Postgraduate Law Studies at the Faculty of Law,
University College Dublin

Ireland has a historic reputation as being "the land of saints and scholars," and more recently has emerged as one of Europe's most vibrant and exciting economies. This success has been attributable in part to the country's pivotal positioning as a gateway to the European Union, and for many foreign investors the determining factor in the decision to locate operations in Ireland has been the exceptional standard of the Irish graduate and postgraduate population. Many international graduates too are coming to experience the benefits of postgraduate study in the nation's exciting capital, Dublin. For well-qualified graduate law students wishing take advantage of Ireland's commercial experience and unique common law heritage embracing the EU legal system, the Faculty of Law at University College Dublin has been the favoured choice.

The Faculty of Law at University College Dublin (a constituent University of the National University of Ireland) was established in 1908. It is the largest law school in Ireland, with thirty full-time teaching staff and a distinguished adjunct faculty (including judges of the Irish and European Courts and a former advocate general) providing an unrivalled breadth of knowledge and expertise in the legal field. The Faculty is situated in the 15th Century Roebuck Castle on the spacious Belfield campus on the south side of Dublin. The student body includes over 100 postgraduate students in various programmes, and some 800 undergraduates.

The flourishing postgraduate programme attracts students from Ireland, other EU member states and further afield, and embraces both research (LLM, PhD and LLD) and taught (LLM (European Law) and LLM (Commercial Law) degrees.

The LL.M. in European Law

The LL.M. in European Law offers options that range from European Constitutional and Administrative Law, and Commercial and Social Law of the European Union, to more specialised courses such as European Merger Control Law, European Community Intellectual Property Law, European Criminal Justice and European Competition Law. Courses are constantly under review in order to ensure that students are provided with options, which reflect the diversity and breadth of the activities not alone of the EU, but of institutions such as the Council of Europe - the European Convention on Human Rights is a key feature in the course on European Human Rights Law, for example. In an era of increased - and increasingly controversial - globalisation, subjects such as International Business Law and International Trade Law are also offered.

Courses are taught by a stimulating mixture of career academics and practitioners, and bring students up to date with emerging trends in law and policy.

The LL.M. in European Law in European Law is completed over the course of one academic year and is open to law graduates who meet the course minimum entry requirements. The LL.M. has proved to be the launching pad for many careers in European law and policy, and this Masters programme is intended to provide graduates with the intellectual tools to engage in challenging careers in the practice of European law.

The LL.M in Commercial Law

The LL.M. in Commercial Law is the leading commercial law LL.M. course offered within Ireland and focuses on the provision of advanced educational training in key areas of business law. As legal practice becomes increasingly specialised, the courses on offer provide even the most successful practitioner as well as any well qualified law graduate with the opportunity to deepen his or her understanding of subjects such as Information Technology Law, Commercial Arbitration, Competition Law, International Trade Law, Corporate Finance Law, to name but some of the 'state of the art' courses on offer.

The LL.M. in Commercial Law can be completed over one academic year or studied part-time, over two years. Many LL.M. graduates have used the LL.M. in Commercial Law as a springboard in new career paths and, like the LL.M. in European Law, the courses are taught by a stimulating mix of career academics, practitioners and judges.

Research Opportunities

The Faculty also offers a number of research based programmes at Masters and Doctoral level, and many students find the unrivalled access to guidance, expertise and electronic and traditional research resources at University College Dublin make it the ideal base for scholarly research! A central element of the research programmes is the research seminar at which students are educated in the finer points of legal writing and research.

Scholarships and Funding
A number of scholarships are offered annually to top applicants for the postgraduate programmes, and in addition some students are offered tutorships - the financial rewards for which may assist their scholarly, if not saintly, pursuits in the vibrant capital city of the "land of saints and scholars"!

Further information on Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Law, University College Dublin, can be found on the Faculty's web-site at www.ucd.ie/law