Law Dual Degree – BCL/Maîtrise

This degree is one of two French Law Programmes offered by the Sutherland School of Law, the other being the BCL (Law with French Law). All students interested in the French Law Programmes enter the BCL (Law with French Law) in first year. The students who have achieved the highest grades in Level I of the BCL (Law with French Law) will have the option to apply for interview to enter the BCL/Maîtrise.

The major difference between the two Programmes is that the BCL/Maîtrise allows you to undertake two degrees: a degree in Irish law and a degree in French law, the Maîtrise en Droit, from either the Université Panthéon-Assas or the Université Toulouse Capitole.

Your final two years (third and fourth) are spent at either of these universities. The Maîtrise en Droit (or Master 1) is considered to be a master’s level course.

From this programme you can also go on to qualify as an avocat and practise law in France.

First & Second Years

• Constitutional Law 
• Contract Law 
• Tort Law 
• Property Law
• Criminal Law

In addition, you will study both French public law and French private law. 

Third & Fourth Years

Third and fourth years are spent in one of our two partner universities: Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) or Université Toulouse 1 Capitole.

The BCL/Maîtrise is an intensive programme aimed at highly motivated and ambitious students. Graduates of the programme will have acquired an exceptional range of legal and linguistic skills. 

All French law modules studied at UCD are taught through French.

The intensive nature of this degree means that you will not have time to take electives as part of UCD Horizons.

At UCD Sutherland School of Law, we actively encourage our students to travel abroad as part of their education. In today’s globalised world this is an unrivalled opportunity for students to broaden their horizons and gain life experience. We offer our students the best range of opportunities of any Irish Law School to study abroad, including numerous partners across Europe, as well as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and the USA.

UCD participates in the ERASMUS+ programme which has an extensive portfolio of partner universities around the world. This programme ensures that our students have the widest range of options possible for study abroad. Depending on which particular programme you choose to study, you will have different options to spend a trimester or a year at one of our partner universities. The widest range of destinations is offered to BCL students.

As a UCD law graduate, you will be very well placed to pursue various careers in Ireland and abroad. UCD Sutherland School of Law graduates have a strong reputation in the legal professional marketplace. Given their exposure to multidisciplinary studies, it is no surprise that many have also developed careers outside the law in fields such as banking, taxation, journalism and broadcasting.

UCD Law graduates have been admitted to study for postgraduate degrees at many prestigious universities abroad, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, the College of Europe and the European University Institute. Graduates can also choose to deepen their knowledge of a specific area of law by studying one of the ten law masters degrees that we offer in UCD.

We offer an extensive internship programme which allows students gain valuable employment experience during their degree.

What is an Internship? In an internship, you take up a paid role in an organisation to gain work experience for a fixed period of time. Employers place considerable value in the skills and experience gained by graduates who have completed internships.

How long is an Internship? Internships are offered in Year 3 and involve a one trimester placement of 14 weeks. This will generally run between January and April in Trimester 2.

Why Internships? An internship is an experiential learning opportunity that provides lifelong academic, personal and professional benefits. It will allow you to apply your skills and knowledge in the real working world while enhancing your confidence and helping you gain a better insight into a particular role or industry sector.

• Level 5/6 QQI-FET


• Open Learning Entry Route


• Mature Entry Route


• DARE Entry Route


• HEAR Entry Route


• University Access