Law (BCL)

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Course Overview
Key Facts
Course Outline
Further Education
Why Choose This Course?
Course Fees
Find Out More

Discover Law (BCL) at NUI Galway Supreme Court at NUI Galway

Entry Points (2021)

542

Course Overview

Law regulates all aspects of society: from marriage and parenting to corporate governance or international relations between countries. To study law is to become aware of one’s legal rights and responsibilities in a variety of contexts, as well as to acquire knowledge and the research, writing and advocacy skills that enable one to argue both sides of a complex situation and devise a pragmatic, client-focused solution.

The four-year Bachelor of Civil Law allows students to focus their studies on the law to maximise their understanding of the legal process. Students can tailor this degree to particular areas of law that interest them. Throughout the programme there is an emphasis on acquiring the fundamental practical skills required of lawyers – legal research, writing, oral presentation and advocacy.

This programme is a full law degree that covers the modules for the solicitor (Law Society of Ireland) and barrister (The Honorable Society of King’s Inns) entrance exams in Ireland. .

Professional Work Placement or Study Abroad

In year three of this course students will have the opportunity to spend the academic year completing professional work placement or studying abroad. Students will have the opportunity to apply for a professional work placement in a leading law firm, a corporate organisation, a public sector organisation or other suitable legal placement. Study abroad is highly recommended for students who choose to study a language (Legal French or Legal German) and are encouraged to study in our partner universities in Germany and France. We have also partnered with a number of leading universities in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Finland, Hungary, Italy, India, Poland, The Netherlands, Spain and the United States of America.

Note: Students who choose the optional specialist stream in Legal Irish will spend year three divided between one semester studying at NUI Galway’s Gaeltacht campus in An Cheathrú Rua and one semester of professional work placement in an Irish-speaking legal environment.

Specialist Streams

In final yearstudents have the opportunity to shape their degree and focus on an area of study that interests them and develop special expertise in their chosen field. Students may choose one of the following specialist streams including the ‘General’ stream which allows students to choose modules from multiple streams.

Business and Commercial Law
Public Law, Risk and Regulation
Human Rights, Crime and Equality
International, Comparative and Transnational Law
Language: Legal French, Legal German or Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish)
General

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level in the Leaving Certificate including Irish, English, another language and any three other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Additional Requirements

Duration

4 years

Next start date

September 2022

A Level Grades (2021)

nuigalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

5 (More Info)

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

GY251

Course code

Course Outline

Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Year 1 (60 credits)

This year focuses on building knowledge/skills with strong foundational teaching. The module ‘Understanding the Law’ builds a platform of essential skills and helps students to transition to the expectations of a university degree.

Compulsory Core Modules (50 credits)

Understanding the Law (10 credits)
Critical Thinking for Lawyers (10 credits)
Constitutional Law (10 credits)
Contract Law (10 credits)
Tort Law (10 credits)

Optional Modules (10 credits)

Family Law (10 credits)
Language: Legal French/ Legal German/ Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish) (10 credits)

Year 2 (60 credits)

In second year, students develop their skills further with modules such as ‘Mooting’ which helps develop teamwork and written/oral communication and advocacy skills. There is also a wide range of optional modules to choose from.

Compulsory Core Modules (50 credits)

Criminal Law I & II (10 credits)
European Union Law I & II (10 credits)
Company Law I & II (10 credits)
Evidence Law I & II (10 credits)
Administrative Law I (5 credits)
Mooting (5 credits)

Optional Modules (10 credits)

Labour Law I (5 credits)
Labour Law II (5 credits)
Industrial and Intellectual Property Law (5 credits)
Comparative Disability Law (5 credits)
Information Technology Law (5 credits)
Language: Legal French/ Legal German/ Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish) (10 credits each)

Year 3 (60 credits)

In third year, students can customise their off-campus experience by choosing either professional work placement or study abroad.

Caithfidh na mic léinn a dhéanann Teanga an Dlí seimeastar amháin ag staidéar ar champas Gaeltachta Ollscoil na hÉireann Gaillimh ar an gCeathrú Rua agus seimeastar amháin eile ar shocrúchán oibre i dtimpeallacht lán-Ghaeilge. (Students who study Legal Irish will spend one semester studying at NUI Galway’s Gaeltacht campus in An Cheathrú Rua and one semester of professional work placement in an Irish-speaking environment.)

Year 4 (60 credits)

In final year, students will have the opportunity to shape their degree by choosing a specialist stream. Students will also complete a ‘Guided Research Essay’ on a topic of their choice and will be supported by an academic mentor.

Compulsory Core Modules (35 credits)

Equity I & II (10 credits)
Land Law I & II (10 credits)
Jurisprudence (5 credits)
Legal & Business Ethics (5 credits)
Guided Research Essay (5 credits)

Optional Specialist Streams (25 credits)

Students will have the opportunity to shape their degree by choosing a specialist stream. Students may choose one of the following specialist streams including the ‘General’ stream which allows students to choose modules from multiple streams. Certain specialist streams have prerequisite modules which must be passed before choosing the stream in the final year.

