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Environmental & Climate Law

MSc (NFQ Level 9)

This course is available through the following application route(s)

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Environmental degradation and the climate and biodiversity crises are amongst the most important issues of our time. At their heart are questions of intersectionality and justice. This interdisciplinary programme enables law and non-law graduates to develop core knowledge and skills that will be needed to help address these challenges, whose significance will continue growing in the years ahead.  If you undertake this Masters degree from UCD Sutherland School of Law you will be obtaining a qualification from one of the Top 100 Law Schools in the World. You will be taught by world-leading academics allowing you to develop strong analytical skills, and to hone your written and spoken critical insights.     

This online Masters programme draws on UCD Sutherland School of Law’s established strength in climate and environmental law and policy, while also benefiting from teaching and research expertise from across the university, including from the Schools of Geography, Economics, Biology & Environmental Science, and Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy.

Note: In keeping with our commitment to environmental responsibility, international students undertaking this programme online will be charged the same fees as Domestic/EU students.

 

 

 

About This Course

An in-depth knowledge of environmental and climate law is invaluable to anyone with ambitions to build a meaningful career and make a contribution in this area. This online Masters will provide an unrivalled foundation to equip you with the key skills to become an environmental leader, including how to:

  • Demonstrate a detailed awareness of current controversies in environmental and climate law.
  • Have the intellectual toolkit required to research and write a major dissertation.
  • Integrate source material from a variety of disciplinary areas to reach reasoned decisions about the relative status of competing claims to knowledge.
  • Appreciate the strengths and limitations of key research methodologies.
  • Unpack complex theoretical arguments to render key disciplinary insights intelligible to a non-specialist audience.
  • Use knowledge of debates within the discipline and different methodological approaches to interpret empirical research findings and to critique research designs.
  • Apply your knowledge and understanding of environmental and climate law, and your problem-solving abilities, in diverse legal scenarios.

The aim of this programme is to equip graduates to work in the fields of climate and environmental law/policy, internationally or in Ireland, as a practising lawyer, legal adviser, policy maker, advocate, researcher, consultant or academic.

Career opportunities exist for example in inter-governmental organisations (e.g. United Nations, European Union, Council of Europe), in government departments and agencies, in local government, in international and domestic non-governmental organisations and think tanks, and in leading planning and environmental consultancies and law firms.

Masters students in UCD Sutherland School of Law can benefit from engaging both with the UCD Careers Network and the Head of Career Development in the School.  There are careers events hosted through the academic year and a specific Law Fair every October where Domestic and International Employers come on campus to meet with students.  For students based overseas undertaking this programme, they should ensure that they are registered with the UCD Careers Network to engage with online careers events or watch back previous recorded videos.

Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.

Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.

Module Type Module   Trimester Credits
Stage 1 Core Modules
 LAW40120 Foundations of Environmental Law Autumn  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
 LAW42230 Natural Resources Law Autumn  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
 LAW41090 Climate Change Law and Policy Spring  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
 LAW42190 Environmental Moot Court Spring  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
 LAW40290 Dissertation Summer  30
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 ECON42690 The Market for Labor, Land & SDGs Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 ENVB30130 Ecology & its Application (On-line) Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 ENVB40310 Peatlands and Environmental Change Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 ENVB40360 Peatlands & Global Change (On-line) Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 GEOG40860 Practical Environmental Assessment Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 LAW40760 NGOs: Law, Governance and Social Change Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 ENVB40380 Managing the Interface between Science and Policy (On-line) Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 LAW37460 Planning Law Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 LAW42040 Culture, Heritage and Human Rights Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:
Students can choose either ENVB40310 or ENVB40360 but not both.
 PLAN40390 Sustainable Cities Spring  10

Faculty Profile:

The programme is delivered online by some of the most distinguished academics in this field, including:

Dr. Andrew Jackson, Assistant Professor of Environmental Law

Andrew Jackson is the Programme Director for this Masters Degree in UCD. He has diverse research interests in the fields of climate and environmental law and is an accomplished litigator, having been involved in public interest environmental cases for many years, including before the Irish, English and EU courts. He acted for Friends of the Irish Environment in the landmark ‘Climate Case Ireland’ before the Supreme Court of Ireland. His previous roles include working for a large law firm in London and Paris, for the UK government's Department for Environment, and as in-house lawyer for an environmental NGO in Ireland. 

Prof. Suzanne Kingston, Professor of Environmental Law

In addition to her role as Professor of Environmental Law at UCD, Suzanne Kingston is also a Judge of the EU General Court. She has published widely in the fields of environmental and climate law and is co-author of ‘European Environmental Law’ (Cambridge University Press), described by reviewers as an "essential text" and a "major contribution to the literature".

We are particularly honoured to have and academic of Judge Kingston's standing and reputation delivering modules on this programme. 

 

MSc Environmental & Climate Law (B783) Full Time
EU/NONEU    fee per year - € 11790

***Fees are subject to change

Note: Fees for international/Non-EU students are the same as those for EU/Domestic students because of the online nature of this programme.

SUSI Grant Funding: Domestic undergraduates who are eligible for government SUSI funding should note that their fees for graduate study may also be covered under the scheme. To check your eligibility please see the SUSI eligibility indicator tool available at this weblink

Further information about SUSI grants and funding is available at this weblink.

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website.

 

This programme is intended for applicants with a degree in law or another relevant discipline, including the social and natural sciences. An upper second class honours NFQ Level 8 (GPA 3.08  or international equivalent) is required.

•Exemption may be given to those with significant, relevant, practical experience or those with a relevant graduate qualification.

English Language Requirements


  • Applicants whose first language is not English must submit satisfactory evidence of competence in written and spoken English, i.e. overall IELTS 6.5 (including a minimum of 6.5 in the reading and writing parts and no part below 6.0) or 90 in the TOEFL iBT (with a minimum of 22 (reading) and 24 (writing) and no part below 20.) The test results must be less than 2 years old.

  • Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the  English language requirements, may enter the programme upon  successful completion of UCD’s Pre-Sessional or International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information http://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/ 

  • The School encourages all applicants whose first language is not English to attend the pre-sessional English programme offered by the UCD Applied Language Centre, details of which are available at www.ucd.ie/alc.

  •  International applicants should visit the UCD International Office website (www.ucd.ie/international) for information regarding our campus, location of UCD, visa information, registration and orientation.
You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EU) applicants: Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants: Yes


This programme is intended for applicants with a degree in law or another relevant discipline, including the social and natural sciences. An upper second class honours degree or equivalent is required. Exemption may be given to those with significant, related, practical experience or those with a relevant graduate qualification. Note: We offer both a September and January start for this programme. 


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General application route(s) for Irish/UK/EU applicants* for International (non-EU) applicants* to Environmental & Climate Law:

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B800
Environmental & Climate Law
Master of Science

Full-Time
Commencing January 2025
Graduate Taught
Closed
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt
B801
Environmental & Climate Law
Master of Science

Part-Time
Commencing January 2025
Graduate Taught
Closed
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt
B783
Environmental & Climate Law
Master of Science

Full-Time
Commencing September 2025
Graduate Taught
Apply
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt
B784
Environmental & Climate Law
Master of Science

Part-Time
Commencing September 2025
Graduate Taught
Apply
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