Law

Law governs many aspects of our lives. It affects many of our day-today interactions, transactions and personal relationships, as well as the fundamental challenges which face our society such as human rights, climate change, migration, international relations, and criminal justice.

As a law student in UCD, you will learn what laws are, how they work and how they change. Our aim is to inform, inspire and challenge our students. During your degree we will teach you how to develop rigorous research and analytical skills and you will learn to understand academic integrity and ethics.

UCD Sutherland School of Law is the fi rst purpose-built university law school in Ireland, offering students the opportunity to learn in an attractive and friendly environment with unrivalled facilities. The UCD School of Law was established in 1911 and is a globally recognised law school, ranked in the top 100 in the international QS Rankings. We count amongst our alumni many leaders in legal practice, the judiciary, business, the media, political life and civil society organisations. For example, the current President of the European Court of Human Rights, Judge Síofra O’Leary, the Chief Justice of Ireland, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell and the Attorney General of Ireland, Mr Rossa Fanning are all distinguished graduates of our school.

Why UCD Law?

• We off er world-class learning and teaching facilities in our state of-the-art building which includes a Mock Courtroom where students can practice the skills of advocacy and debate.
• Students can choose to study a law degree with a wide range of complementary subjects. They can focus purely on Law (BCL) or combine the study of Law with one of the following: Business, History, Irish, Philosophy, Politics, Economics, Social Justice or French Law.
• We launched our first non-law degree in 2023 – a unique four-year BSc Criminology with Psychology degree.
• Our academic staff are experts in a wide range of fi elds in national and international law and criminology, allowing us to off er an unparalleled range of innovative and topical modules.
• We offer a wide-ranging, credit-bearing internship programme in semester two of third year (currently offered across seven of our degrees).
• Our students have the opportunity to study other legal systems through our unrivalled international exchange programme with top universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia.
• We are committed to supporting our students through their time in college with peer mentors, academic advisers and student advisers on hand to off er advice.
• Every year, a number of our graduates progress to graduate studies in prestigious universities, including Cambridge, College of Europe, European University Institute, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, the London School of Economics and Oxford.

First Year Experience in UCD Law

UCD Sutherland School of Law welcomes first year students to a friendly community. Under our Peer Mentoring and Academic Adviser schemes, current students and lecturers are assigned to each first year student in order to offer advice and support.

In the BCL and BBL degrees, you will explore the fundamentals of law in Constitutional Law and Contract Law modules. There are also two foundation modules, one which provides a general introduction to the Irish Legal System and the other which will teach you the fundamentals on how to study law.

In the BSc Criminology with Psychology you will undertake introductory modules in both disciplines and core modules such as Law & Crime and Brain & Behaviour.

Lectures are supplemented with small group tutorial teaching to help you learn how to understand cases, to interpret legislation and, ultimately, find your own voice. For the DN600 programmes there are 125 places on off er and the average number of students taking each BCL option is shown on the relevant page.

You will be encouraged to get involved in debating, mooting (mock trials) and negotiation skills competitions.

You can join other students in the two societies associated with the School of Law: UCD Law Society and UCD Student Legal Service.

Specialist careers support is provided by the School’s Career Adviser and UCD Careers Network to help you identify and achieve your career ambitions.

You may be interested in the following blog posts: Why I chose to study Law at UCD.

UCD Sutherland Opportunity supported by Mason, Hayes & Curran

The UCD Sutherland Opportunity supported by Mason Hayes & Curran provides funding and assistance for law students at every stage of their degree to create a transformative university experience leading to a successful career in law. The aim is to create greater diversity in the legal profession and other careers where legal expertise is sought. Scholarships, career mentoring and bursaries to fund international study and experiences are provided.