The LLM (Criminal Justice) is a full-time programme running for 12 months or a part-time programme running for 24 months from the date of first registration for the programme. A full-time candidate may not, during the currency of the LLM (Criminal Justice), simultaneously pursue any other form of education, training or employment, without the advance permission of the School of Law.

Candidates must be approved by the School of Law. The LLM (Criminal Justice) has a compulsory clinical component at its core, which is undertaken in partnership with the School's placement partners and involves significant interaction with the criminal justice system and its stakeholders. In this regard, the School of Law must be satisfied regarding the candidate's commitment to, and suitability for, the programme. Candidates should pay particular attention to satisfying this criterion when completing their application.

Candidates must also:
(a) hold a Law Degree with at least Second Class Honours Grade 1
or
(b) have such other relevant third level educational qualifications and/or professional experience as, in the opinion of the School of Law, qualifies the candidate to undertake the LLM (Criminal Justice) Degree
or
(c) have passed the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Criminal Justice) offered by the School of Law at University, College Cork.

Note: Where appropriate, the Programme Director will identify, in consultation with the candidate, certain elective modules from List C, to be taken by a candidate admitted under entry criterion (b) above. The taking of specified modules may be made a condition of acceptance of a candidate's application.

The number of places available in any given year is dependent on resources and all qualified candidates may not be admitted.

Exemptions - Professional Diplomas
Candidates in the possession of professional diplomas relevant to the LLM (Criminal Justice) may on application make a request for exemption from up to 20 credits of elective modules.  This request will be considered by the Programme Director and the Chair of the Postgraduate Committee and decisions regarding exemptions will be made on the basis of the relevance of the professional diploma to the programme. Exemption forms are available from the School of Law. The Programme Director and the Chair of the Postgraduate Committee will also allocate the distribution of exemptions in line with the programme requirements and reflecting a workload balance over the duration of the degree.  

Full-time:
Students take 90 credits in total including LW6547 LLM (Criminal Justice) Dissertation (30 credits) and LW6519 Criminal Justice (Clinical) (20 credits) and 40 credits from the list of elective modules set out below. Students must choose at least 25 credits from List A and may choose up to 15 credits from List B.

Part-time:
Students take 90 credits in total including LW6519 Criminal Justice (Clinical) (20 credits) to be taken in Year 1 and LW6547 LLM (Criminal Justice) Dissertation (30 credits) to be taken in Year 2. Students choose from the list of elective modules to complete a total of 40 credits in Year 1 and 50 credits in Year 2.

Core Modules
LW6519 Criminal Justice (Clinical) (20 credits)
LW6547 LLM (Criminal Justice) Dissertation (30 credits)

Elective Modules
At least 25 credits must be chosen from List A and up to 15 credits may be chosen from List B.

List A (Students must choose at least 25 credits):
CR6009 Terrorism and Political Violence (10 credits)
CR6013 Victimology (10 credits)
LW6544 Criminology (10 credits)
LW6545 Penology (10 credits)
LW6546 Juvenile Justice (10 credits)
LW6550 International Criminal Law (10 credits)
LW6560 Law of Cybercrime (10 credits)
LW6588 Enforcement and Sanctions in Antitrust Law (5 credits)
LW6609 Mental Health Law (5 credits)

¹List B (Students may choose 15 credits):
LW6549 International Children's Rights (10 credits)
LW6572 Contemporary Issues in International Law (10 credits)
LW6584 International Refugee Law (5 credits)
LW6592 Mental Capacity Law (5 credits)
LW6606 International Human Rights Law (10 credits)
²LW6612 IT Law Clinic (5 credits)
³AP3015 Forensic Psychology (5 credits)

List C: Undergraduate Modules
Where appropriate, the Programme Director will identify, in consultation with the candidate, whether one of these modules should be taken by candidates admitted under entry criterion (b) above. Modules taken from List C would be in substitution for credits from the elective modules in List B. The taking of this and other specified modules may be made a condition of acceptance of a candidate's application. Registration for these modules requires the permission of the Programme Director.

LW1153 Criminal Law (10 credits)
LW1161 Constitutional Law: Fundamental Rights (5 credits)
LW2006 The Law of Evidence I (5 credits)
LW2007 The Law of Evidence II (5 credits)

Notes:

¹ In certain cases with the permission of the Programme Director, students may elect to take 10 credits from the non-Criminal Justice modules available in the LLM (Taught) (see here) (other than those listed above) in substitution for 10 credits of the elective modules in List B.

² LW6612 - students will only be admitted to LW6612 based on application and interview.  Further details available from the School of Law.

³ The maximum amount of undergraduate modules allowed is 10 credits, therefore, students taking 10 credits from List C will not be allowed to register for AP3015.

It may be that not all modules listed above will be offered each year and/or other options may become available.

In order to ensure a reasonable distribution of workload, when choosing modules for all programmes, students should take a balance of credits between Semester 1 and Semester 2. Students who wish to deviate from this rule must seek permission from their Programme Director.

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module Descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2019/2020 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules, 2019/2020.

Presentation of Dissertation/Submission Dates
The dissertation must be submitted for examination at the Winter Board, on a date in September to be specified by the School of Law at the commencement of the programme.

Exit Award - Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Criminal Justice) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
Upon successful completion of taught modules to the value of 60 credits, registered LLM (Criminal Justice) students may opt not to proceed with the programme and exit with a Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Criminal Justice).

Programme Learning Outcomes for LLM (Criminal Justice) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of the programme, students should be able to:

• Appreciate the roles and perspectives of the various actors within the criminal justice system in the context of clinical experiences;
• Critically evaluate primary and secondary legal materials of relevance to Criminal Justice including legislation, international instruments, case-law and academic commentary;
• Identify and explore interconnections between legal topics in the area of criminal justice;
• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving legal problems in respect of criminal justice;
• Demonstrate original, independent and critical thinking in relation to the relevant legal issues;
• Connect changing values and sentiments in society with legal developments in respect of criminal justice;
• Formulate research questions and develop appropriate research methodologies;
• Undertake scholarly research exploring legal themes of relevance to criminal justice;
• Use information technology appropriately for high-level legal research and writing;
• Prepare and deliver presentations on legal topics;
• Conduct research on a legal topic in the area of criminal justice and write a masters-level dissertation on that topic;
• Express complex legal and/or policy analysis in an appropriate legal style, in accordance with legal writing standards;
• Evaluate the operation of the criminal justice system in reality in comparison with criminal justice theories.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Criminal Justice) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of the programme, students should be able to:

• Appreciate the roles and perspectives of the various actors within the criminal justice system in the context of clinical experiences;
• Critically evaluate primary and secondary legal materials of relevance to Criminal Justice including legislation, international instruments, case-law and academic commentary;
• Identify and explore interconnections between legal topics in the area of criminal justice;
• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving legal problems in respect of criminal justice;
• Demonstrate original, independent and critical thinking in relation to the relevant legal issues;
• Connect changing values and sentiments in society with legal developments in respect of criminal justice;
• Formulate research questions and develop appropriate research methodologies;
• Undertake scholarly research exploring legal themes of relevance to criminal justice;
• Use information technology appropriately for high-level legal research and writing;
• Express complex legal and/or policy analysis in an appropriate legal style, in accordance with legal writing standards;
• Evaluate the operation of the criminal justice system in reality in comparison with criminal justice theories.