Law (BCL) and Business

Course Overview

The four-year Bachelor of Civil Law and Business allows students to combine the study of a full law degree with principal commercial disciplines such as Business & Commercial Law, Accountancy, Economics, Management and Digital Business & Analytics. Graduates will understand not only the legal process but also the fundamentals of business. This will prepare graduates to work as lawyers in a corporate environment.

Students complete all the modules required to support them to undertake the entrance exams for the Law Society of Ireland, should they wish to qualify as a solicitor. Students who wish to qualify as a barrister will have the option of taking all the modules required by the Honourable Society of King’s Inns through the Legal Professions specialised stream.

Throughout the programme there is an emphasis on acquiring the fundamental practical skills required of lawyers – legal research, writing, oral presentation and advocacy.

Professional Work Placement or Study Abroad

In year three of this course students will have the opportunity to spend the academic year completing professional work placement or studying abroad. Students will have the opportunity to apply for a professional work placement in a leading law firm, a corporate organisation, a public sector organisation or other suitable legal placement. Study abroad is highly recommended for students who choose to study a language (Spanish, Legal French or Legal German and are encouraged to study in our partner universities in Germany, France and Spain. We have also partnered with a number of leading universities who teach through English in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, India, Poland, Spain, The Netherlands, and the United States of America.

Note: Students who choose the optional specialist stream in Legal Irish will spend year three divided between one semester studying at University of Galway’s Gaeltacht campus in An Cheathrú Rua and one semester of professional work placement in an Irish-speaking legal environment.​

Specialist Streams

In final year students have the opportunity to shape their degree and focus on an area of study that interests them and develop special expertise in their chosen field. Students may choose one of the following specialist streams:

• Accounting
• Economics
• Digital Business and Analytics
• Language: Legal French, Legal Spanish, Legal German or Teanga an Dlí (Legal Irish
• Law and Innovation
• Legal Professions
• Management
• General

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level in the Leaving Certificate including Irish, English, Mathematics, and another language, and any two other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Graduates of the Law and Business programme will have a variety of career paths open to them, depending on the specialism they select in their degrees. All graduates will be well equipped to work in a corporate legal environment.

Graduates of this degree will be ready to sit the professional entrance exams for the Law Society of Ireland (solicitor). Graduates who completed the Legal Professions specialised stream will be eligible to sit the professional entrance exams for the Honourable Society of King’s Inns (barrister).