BCL (Hons) (NFQ Level 8)
Curricular information is subject to change.
Open AllThe 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:
You’ll study modules in civil and criminal procedure.
In second year, you’ll explore EU Law and core areas of Irish law, including:
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:
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.
Third year BCL students are offered the widest range of study abroad opportunities at partner universities throughout the world. This allows students to immerse themselves in other cultures and learning experiences while progressing with their degrees. If you choose this degree, you will have the opportunity to apply to study in almost 50 different universities throughout the world. They include Erasmus exchanges to a large number of European universities plus locations in Australia, New Zealand, North America and Asia.
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.
“I chose to study law because I enjoy seeing how the world around me is governed by rules and policy. The opportunity to study such a variety of law modules is something which really appealed to me about the Law (BCL) course, whether this is Human Rights Law, or Environmental Law and Policy. One of my favourite things about UCD is the student societies. As the Auditor of the 113th Session of the UCD Law Society, this is a fantastic way to further your public speaking through debating and adding to your practical skills through mock trials and mooting. LawSoc, for me, has also been where I have met many like-minded people with whom I have formed some of my best friendships.”
Robin Jowett, Student
UCD Sutherland School of Law
Belfield, Dublin 4
Tel: +353 1 716 4110
Email: law.students@ucd.ie