Technological University Dublin - City Campus

Law - Professional

The Master of Arts in Law (Professional) is a post-graduate law degree providing a pathway to both branches of the legal profession. It also offers a firm grounding in law for those wishing to pursue careers in public service, regulation, professional services and other sectors requiring comprehensive legal knowledge and analytical 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 analytical 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.

All core professional subjects including those examined by both the Law Society and King's Inns entrance examinations are offered on the programme, which is an accredited law degree for the purposes of King's Inns admission.

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.

Graduates of any discipline who wish to pursue a career in law will find that the Master of Arts in Law (Professional) provides them with a comprehensive grounding in the academic discipline of law. The programme is accredited by King's Inns as a qualifying law degree and also offers a structured pathway to completion of the Law Society's Final Examination Part 1 over two years.

The programme is also suitable for those who may have earned their primary degree some years ago and who wish to retrain or re-enter the workforce. No prior knowledge of law is expected.

The programme will also be of interest to those already working in the legal industry who wish to upskill and to public servants and other professionals who engage with law in their day-to-day work. The timetable for the programme has been configured to allow those in employment to complete over 4 years part-time by attending one day per week.

Entry requirements

Admission to the Master of Arts in Law (Professional) 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 7.5 in each component.

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

Students who obtained the DIT Post-Graduate Diploma in Law in 2014 or later may apply for entry into year two of the programme. However, these students should note that the Master of Arts in Law (Professional) is accredited by King's Inns only for those who commence year one in 2017/8 or later.

Duration

2 years full-time
4 years part-time by attending one day per week.

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

120 ECTS credits

Careers or further progression

It is expected that many graduates of the Master of Arts in Law (Professional) will go on to enter the legal professions either as a solicitor or barrister. A background in a discipline other than law, together with a good quality legal education, is highly sought after by the larger law firms and is a significant asset to practising barristers.

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.

Graduates of the Master of Arts in Law (Professional) are eligible to sit the King's Inns entrance examination (provided they have selected appropriate subjects during the programme). All eight subjects examined by the Law Society in the Final Examination Part1 are offered on the programme, although the syllabi at TU Dublin may not exactly cover all areas of the Law Society syllabi. Full details in relation to the requirements for King's Inns and the Law Society are available on their respective websites.

Further enquiries

Subjects taught

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

Students take five additional modules in first year and six modules in second year. There are no required modules beyond Legal Skills and 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

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 Master of Arts in Law (Professional) includes tuition in all eight of the law examinations required for entry to the Law Society of Ireland.

Will this programme help me to become a barrister?

The Master of Arts in Law (Professional) is an accredited law degree for the purposes of admission to King Inns (awards after 2018 only)

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 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

Assessment method

Assessment consists of a combination of examination and coursework. Some modules are examination only, some are entirely coursework based and others use a combination of both modes of assessment. Examinations are held once a year in May.