Children's Rights and Family Law - LLM

On the LLM (Children's Rights and Family Law), you will be exposed to the law and theory on child and family law in Ireland and internationally. At the same time you will get a rare insight into various aspects of the law in action by engaging with social workers, legal professionals and others.

You will work with scholars who have a track record of outstanding scholarship on legal issues relating to children and the family.

You will have the opportunity to become involved in UCC’s innovative Child Law Clinic where you can provide research assistance to lawyers on real cases, helping to make a contribution to the quality of advocacy on children’s issues, and lobbying for the reform of child law and children’s rights. 

Applicants for the LLM (Children's Rights and Family Law) Degree also have the option of registering for a Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Children's Rights and Family Law). Students take 60 credits of taught masters’ modules from those on offer for the LLM (Children's Rights and Family Law). The Postgraduate Diploma can be completed over 9 months full-time or 18 months part-time. Those who wish to apply for the Diploma should contact [email protected] for application details.

This shorter programme may be attractive to legal professionals and others who may prefer not to make an initial commitment to a full master’s programme. Graduates of the Postgraduate Diploma may further progress their studies by completing a 15,000 word research dissertation and graduating with a Masters in Law (LLM).    

Please visit the School of Law website here for up to date information on the programme. 

Programme regulations are available in the College Calendar 

Please see the Book of Modules for a more detailed description of programme modules.

Additional Teaching Mode Information

The part-time option will be taught during weekday working hours over 2 years.

Course Practicalities

LLM classes are in seminar format. This participative and interactive format of teaching is suitable for postgraduate level. You will receive advance reading lists and/or materials for each seminar. Seminars take place in two-hour blocks between 9am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. 10 credit modules run for 12 weeks and 5 credit modules run for 6 weeks. Arrangements are made for courtroom observation in the family courts.

Assessment

You will be examined by continuous assessment throughout the year and your dissertation must be submitted in September. To view individual module assessments in the Book of Modules

Who teaches this course

The School of Law has many committed lecturers with expertise across a wide range of areas, and has particular strengths in the area of child and family law. For a full list of School members, including details of research interests, publications and postgraduate supervision, see link  http://www.ucc.ie/en/lawsite/about/people/

Why choose this course

The LLM (Children's Rights and Family Law) is the first course of its kind in Ireland and it builds on the School’s wide range of expertise and knowledge in the area of child and family law. From this course, you will gain a unique specialisation in legal issues relating to children and the family, including family property, children’s rights and juvenile justice. You will also have the opportunity to work on real cases and to lobby for reform through the Child Law Clinic, which allows you to make contacts and gain practical experience. You can follow the work of the Child Law Clinic on Facebook  and @childlawucc.

Skills and Careers Information

As the only qualification of its kind in Ireland, graduates are uniquely qualified in the areas of child law and family law. As well as allowing legal professionals to specialise in these areas of legal practice, graduates of this degree are well equipped to work anywhere in the children’s sector – with government departments and agencies (in education, child protection, youth justice etc.), with non-governmental organisations (both nationally and internationally), or other bodies who work with children. Few statutory or children’s organisations have staff with legal expertise in the child and family law area and this is a significant gap in the sector.

Visit the Children's Rights and Family Law - LLM page on the University College Cork website for more details!