The UCD Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree enjoys a proud history and an established reputation at home and abroad. The BCL degree allows you to immerse yourself in the study of law, to engage with a range of interesting legal perspectives and to acquire a profound understanding of how law works in theory and in practice.

First & Second Year

In first year, you’ll explore some foundational areas of law, including:

• Legal and Professional Skills
• General Introduction to the Irish Legal System
• Contract Law
• Tort Law
• Constitutional Law.

You’ll study modules in civil and criminal procedure.

In second year, you’ll explore EU Law and core areas of Irish law, including:

• Property Law
• Company Law
• Criminal Law.

You’ll attend lectures and tutorials, in addition to engaging in study and preparatory work.

Third & Fourth Year

You can tailor your BCL by selecting from a wide choice of Law modules, such as:

• International Human Rights
• Environmental Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• Media Law
• Family Law
• Commercial Law.

In addition, our Clinical Legal Education Centre (CLEC) offers “clinical” modules, which include Advocacy & Mooting, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Legal Practice and Legal Placement.

Assessment includes end-of-trimester examinations, essays and group projects.

In third year, students will have the opportunity to undertake an internship or apply to study abroad. (Note an internship place is not guaranteed for all applicants).

Note: If you are interested in later qualifying as a lawyer in the USA, the BCL course is the recommended choice.

For detail information on subject content click here 

You may be interested in the following Blog posts: Why I chose Law at UCD & Why go on exchange during your law degree.

As a BCL graduate, you are well positioned to pursue a variety of careers, including qualifying as a solicitor or barrister who practise law independently, or working in:

BCL graduates can also pursue successful careers other than in legal practice (e.g. as diplomats, journalists, broadcasters, authors or researchers) in Ireland or abroad. Graduates can undertake postgraduate law study programmes such as the LLM and/or a PhD in their area of interest.