International Human Rights

We strive for a learning environment that encourages students to work individually or as part of a team so that they can develop their teamwork and communication skills, with a special emphasis on the applicability of these in the practise of international human rights law. On completion of the degree you will have acquired a number of key skills including how to:

• Demonstrate specialised knowledge and understanding of domestic, European and International Human Rights Law, political theory of rights and international relations relating to human rights.
• 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.
• Unpack complex legal and theoretical arguments and to render intelligible to a non-specialist audience, key disciplinary insights.
• Use knowledge of substantive law and theory to critique arguments as to whether and how the law in this field is in need of reform.

Students on the full-time programme starting in September have the opportunity to spend a semester abroad as part of the Comparative, International and European Law (CIEL) graduate exchange programme with our partner Universities.

More information on the CIEL programme and the other exchange opportunities for Masters students are available on the School of Law website.

Please note that for timing reasons, study exchange is not possible for part-time or January start programmes.

The aim of this programme is to equip graduates to work in the field of human rights, either internationally or in Ireland, as a practising lawyer, legal adviser, policy-maker, advocate, researcher or academic. Career opportunities exist in inter-governmental organisations (United Nations, Council of Europe, European Union, Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe), government departments, international and domestic non-governmental organisations, and leading 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.

International Student Scholarships (Non EU): UCD offers a number of attractive graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information see International Scholarships. 

EU Student Scholarships: We also offer a number of graduate scholarships for EU applicants. All applicants who apply before May 31st will be included for consideration. Further details at http://www.ucd.ie/law/study/scholarships/

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.

Degree Requirements

• Applicants must hold a Law degree, or an inter-disciplinary degree in which law was a major component. Applicants must have achieved at least an upper second class honours or equivalent.
• Applicants holding a Graduate Diploma in Law (60 ECTS Credits) may be considered but will normally be admitted only where they can show an exceptionally strong performance in both their undergraduate degree and diploma.
• Exemption from these requirements may be given to those with significant, relevant, practical experience or those with a graduate qualification at Masters level or higher in a relevant discipline. Such applicants should state clearly in their application why they feel their qualifications/experiences are appropriate for admission to the programme.
• These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes 

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.
• 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.
• 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/ 
•  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.

Application Procedure

Applicants should indicate which programme they are applying for. All applicants should note:

• Official transcripts must be submitted as proof of examination results by all applicants except UCD graduates.
• The personal statement is an important component of the application. It should contain information demonstrating your capability to undertake the course successfully. You should detail any relevant research and practical experience including any publications and major essays/projects.
• Applicants must nominate two academic referees (name, position, postal address, e-mail address and telephone number). If an applicant has been in employment for more than two years, one of the referees must be your employer.

Please note: If you are offered a place on the LLM programme, accepting that place is a two-part process. You must submit an on-line acceptance and you must also pay a non-refundable deposit (normally €500) within 15 working days of the date of your offer letter.

Letter Of Recommendation‌

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