Law - LLB

The LLB degree is a postgraduate law degree offering distinct pathway to two different types of candidates. 

For students who have already been awarded a law degree the LLB degree offers an opportunity to expand their portfolio of legal knowledge across a wider area of law in preparation for specific practice or for further study. The one year full-time course includes a wide choice of modules which would allow you to choose a combination that best suits your interests. In particular, it offers you an opportunity to study additional fields of law, such as medical law, environmental law or human rights law, which may not have been available to you at undergraduate level. 

For students who are graduates from a non-law discipline the LLB is a two-year postgraduate law degree which offers you sufficient core and optional law modules to undertake, should you wish, professional legal training at the end of the degree. It is designed to ensure that graduates will have a strong legal training at the end of their two years study (full time) along with suitable critical understanding of core legal issues. Beyond preparing you for legal professional qualifications, the LLB is also suitable for students who wish to pursue a career in a variety of areas such as business, journalism, the civil service/government and human rights.

The LLB offers alternative pathways to two different types of candidates.

It offers an opportunity to Law Graduates to further develop and deepen both their knowledge and skills base. As a student with substantial legal knowledge already, you will be required to take 60 credits during your degree. Only Law of Property is compulsory leaving you with 50 elective credits. However, if you have already studied Property Law, or an equivalent module, you will be free to take the full 60 credits as electives. In addition, you may also seek to study up to 10 credits of LLM modules; permission of the Programme Director and relevant LLM Module coordinator will be required.

As a law graduate, if you choose to study for the LLB you will have the opportunity to widen and/deepen your legal knowledge into areas such as:

• Commercial Law
• Corporate and Financial Services Law
• Consumer Law
• Immigration and Refugee Law
• Human Rights Law
• Welfare Law
• Medical Law
• Employment Law 
• Environmental Law 

For non-law graduates, the LLB offers an opportunity to convert to a career in law. As a result the two year LLB places an emphasis on developing not just legal knowledge but also your skills base. You will be required to take 60 credits in each academic year, which will include a combination of compulsory and elective modules and a skills module.   

While we recognise our primary responsibility is to provide legal knowledge, we also aim to ensure that you develop advocacy skills, experience team work and gain expertise in legal research, as well as gaining a range of transferable skills.  

As a non-law graduate, if you choose to study for the LLB you will take core modules which are the foundation topics required for the professional exams – FE1s and Kings Inn exams. These include 

• Criminal Law
• Constitutional Law
• Contract Law
• EU Law

In addition you will also have options which would allow you to study subjects such as 

• Human Rights Law
• Employment Law
• Environmental Law 
• Corporate and Financial Services Law
• Commercial Law

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 modules.

Why choose this course

The LLB is a postgraduate law degree designed for law graduates seeking to deepen their knowledge of the law, professionals working in the legal area who would like to improve their skills and knowledge, and non-law graduates who are thinking of a career in law or a related area. The programme is tailored to fit the needs of a diverse range of students. It offers flexibility in the delivery of modules, allows graduates to qualify with professional subject exemptions in two years, and provides law graduates with a wide range of options including the opportunity to combine undergraduate and postgraduate modules.

Placement or Study Abroad Information

For information on the Law School vacation placements programme,see the School of Law Student Placements

Skills and Careers Information

This is a challenging and highly rewarding postgraduate degree course which allows graduates from both law or other disciplines to develop strong legal knowledge and skills in a one or two year period. The majority of students continue from the LLB degree into the legal profession or to more specialised study on one of our LLM programmes and at doctoral level. Our LLB graduates enter a wide variety of careers including the legal profession, academia, banking, public service, the regulatory sector, management and journalism.

Visit the Law - LLB page on the University College Cork website for more details!