules selected by the student. A commitment of approximately 40 hours per week is normally required of students on the course.

Classes run between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday, and 6-9pm Monday to Thursday where evening options are selected.

When taken part-time, students will have class contact time of approximately 6.5 hours per week with a total time commitment of 20 hours per week. Whilst some modules are offered in the evening, part-time student's take the bulk of their classes with full-time students. Therefore although a part-time option is available, this is not an evening programme and attendance during the day should be expected. A sample timetable is available from the law office: law@tudublin.ie

Number of credits

Careers or further progression

Recent graduates have found employment in "Big Five" law firms as well as other private law firms through-out Ireland. Others are working in the public service and in private businesses. Some students take the Post-Graduate Diploma in order to prepare for the Law Society Final Examination Part 1. The programme offers all subjects examined in the FE 1's, although there may not be precise correspondence in syllabi.

In addition to the professions, graduates are well-placed to succeed in competitions for public service employment and to obtain positions in highly regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Insurance and Energy.

Further enquiries

Subjects taught

All students attend a Legal Skills module in their first year of registration. This module emphasises practical skills such as legal research and writing. Students also participate in moot courts, prepare and deliver presentations and work together in completing group projects.

Students take 5 additional modules to complete the programme. There are no required modules beyond Legal Skills.

For 2020/21 the modules offered are:
Company Law
Constitutional Law
Contract Law
Criminal Law
Equity
European Union Law
Property Law
Law of Torts
Refugee and Asylum Law
Evidence
Jurisprudence
Administrative Law
European Human Rights Law
Criminology
Media and Intellectual Property Law
Family Law
Law & Society Research Clinic

Comment

At what level is this programme offered?
This programme is offered at level 9 on the NQAI National Framework of Qualifications. It attracts 60 ECTS credits.

Where do I find information on becoming a lawyer?
For information on how to become a solicitor see www.lawsociety.ie. For information on how to become a barrister, see www.kingsinns.ie

Will this programme prepare me for the FE-1 Law Society entrance examinations?
The Post Graduate Diploma in Law includes tuition in all eight of the law examinations required for entry to the Law Society of Ireland, only five can be taken for credit over the course of the programme.

Will this programme help me to become a barrister?
Although the tuition offered may be of some assistance to those seeking to become a barrister, completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Law will not act as a substitute for completion of the King`s Inns` Diploma in Legal Studies programme. However students entering the PGDIP in 2017 and subsequent years have the option of applying (within 5 years of graduation) into year two of the Master of Arts in Law (Professional) at TU Dublin which is an accredited law degree for the purposes of admission to King's Inns.

How much will the books required for this programme cost?
Law texts are expensive and students aiming to complete the FE-1 examinations should budget approximately 700 Euro for law texts.

What happens if I apply late?
Late applications will be considered if space remains after all timely applications have been dealt with.

Assessment method

Assessment will consist of a combination of unseen and seen written examination questions, as well as project work in the nature of research problems, coursework and essays. There will be at least one annual assignment in each module.