Law and Human Rights

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

Discover Law (BCL) and Human Rights at NUI Galway

Entry Points (2020)

520

Course Overview

The Law & Human Rights programme is an innovative and unique programme – the first of its kind in Ireland. It offers students the opportunity to combine a full undergraduate law programme with the study of human rights.

Students on the programme will be challenged and engaged by a rich curriculum of core and optional law modules. Students will be trained in key legal skills such as written and oral advocacy; and they will be educated in the principles, theories and doctrines of human rights law and practice.

The School of Law and Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway are pioneers in legal education and research on human rights. Students will have access to world leading researchers, writers and lecturers in human rights at the Irish Centre for Human Rights.

Every student is given the opportunity of work placement or study abroad. Work placement in a leading law firm, a corporate firm or a public sector organisation exposes students to application of the law which will supplement the academic legal education with practical exposure. Study abroad at partner institutions around the world provides students with experience of a legal education in an international setting and a different perspective on the law.

Students on this degree will be able to take French or German as part of their degree. These language options demonstrate the School of Law's committment to ensuring that graduates will be prepared for the globalised nature of law in the twenty-first century.

Law and Human Rights at the Virtual Open Day

Read questions and answers from our 'Ask a Lecturer' in Law and Human Rights Live Q&A session.

Explore courses and careers in Law through a video presentation.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Every staff member in the law school and human rights centre is involved in some way.

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 2021

A Level Grades (2020)

nuigalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

GY252

Course code

Course Outline

YEAR ONE
• Compulsory core modules:
· Introduction to Human Rights
· Understanding the Law
· Constitutional Law
· Contract Law
· Tort Law
• Optional modules:
· Family Law
· Language - French/German/Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish)

YEAR TWO
• Compulsory core modules:
· International Human Rights
· European Human Rights
· Criminal Law
· EU Law
· Mooting
· Guided Research Essay
• Optional modules:
· Information Technology Law/ Housing Law/Intellectual Property Law/ Health Law/ Media Law
· Language - French/German/Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish)

YEAR THREE
• Study Abroad or
• Professional Work Placement
• 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 FOUR
• Compulsory core modules:
· Company Law
· Equity Law
· Land Law
• Specialise in a discipline/stream:
· The Legal Professions
· Business and Commercial Law
· Public Law, Risk ad Regulation
· Human Rights, Crime and Equality
· International, Comparative and Transnational Law
· Language - French/German/Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish)

Optional: Elective streams: (i) Human Rights, Crime and Equality; (ii) Legal Professions (for students who wish to complete eligibility for Kings Inns); (iii) International, Comparative and Transnational Law; (iv) General (i.e. no special focus – this is not, technically-speaking a ‘stream’ but rather a default option for students who do not wish to focus on one area); and (v) Language.

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

Students who complete the BCL will be well-positioned for legal professional practice courses at the Law Society of Ireland (solicitor) and the Kings Inns (barrister).

Study will also be eligible to qualify to practice law in certain US states, including New York (provided they the Bar Exam) and in England and Wales.

The School of Law offers a range of masters degrees in law (LLMs) for students who wish to enrich their legal education. These include: (i) LLM (General); (ii) LLM in International and Comparative Business Law; (iii) LLM in Public Law; and (iv) LLM in Comparative Disability Law and Policy.

The Irish Centre for Human Rights also offers a range of masters degrees in human rights: (i) LLM in International Human Rights, (ii) LLM in International Criminal Law, (iii) LLM in International Migration and Refugee Law and Policy, and (iv) LLM in Peace Operations, Humanitarian Law and Conflict.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Law (BCL) and Human Rights programme will be well prepared to work in international human rights law, policy or legal practice. Graduates will have the foundation necessary to pursue opportunities with international organisations, United Nations bodies or developmental agencies.

As this is a full undergraduate law degree graduates can also pursue professional qualifications with the Law Society (solicitor) and the Honourable Society of King’s Inns (barrister). The Irish Centre for Human Rights has a global network of alumni working in human rights, providing excellent links and supports for our students.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Work Placement

Students will be given the opportunity to engage in work placement in the third year of the programme. The course will offer some international work placements through its partnerships with international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other human rights bodies.

Study Abroad

There are exciting study abroad opportunities for students on this course through Erasmus and international exchange programmes. If you choose to study a language, you can use the study abroad option to improve your linguistic skills. You will also have the option to study abroad through English. We have partnership opportunities in Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Hungary, France, Germany, Spain, the USA, China, Australia and Canada.

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

Ruth Cormican | Human Rights Attaché to the Permanent Mission of Ireland to

There are great opportunities for law students at NUI Galway. For example, I undertook a summer internship in Suffolk University Law School in Boston working with two criminal justice NGOs: Prisoner Legal Services and the New England Innocence Project. After my degree I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study for an LLM in International Human Rights Law at the University of Notre Dame in the United States.

Tessa Maria Lambrich | Graduate of the Irish Centre for Human Rights

Studying at the Irish Centre for Human Rights is an incredibly enriching experience. I appreciate most that there is room to link academically high level discussions to practical considerations and issues in the field and to contemporary examples, which is very important to me due to my previous experience. Every question is welcome and taken seriously by the staff! The atmosphere between students is so friendly - we come from all over the world and have different educational backgrounds which make discussions interesting and diverse

School of Law Undergraduate Prospectus PDF (4 MB)

QQI / FETAC Pathways Guide PDF (45MB)

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