Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology is for students with ambition and the drive to succeed.
Whether you are an undergraduate applicant deciding if Law or Criminology are for you or a postgraduate applicant seeking to further your education, you will find that your education here will be marked by the highest academic standards. We offer a multitude of opportunities for personal and academic growth, while fostering a nurturing educational environment conducive to learning.
Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology
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Studying at the School of Law and Criminology
Why The School of Law and Criminology?
Law graduates are welcome not just in the legal professions but in the NGO sector, in management consulting, in government, in the European institutions, in journalism, in policy development, and in business. We are developing a student body equipped to bring credit to the School in each of these fields. We don’t expect you to know what you want to do, but we do expect you to be ambitious and hard working.
At the School of Law and Criminololgy, we appreciate that a successful law graduate is one who has distinguished themselves from their competitors - we take exactly the same approach to being a law school. That’s why we offer options that aren’t available at other law schools – options like taking Tax Law and Banking and Financial Law as undergraduate degree modules. It’s why we make moot court and legal writing an integral part of our undergraduate programmes. It’s why we give you the chance to spend a year at a leading Dublin law firm, or a leading law school in the US or Europe. And it’s why our top performing students are invited to join the editorial team on the Irish Law Journal. A graduate of the Department of Law gets experience that other Irish law graduates are not typically offered.
For further information about our programmes, please visit Our Courses.
The Student Experience
Classes are small and highly interactive. Discussions and debates are not just encouraged, but are the very staple of the classroom experience here. Students typically make presentations in class at least once every semester, building valuable oral presentation and analytical skills as part of their education. Our approach ensures that students learn as much from each other as from the Department. The heavy emphasis placed on legal writing also ensures that our students are well prepared for demanding careers once they leave the Department. Students also have ready access to Department of Law academic staff members for consultation on curricular and other matters.
Student Testimony
“In Maynooth, the balance of Law and another Arts subject such as Sociology is fascinating & integral to my positive university experience and study. Studying Law in Maynooth means that you are immediately part of a supporting network of students and experienced lecturers, where the office door is always open, and you are encouraged to ask questions and think on your feet. You will learn that nobody has a monopoly on wisdom or the law - as a law student, you are building the potential to help shape society itself.”
Síona Cahill (BCL International).
How to Apply
Undergraduate Applicants
All undergraduate applicants (except occasional and non-EU students) must apply through the Central Applications Office. Further information is available from the Admissions Office. For more details regarding our undergraduate programmes, see Our Courses. Questions about undergraduate programmes can be directed to Dr Oisin Suttle.
Postgraduate Applicants
Applicants should apply online via PAC. Details pertaining to funding opportunities are available from the Graduate Studies Office. For more details regarding our postgraduate programmes, see Our Courses. Questions about postgraduate programmes can be directed to Dr Ollie Bartlett.
Erasmus, International and Occasional Students
We are happy to welcome International and Occasional students who wish to take modules we offer. For general enquiries, and signing of module registration forms, please contact the International/Occasional Students Coordinator, Dr Mary Dobbs.
Assessment
International/Occasional students who come to study at Maynooth University for Semester II only, or for the full academic year, will be assessed in exactly the same way as regular Maynooth University students.
International/Occasional Students who come to Maynooth University for Semester I only do not sit any January examinations. In place of the examination at the end of Semester I, such students will complete an assignment/essay etc. as specified by the lecturer concerned.
For further information, please contact the International Office at Maynooth University.
Work Placements
Each year, Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology arranges special work placement schemes for undergraduate and postgraduate students with leading law firms, NGOs, and other organisations.
Undergraduate Students
The School of Law and Criminology’s Work Placement Scheme for undergraduate students provides them the opportunity to experience working in a top commercial legal practice. These opportunities allow students to build their skill sets, their confidence, and their effectiveness as team members. A successful placement not only earns our graduates credibility with a particular employer, it shows performance in a workplace environment that other graduates can only promise.
Students on all of our undergraduate programmes are eligible to apply for placement opportunities. Both BCL and LLB students apply to the School of Law and Criminology in their second year of study. The application process is competitive and the best candidates are put forward for interview to the relevant firm(s).
