Admission Requirements

Apply

To apply to this course, click on the relevant Apply Link below

EU Applicants

Read the information about how to apply, then apply directly to CAO

Mature Student - Supplementary Application Form

Read the information about how to apply as a mature student, then select the link below to complete the TCD Supplementary Application Form for mature students.
• Law and Political Science, 4 Year(s) Full Time, Closing Date: 08/FEB/2013

Non-EU Applicants

• Law and Political Science, 4 Year(s) Full Time, Closing Date: 30/JUN/2013

Course overview

Law and politics are deeply connected and this course provides the opportunity to learn about both and better understand their relation to each other. As a student on this programme, you will take both subjects for the first three years. In your fourth year you will have the option to concentrate exclusively on either subject, or continue with both. During the four years of studies, students will have the opportunity to study all of the core subjects required by the legal professional bodies.

Is this the right course for you?

Yes, if you are interested in pursuing a legal career and want your study of law to be informed by a wider political understanding, or if your intellectual or career interests in politics and public service would be strengthened by a knowledge of the law.

Visit the Law School

• If you are considering studying for a Law degree at Trinity College but want to be sure, you are most welcome to attend lectures. If you would like to avail of this opportunity, to come in and discuss your options with a member of staff, or to visit the Law School we would be happy to meet you. Please contact us by e-mail (see below) to arrange a visit.

Did you know?

• Trinity College's School of Law is ranked 1st in Ireland and 51st in the World in the 2011 QS World University rankings of law schools.

Course content

All students take modules worth 60 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) per year. In the first two years students take six 10 credit modules (three from each discipline).

In the Junior Sophister (third) year, students take modules totalling 30 credits from each discipline. Students may choose to specialise in either Law or Political science in their Senior Sophister (fourth) year or continue to take a combination of modules from both subjects.

Law modules are generally taught for three hours per week for one semester only and students attend four compulsory law seminars per module. Political science modules are also taught at lecture level with two hours of lectures and one tutorial per week per module.

In the Junior Sophister (third) year, one law module, EU law, is mandatory. If a student chooses to specialise in Political science in the final year of his/her degree then he/she must take Research methods for political scientists.

Junior Freshman (first) Year

Law: The Irish legal system and Legal skills, Contract, and Torts law.

Political science: Introduction to political science, Introduction to economic policy, and Introduction to sociology.

Senior Freshman (second) year

Law: Criminal law, Constitutional law I and Land law.

Political Science: History of political thought, Comparative politics, and International relations.

The Sophister years

Junior Sophister (third year) students take 30 ECTS from both Law and Political science from the following modules:

Law: EU law (compulsory) and 20 ECTS from the following modules: Administrative law; Advanced evidence; Child law; Commercial law; Company law; Comparative law; Conflict of laws; Constitutional law II; Criminology; Economic and legal aspects of competition policy; Employment law; Environmental law; Equity; European Human Rights; EU food law; Evidence; Family law; Intellectual property law; International family law; International Human Rights; International trade law; Jurisprudence; Labour law; Land law (English); Legal philosophy; Media law; Penology; Public interest law; Public international law; Refugee and immigration law; Restitution; Tax law, and Sport and the law.

Political science: Research methods for political scientists (compulsory if students wish to specialise in Political science in the final year), and two modules from: Irish politics; Government and politics of the USA; European Union politics; and Democracy and development.

Senior Sophister (fourth year) students may choose to take either 60 ECTS from Law or Political science or continue to study an equal combination of Law and Political science modules from the following list:

Law: Administrative law; Advanced EU law; Advanced evidence; Child law; Commercial law; Company law; Comparative law; Conflict of laws; Constitutional Law II; Criminology; Economic and legal aspects of competition policy; Employment law; Environmental law; Equity; European Human Rights; EU food law; Evidence; Family law; Intellectual property law; International family law; International Human Rights; International trade law; Jurisprudence; Labour law; Land law (English); Legal philosophy; Media law; Penology; Public interest law; Public international law; Refugee and immigration law; Research dissertation; Restitution; Tax law; and Sport and the law.

Full details of all law modules (Freshman and Sophister) are available on www.tcd.ie/law/undergraduate.

Political science: Research seminar; Political parties; Issues in contemporary politics; Contemporary international relations; and African politics.

In both subjects small-group teaching is an important aspect of the Sophister years and, should you decide to specialise in either Law or Political science in the final year, you will have the opportunity to research and write up a dissertation on a topic of your choice.

Assessment

Courses are examined by a combination of continuous assessment and formal examination.

Study abroad

A limited number of places are available on EU-funded exchange programmes at universities in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain to students in the Junior Sophister (third) year. Students are advised to take optional language courses (see page 14) within the first two years if they wish to avail of this opportunity; alternatively they must satisfy that they have proficiency in the language of the host university that they wish to study in. There are also exchange programmes with a number of universities in North America. Participating in these opportunities is dependent upon the exchange fulfilling the course requirements of both departments.

Career opportunities

Whether students' career goals lie in public leadership, the legal profession, the media, the civil service, academia, public relations, anything in business that requires knowing how government works, positions in international organisations such as the EU or a not-for-profit organisation, law enforcement, private practice, or elsewhere, the degree in Law and political science will be ideally suited as a platform for attaining those goals.

Further information

www.tcd.ie/law/undergraduate
Tel: +353 1 896 1125 / 1278; E-mail: law.school@tcd.ie


www.tcd.ie/Political_Science/undergraduate
Tel: +353 1 896 1651

Law degrees and professional qualifications

No law degree entitles a person to practise law as a solicitor or barrister. However, throughout the four-year degree programme in Law and political science, students will have the opportunity to study all core modules required by the professional bodies.

If you wish to go on to obtain a professional qualification, the governing bodies for the profession require that you study certain specific modules in your primary law degree. These modules are taught as compulsory modules during the Freshman years and/or as optional Sophister modules. The School of Law's five undergraduate law degree programmes enables students the opportunity to study all modules required by the Irish and English professional bodies.

Students contemplating a career as a barrister will need to continue their studies with the Honorable Society of the King's Inns. To qualify as a barrister, law graduates must complete the one-year degree course with the King's Inns before 'devilling' with a qualified barrister for a year. Further information on becoming a barrister is available from www.kingsinns.ie

Prospective solicitors must undertake the professional training programme for solicitors delivered by the Law Society of Ireland (www.lawsociety.ie).

Separate requirements apply in Northern Ireland. Prospective barristers should consult the Under Treasurer, The Inns Court of Northern Ireland (www.barlibrary.com), while prospective solicitors should consult the Secretary, the Incorporated Law Society of Northern Ireland (www.lawsoc-ni.org).

In view of rapid changes relating to the rules of entry into professional study, all students are advised to maintain regular contact with the relevant professional bodies so that they are aware of any new requirements coming on-stream.