Business and Commercial Law

Banking Law (5 credits)
Alternative Dispute Resolution (5 credits)
Labour Law I (5 credits)
Labour Law II (5 credits)
Commercial Law (5 credits)
International Trade Law (5 credits)
Law and Economics (5 credits)
Industrial and Intellectual Property Law (5 credits)
Comparative Competition Law (5 credits)
Entrepreneurial Venture Development (5 credits)
Law and Innovation (5 credits)

Public Law, Risk and Regulation

Environmental Law I (5 credits)
Environmental Law II (5 credits)
Criminology (5 credits)
Housing Law & Policy (5 credits)
Information Technology Law (5 credits)
Industrial and Intellectual Property Law (5 credits)
Admin Law II (5 credits)
Entrepreneurial Venture Development (5 credits)
Law and Innovation (5 credits)

Human Rights, Crime and Equality

Criminology (5 credits)
Family Law (10 credits)
Labour Law I (5 credits)
Labour Law II (5 credits)
Housing Law & Policy (5 credits)
Applied Legal Theory (5 credits)
European Human Rights Law – Systems & Themes I (5 credits)
European Human Rights Law – Systems & Themes II (5 credits)
Comparative Disability Law (5 credits)
Public International Law (10 credits)
International Human Rights I (5 credits)
International Human Rights II (5 credits)

International, Comparative and Transnational Law

Comparative Disability Law (5 credits)
Applied Legal Theory (5 credits)
Public International Law (10 credits)
Comparative Competition Law (5 credits)
International Trade Law (5 credits)
European Human Rights Law – Systems & Themes I (5 credits)
European Human Rights Law – Systems & Themes II (5 credits)
International Human Rights I (5 credits)
International Human Rights II (5 credits)

Language

Students who choose a language must also choose 15 credits worth of modules on other streams to meet credit requirements.

Legal German / Legal French/ Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish) (10 credits)

General

Define your own degree by selecting modules from multiple streams to meet the requirement of 25 credits. Module selection is subject to timetable clashes and availability.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits: You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module: An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject: Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional: A module you may choose to study.
Required: A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject: A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester: Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Further Education

Further study can lead to the LLM or PhD degrees. The PhD is undertaken by research and the taught LLM programmes on offer include LLMs in Public Law; International and Comparative Business Law; International Human Rights Law; Peace Operations; International Criminal Law; and Disability Law.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Law (BCL) programme will be well equipped to succeed in professional studies at either the Law Society (solicitor) or the Honourable Society of King’s Inns (barrister). This degree will also provide an excellent platform for graduates interested in working outside of the professions – as more and more areas of life are legally regulated, the comprehensive grounding in the law and the legal process that graduates receive during this degree will make them attractive to a wide range of potential employers in financial services, consultancy, industry and the public sector.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Work Placement

Students will have the opportunity to engage in a professional work placement in a leading law firm, a corporate firm or a public sector organisation.
Students on placement will see application of the law in action, and thereby supplementing their academic legal education with practical experience.

Study Abroad

Students can study abroad at partner institutions around the world, giving them the opportunity to experience legal education in an international setting and to gain a different perspective on the law. More information on these opportunities is on our International Study page.

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€6,733 p.a. 2022/23

Fees: Tuition

€3,593 p.a. 2022/23

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2022/23

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2022/23

Fees: Non EU

€17,040 p.a. 2022/23

*EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy

Student Levy:　 €140 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.　 Further detail here.

Find out More

Administrative Offices: Room 406, Floor 2, Tower 2, Concourse (Arts/Science Building)

Office hours: 11.00 - 13.00, 14.00 - 16.00 (Monday – Friday)

Phone: +353 (0)91 492389

Email: law@nuigalway.ie

What Our Students Say

Ferdia Breathnach | BCL

“Studying Civil Law in NUI Galway afforded me the opportunity to delve deep into the law and initially focus on a wide range of subjects. I studied the foundations of law and formed a great understanding of the core principles and subjects that are a pre-requisite for any future career in law and have stood me in good stead to this day. The option now of the Clinical Legal Education course provided by the School of Law enables students to undergo invaluable practical experience of working in various careers in law and this opportunity should be encouraged and availed of.”

Peo Mosepele | BCL

“This course is extremely interesting and offers a lot of diverse opportunities to students. The lectures are often interactive which makes them enjoyable to attend. Additionally, the lecturers are very approachable and always willing to help. One of the fantastic opportunities the degree has offered me was the ability to spend a year studying abroad in Southern Utah University in the US. This allowed me to broaden my experience in a unique and very interesting way. Studying Law in NUIG was one of the best decisions of my life and I would highly recommend it to anyone.”

Andrew Barr | Finance Associate at Arthur Cox

"Through the wonderful lecturers that served as teachers, mentors and friends, the tutors and all of my wonderful class mates, the BCL course at NUI Galway prepared me as well as possible for my career as a solicitor. The course gave me a great grounding in the law and prepared me well for law society exams. More importantly, there were plenty of opportunities afforded to me during my time there: many career fairs; many CV workshops; opportunities with my lectures to discuss current topics, past exams and learning resources. Now that I am working as a solicitor it is great to have so many colleagues in the industry that are friends from NUI Galway. I have many life long friends from my course, some of which have chosen to pursue a career as a solicitor, but many of whom have chosen other interesting careers."