For BCL students, the Work Placement year is an additional year between Years 2 and 3. For LLB students, the Work Placement year also takes place during Year 3, but students are required to complete Year 3 modules in their final, fourth year, in lieu of the optional modules ordinarily offered to Year 4 LLB students. Students graduate with either a BCL (with Work Placement) or an LLB (Clinical) degree.
Previous placement partners have included Matheson, A&L Goodbody, McDowell Purcell, Griffin Solicitors, McCann Fitzgerald, William Fry, Mason, Hayes & Curran, and The Medical Council.
Congratulations to the following students, who have been selected to spend the next year of their legal studies on work placement in top law firms:
- At A&L Goodbody, Alannah Burns (LLB), Lochlainn Garvey (LLB), and Greg Flynn (MLS Professional)
- At William Fry, Conor Forde (LLB)
- At Mason, Hayes & Curran: Ailbhe Lawless (LLB)
Postgraduate Students
The School of Law and Criminology also offers placement opportunities at the postgraduate level.
LLM Placements
Placements are also offered to postgraduate students through other LLM modules. Through the Public Procurement Law module, LLM (Global Legal Studies) graduates Harry O’Malley and Andrew Farrelly are completing placements at specialist commercial law firm Philip Lee. And through the Funds Law module, Ronan Califf (LLM in Global Legal Studies) and Shane O’Callagahan (LLM in International Business Law) are completing placements in the Asset Management and Investment Funds Group of Matheson.
Summer Placement Opportunities
The School organises two Summer Placements in the Office of the Chief Justice.
Study Abroad
Study Abroad
At the School of Law and Criminology, we recognise the value of studying abroad. From personal growth, to intercultural development, to career advancement, it is difficult to overestimate the benefits of undertaking part of your education in another country. That is why we offer opportunities to our students to study abroad at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Undergraduate Students
Studying abroad as part of your Law degree at Maynooth offers a fantastic opportunity to live in a different country, expand your cultural, social and linguistic horizons, and experience different approaches and methods of university education. Students on any of our undergraduate programmes can take their penultimate year to study in Europe as an Erasmus student (for which Erasmus grants are available), or outside of Europe as an international student.
The partner universities which currently offer modules in Law are listed below. The majority of these universities offer modules in English. For a full list of the University's general Erasmus partners and also Non-EU partners (i.e. across all disciplines, not just Law), see the International Office's website. If you have an interest in a particular partner university that is not currently listed as offering Law modules, it may still be possible to check what is available in terms of Law.
For BCL students, the year abroad is an additional year, turning the degree from three years into four years, with the third year spent abroad. Law & Arts or Law & Business students are encouraged to take some law modules as part of their study abroad, but this is not compulsory.
For LLB students, the year abroad is an integrated year of the degree, meaning that the year abroad comes instead of (rather than additional to) one of the years of study in Maynooth. For this reason, LLB students abroad are required to obtain the equivalent credit in Law that they would have obtained in Maynooth. The year abroad is undertaken in the third year of the four year degree. Note that some of the partner universities listed below may not have sufficient Law modules available through English to host students for the LLB integrated year abroad.
| University | City | Country | Programme |
| University of Vienna | Vienna | Austria | LLB / BCL |
| Catholic University of Lyon | Lyon | France | LLB / BCL |
| Jean Monnet University of St Etienne | St Etienne | France | BCL |
| Univeristy of Lille | Lille | France | BCL |
| Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena | Jena | Germany | LLB / BCL |
| University of Passau | Passau | Germany | BCL |
| Aristotle University of Thessaloniki | Thessaloniki | Greece | BCL |
| University of Modena and Reggio Emilia | Modena | Italy | LLB / BCL |
| University of Trento | Trento | Italy | LLB / BCL |
| Mykolas Romeris University | Vilnius | Lithuania | LLB / BCL |
| University of Malta | Msida | Malta | LLB / BCL / Criminology |
| University of Groningen | Groningen | Netherlands | LLB / BCL |
| University of Oslo | Oslo | Norway | LLB / BCL |
| Jagiellonian University | Krakow | Poland | LLB / BCL |
| Comenius University Bratislava | Bratislava | Slovakia | LLB / BCL |
| University of Ljubljana | Ljubljana | Slovenia | LLB / BCL |
| Abat Oliba CEU University | Barcelona | Spain | BCL |
| University of Alicante | Alicante | Spain | BCL |
| University of Murcia | Murcia | Spain | BCL |
| University of Lucerne | Lucerne | Switzerland | BCL |
| University of Essex | Essex | United Kingdom | BCL |
| University of Sheffield | Sheffield | United Kingdom | LLB / BCL / Criminology |
Read about Jessica Scott's experiences at the University of Groningen.
