About Law (Pathways), BCL (Hons) - at University College Cork (UCC)

Overview

Entry to Law Pathways provides students with a gateway to the study of law and allows each student to shape his or her own period of study. At the core of each degree is a world class learning experience facilitated by experts in many specialised areas of law, with students developing a critical understanding of key law and policy issues.

All students commence as BCL (Pathways) students and upon completion of their first year of studies, can apply to transfer to their preferred path for the remainder of their degree. The BCL is a three year programme, the BCL (Clinical) is a four year programme incorporating a placement within the legal system and the BCL (International) is a four year programme where students can study abroad in a partner university for one or two semesters.

This unique structure allows each student to tailor their law degree, maximising the potential and opportunities for all students.

Course Details

A Law Pathways student at UCC can elect to graduate in three years with a BCL degree, a comprehensive law degree that ensures a critical understanding of the fundamentals of irish and International law, together with exposure to a range of interesting elective areas of legal study. Alternatively, a Law Pathways student can apply for a four year degree path which will include one or two semesters on either a work or study abroad placement.

The BCL (International) is an exciting and dynamic four year degree, offering the opportunity to study at a law school in China, India, the US, Canada or Europe; each study abroad option offers a unique experience to our students and the programme director aims to match your interests with those of our partners to ensure you have the best possible learning experience during your semester abroad.

The BCL (Clinical) is a four year degree that incorporates a unique opportunity to work within the Irish legal system and facilitates students' development of professional, organisational and interpersonal workplace skills. If you gain a place on the BCL (Clinical) pathway, you will have the chance to engage with the law in practice and to understand how it influences and is influenced by real life work placements in a wide variety of areas including Commercial Law, Human Rights Law, Medical Law, Employment Law, and with diverse placement organisations including law firms, NGOs, regualtory bodies, etc.

All Law students are exposed to a broad-ranging general degree or can opt to tailor subject choices to specialise in areas such as international law, business law, human rights law etc. Students will also develop a strong foundation in legal research and writing, advocacy and legal reasoning. These are transferable skills which are attractive to employers in a wide variety of professions and industries.

See the College Calendar for more detailed information on the programme and the Book of Modulesfor a more detailed description of programme modules.

Fact File

Course Code: CK301

Course Title: Law (Pathways)

College: Business and Law

Duration: 3 years, or 4 years if following the BCL (International) or BCL (Clinical)

Teaching Mode: Full-time

Qualifications: BCL (Hons)

NFQ Level: Level 8

Costs: Full-time EU/EEA/Swiss State undergraduate students may be exempt from paying tuition fees. The State will pay the tuition fees for students who satisfy the Free Fees Criteria. In 2016/17 the Student Contribution Charge will be EUR 3,000 and the Capitation Fee will be EUR 165.

2017 Entry Requirements: H5 in two subjects, and O6/H7 in four other subjects in the Leaving Certificate from Irish, English, another language, and three other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Entry Points: 2016: 490. Points may vary from year to year.

Course Practicalities

Students must take 60 credits per academic year, with 5 credits typically equating to 12 weeks of 2 lecture hours per week. Selected modules also include a tutorial with 5 tutorials per semester. The library is the main learning ground for law students and students are expected to both prepare in advance of lectures and tutorials and to also follow lectures and tutorials with significant time reading and further researching the material covered in class.

The number of optional elective modules available increases as you progress through the course and includes non-law options; European languages, or Mandarin, or business options such as accounting and management

Assessment

Law modules are for the most part examined by written assignments, end of semester examinations or both. Some modules, especially the skills modules can include oral presentations as part of the examination process.

Application Procedure

EU Applicants: Application to Year 1 of the degree programme is made directly through the Central Applications Office (CAO). Applicants should apply online at www.cao.ie. The normal closing date for receipt of completed applications is 1st February of the year of entry.

Non-EU Applicants.

Mature Applicants: Application is made through theCAOand the closing date for receipt of completed applications is 1st February of the year of proposed entry.

Further Contact Information

Anne Wallace

Student Recruitment Officer

T: +353 (0)21 420 5102

E: a.wallace@ucc.ie

Dr Louise Crowley

Programme Director BCL (Pathways)

T: +353 (0)21 490 3879

E: l.crowley@ucc.ie

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Entry requirements for this course

Contact University College Cork (UCC) to find course entry requirements.

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