Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes

Students who have completed or are in final year of a non-law degree (Level 8 NQAI or equivalent) can apply for this programme.

Testimonial:

The Masters in Common Law at UCD is more than a degree and more than a masters. It is a full law degree, pitched at masters level and taught by some of the best law lecturers in Europe. The course work is challenging but the educational supports are terrific, particularly the seminars, which give a more intensive insight into key aspects of the curriculum. Much of the success of the MCL is down to the small class size and the varied backgrounds of participants. 
My primary degree was in civil engineering. I commenced the MCL programme having spent more than two decades working in engineering and business. My MCL class included art historians, philosophers and a neuroscientist. Some of my modules were shared with business graduates and legal practitioners. This mixture of experiences, backgrounds and nationalities created a rather unique and dynamic learning environment. Law reaches into all corners of life. There's a lot to be said for studying core legal principles from a shared vantage point of diverse life experiences. The MCL offers this and more.

Margaret Heavey
Student, Masters in Common Law

If you would like further information/testimonals on all of our masters programmes please check out our playlist on youtube.

This programmes is for graduates in disciplines other than law who wish to complete a Master's degree in the law of Ireland and acquire a profound understanding of how law works in theory and in practice, both in Ireland and elsewhere. The programme enables students to proceed to professional training as lawyers in Ireland and elsewhere but also provides knowledge, skills and experience applicable in a wide variety of careers.

We aim for students to be highly active, motivated, automonous learners, conscious of the social, cultural and political dimensions of the law, who combine the academic basis for a successful career in law with more widely applicable knowledge and skills.

We strive for a learning environment that encourages studetns to work individually or as part of a team, so they can develop their own and other' leadership, teamwork and communication skills.

To these ends, the programme makes intensive use of teaching, learning and assessment approaches such as semianr-based teaching and legal writing assessments.  

• apply their knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional approach to their specific work or vocation in the field of law.
• communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions, considering the importance of legal arguments in public policy debates, in an accessible and intelligible manner to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
• demonstrate specialised, detailed knowledge and understanding of the legal systems of Ireland and of the European Union.
• gather and interpret the relevant data from a variety of sources, both legal and factual, to inform judgments on problems within the major branches of law.
• identify, in the field of legal scholarship, the relevant sources of law and commentary upon and analysis of it and to frame their own original legal arguments.
• make their own judgments, including the capacity to reflect on relevant political, social, economic, historical, or ethical issues associated with law.
• realise those learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy.

View All Modules Here

MCL Common Law (B209) Full Time
EU          Year 2 - € 8080 ^aa
nonEU    Year 2 - € 21520 ^aa
EU          Year 1 - € 8400
nonEU    Year 1 - € 22600

^aaSecond Year Fee applies to Students in 2nd Year in 2024 and who were a 1st Year Student on the programme in 2023/24
***Fees are subject to change

Undergraduates who are eligible for government SUSI funding should note that their fees for graduate study may also be covered under the scheme. To check your eligibility please see the SUSI eligibility indicator tool available at this weblink.

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships (Non-EU Students).

 We also offer scholarships for EU applicants. All applicants who apply to a masters programme before May 31st will be considered. 

Admissions are open to graduates (and graduands) with an upper second class degree in a non-law subject or in which law was not a minor.These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested .

Applications for the programme will be made through the University’s on-line application system. Go to www.ucd.ie/apply. 

Please note that applications are assessed on a rolling basis.

What are the fees for this programme?

For further details go to http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/fees/news.html

Please note: In the event that you are offered a place on one of our programmes, accepting a place is a two part process; as well as submitting an online acceptance, you must also pay a non-refundable deposit. The normal deposit is 500 euro. Your deposit must be received within 15 working days of the date of your offer letter.

International Applicants and students

Students/Applicants requiring information from an International perspective may visit the website www.ucd.ie/international for information regarding our campus, location of UCD and visa information. Applicants may visit http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/fees/international.html for full information on fees and fee payment methods.

Letter of recommendation

• MSc Criminology & Criminal Justice FT
• MSc Criminology & Criminal Justice PT
• MSc International Law & Business FT

The following entry routes are available:

* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised