The National University of Ireland, Maynooth
BCL Law and Criminology
Maynooth, Ireland
Bachelor's degree
DURATION
3 up to
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 17,000 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
- Law is taken jointly with Criminology for the three years of this degree which is accredited by the Honorable Society of Kings Inns. We are one of the few universities in Ireland to offer the option of studying law with criminology as part of an accredited law degree. Faculty include leading international experts in the field with research interests in policing, restorative justice, gender, ethnicity, human trafficking, terrorism and mental health.
- This is a unique interdisciplinary programme offering perspectives from sociology, psychology and anthropology, as well as law.
- Students acquire a thorough grounding in the fundamental areas of legal study: including foundational legal principles; legal systems; and the role of Irish, European, and international law.
- Through studying Criminology, students examine the causes of crime and societys reaction to criminality.
- The BCL is a three-year degree in law combined with one other subject. While the BCL covers all the core modules of law, you cover less law than on the LLB (MH501), giving you more time to develop expertise in another subject. The main advantage is that it allows you to combine the study of law with the study of another discipline.
Duration: 3 years (Bachelor of Civil Law) or 4 years (BCL International)
A year of study is 60 credits.
Law is taken jointly with Criminology for the 3 years of the programme.
1st year
- You will take 30 credits of Law, 15 credits of Criminology, and 1 Arts subject (or Critical Skills)
- Students who successfully complete the 1st year of the programme have the option of transferring into the 2nd year of the LLB programme
2nd and final year
- Continue with 30 credits of Law and 30 credits of Criminology in each of 2nd and final year
- You may apply to complete a work placement year, or to study abroad, after 2nd year, and graduate after 4 years. Students who opt to spend a year studying abroad are awarded a BCL (International) degree. The University will support you in the search for a placement job; however, the process is competitive.
- Graduates of the BCL will be eligible to take the Law Societys FE-1 entrance examinations (necessary to access training as a solicitor) and the entrance examinations for the Kings Inns Barrister-at-law degree programme (necessary to access training as a barrister).
- This programme allows students with an interest in law to broaden their career prospects into the criminal justice world, opening up potential careers in the Gardaí, security services, data analytics, probation, the prison service, the Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO) sector and research institutes.
- The School of Law and Criminology also offers a range of postgraduate study options in related fields.