Postgraduate Students
At postgraduate level, students undertaking the LLM (International Business Law) have the option of spending a semester in Lyon.
Transfer Options
We offer our students the flexibility to transfer from one undergraduate programme to another, once they successfully complete first year. Details of the transfer options we offer are available below:
Transferring into the LLB
Arts (MH101), BCL (Law and Arts), BCL (Law and Business), and BCL (Law and Accounting) students have the option of transferring into the LLB programme, if they successfully complete first year.
Students must obtain at least 400 overall in first year Law (this means maintaining an average of 40 across the three first year Law modules) and pass their two other first year subjects in order to be eligible to transfer into the LLB.
Transferring into the BCL
Arts (MH101) students who complete 30 ECTS of Law in first year also have the option of transferring into either the BCL (Law and Business), BCL (Law and Accounting), or BCL (Law and Arts) programmes, if they successfully complete first year.
Again, these students must obtain at least 400 overall in first year Law (this means maintaining an average of 40 across the three first year Law modules) and pass two other first year subjects. If students wish to transfer into either the BCL (Law and Business) or BCL (Law and Accounting) programmes, they must meet any additional requirements set out by the School of Business or by the Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, respectively. Students should contact the relevant office to enquire as to any such requirements.
Further requirements and restrictions also apply; please see Information for Current Students before finalising your subject selection in Year 1.
Postgraduate Programmes
As Ireland’s youngest and fastest-growing law school, we bring a fresh approach to the study of law for the next generation – as an interdisciplinary, diverse subject which increasingly transcends national borders.
What sets postgraduate study at the Department apart is the international focus of our postgraduate programmes reflecting the increasingly global nature of law and legal practice. Students examine a broad array of legal subjects from an international perspective and may also avail of opportunities to study abroad, such as those at our partner university, the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy).
The Department also has a strong career focus, with many modules on the programmes run in partnership with leading law firms and civil society organisations, offering students the opportunity to apply for work placements at the end of their studies. Previous placement partners have included Matheson, A&L Goodbody, William Fry, McDowell Purcell, McCann Fitzgerald, and The Medical Council. In addition, the School of Law and Criminology currently delivers a course in Funds Law in partnership with top Irish law firm, Matheson, which specialises in supporting international companies doing business in Ireland. The newly approved LLM in International Justice provides further opportunities for students to prepare themselves for policy and advocacy work in national, regional, and international organisations with a social and economic justice mandate. This programme offers placement opportunities with partner civil society organisations such as Transparency International (Ireland).
The current suite of taught postgraduate programmes offered by the Department is listed below:
- LLM (Global Legal Studies), full-time
- LLM (Global Legal Studies), part-time
- LLM (International Justice), full-time (for both law and non-law graduates)
- LLM (International Justice), part-time
- LLM (International Business Law), full-time, single qualification
- LLM (International Business Law), full-time, dual qualification
- LLM (International Business Law), part-time
- MA in Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice, full-time (for both law and non-law graduates)
- MA in Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice, part-time
- Higher Diploma in Legal Studies (for non-law graduates)
Scholarships
All Taught Masters Applicants: Maynooth University is offering Taught Masters Scholarships to support Masters study.
Non-Standard Entrants
Non-standard applicants should submit the R8, Non-Standard Entry form, in conjuction with the department and HoD, to the Registry Policy Office (policy@mu.ie) for a Registry review.
This form is available on the Registry webpage.
Contact us about our Courses
For further information about our postgraduate programmes, please contact:
MA in Comparative Criminology & Criminal Justice queries
Dr Ian Marder - ian.marder@mu.ie
LLM in International Justice queries
Dr John Reynolds - john.reynolds@mu.ie
LLM Global Legal Studies queries
Dr Ollie Bartlett - ollie.bartlett@mu.ie
LLM Internation Business Law queries
Dr Ollie Bartlett - ollie.bartlett@mu.ie