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

Students can 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. Students who wish to qualify professionally as a solicitor or a barrister will have completed the modules required by the Law Society and the Honourable Society of King’s Inns. 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.

Throughout the programme there is an emphasis on acquiring the fundamental practical skills required of lawyers – legal research, writing, oral presentation and advocacy.

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.

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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

Year 1	Year 2	Year 3*	Year 4
Constitutional Law	Administrative Law	Study Abroad	Land Law
Contract Law	Company Law	OR	Equity Law
Tort Law	Criminal Law	Professional Work Placement	Jurisprudence
Understanding the Law	European Union Law		Guided Research Essay
Legal Skills	Evidence Law		Choose one of the following Specialist Streams:
Optional Modules:	Mooting		Stream 1 – Business and Commercial Law
French/German/Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish) or Family Law	Optional Modules:		Stream 2 – Public Law, Risk and Regulation
	French/German/Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish)		Stream 3 – Human Rights, Crime and Equality
	Health Law		Stream 4 – International, Comparative and Transnational Law
	Housing Law		Stream 5 – Language
	Information Technology Law		Stream 6 - General
	Intellectual Property Law
	Media Law

*Year 3

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.)

Specialist Streams

Stream 1 – Business and Commercial Law

Banking Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Medical Device Law & Regulation
Labour Law I
Labour Law II
Commercial Law
EU Competition law
International Trade Law
Law and Economics
Industrial and Intellectual Property Law
English Land Law

Stream 2 – Public Law, Risk and Regulation

Criminal Justice
Environmental Law I
Environmental Law II
Criminology
Health Law & Policy
Housing Law & Policy
Medical Device Law and Regulation
Information Technology Law
Industrial and Intellectual Property Law
Media Law
Admin Law II
Street Law

Stream 3 – Human Rights, Crime and Equality

Health Law & Policy
Criminal Justice
Criminology
Family Law
Labour Law I
Housing Law & Policy
Applied Legal Theory
European Human Rights 1
European Human Rights 2
Comparative Disability Law
Public International Law
International Human Rights 1
International Human Rights 2 (new)
Jurisprudence II
Street Law

Stream 4 – International, Comparative and Transnational Law

Comparative Disability Law
Applied Legal Theory
Public International Law
Comparative Law
International Trade Law
European Human Rights 1
European Human Rights 2 (New)
EU Competition Law
International Human Rights 1
International Human Rights 2 (new)
English Land Law

Stream 5 – Language

One of the following language modules are compulsory within this stream. Note: the language stream must be selected from the beginning, Year 1, of your Programme.

Legal French
Legal German
Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish)

Students will choose from Law & Business modules available to meet the 60 credits (ECTS) requirement per year.

Stream 6 – General

Students can choose from a variety of available modules to meet the 60 credits (ECTS) requirement per year.

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. 2021/22

Fees: Tuition

€3,593 p.a. 2021/22

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2021/22

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2021/22

Fees: Non EU

€16,666 p.a. 2021/22

*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 https://su.nuigalway.ie/

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."