The LLM (Business Law) 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 (Business Law), 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 and must normally:

(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 (Business Law) Degree*
or
(c) have passed the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Business Law) 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 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 (Business Law) 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 as follows.

Core Modules
Students take core modules to the value of 35 credits as follows:
LW6594 LLM (Business Law) Dissertation (30 credits)
LW6595 Business Law in Practice (5 credits)

Elective Modules
Students take modules to the value of 55 credits from the list of electives set out below. At least 35 credits must be chosen from List A. Students may choose up to 10 credits from List B and up to 10 credits from List C.

Elective Modules

Students must choose at least 35 credits from List A:

List A: LLM (Business Law) Modules
LW6536 Intellectual Property Law (10 credits)
LW6574 Intellectual Property and Internet Regulation (10 credits)
LW6578 Consumer Rights: Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6579 Law of Secured Lending (5 credits)
LW6580 Environmental Law in Practice (5 credits)
LW6581 Method in Environmental Law (5 credits)
LW6589 Contemporary Issues in EU Competition Policy (5 credits)
LW6612 IT Law Clinic (5 credits)
LW6618 Climate Change Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6619 Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution (5 credits)
LW6636 European Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency and Rescue (5 credits)
LW6637 Brexit - Legal and Political Perspectives (10 credits)
LW6638 Brexit and the Future of Europe (10 credits)
LW6639 FinTech: Law and Regulation (5 credits)
LW6640 E-Commerce (5 credits)

Students may choose a maximum of 10 credits from List B and a maximum of 10 credits from List C.

List B: Non Law Modules
Students may choose up to 10 credits from the following:
EC6002 Financial Institutions and Money Markets (5 credits)
FI6001 Treasury Risk Management (5 credits)
FI6002 Regulation and Compliance in Capital Markets (5 credits)
FE6601 Co-operatives and the Third Sector (5 credits)
FE6701 Co-operative and Social Enterprise (10 credits)

List C: Undergraduate Modules
Students may choose up to 10 credits from the following:
LW2254 Commercial Law (10 credits)
LW2269 Privacy and Data Protection Law (5 credits)
LW3301 Employment Law: Contracts, Rights and Termination (5 credits)
LW3302 Employment Law: Employee Protection, Equality and Industrial Relations (5 credits)
LW3316 Financial Services Law and Regulation (5 credits)
LW3345 Company Law I: Fundamental Concepts and Doctrines (5 credits)
LW3346 Company Law II: Management, Finance and Insolvency (5 credits)
LW3347 Contemporary Issues in Corporate Law (5 credits)
LW3368 Principles of Revenue Law (5 credits)
LW3369 Income Tax Law (5 credits)

Students may not choose a module from List C if they have already taken that module or equivalent subject matter at undergraduate level.

Students may not choose modules from List B or List C which involve a timetable clash.

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

*Note: In certain cases, with the permission of the Programme Director, students may elect to take 10 credits from the modules available in the LLM (Taught) (other than those listed above) (see here) in substitution for 10 credits of elective modules from those in Lists B and C above.

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.

Part-time:
Students take 90 credits, completing a total of 40 credits in Year 1 and 50 credits in Year 2.

Core Module to be taken in Year 1
LW6595 Business Law in Practice (5 credits)

Core Module to be taken in Year 2
LW6594 LLM (Business Law) Dissertation (30 credits)

Elective Modules to be taken in Year 1 or Year 2
Students take modules to the value of 55 credits from the list of electives set out below. At least 35 credits must be chosen from List A. Students may choose up to 10 credits from List B and up to 10 credits from List C.

Elective Modules
Students must choose at least 35 credits from List A.

List A: LLM (Business Law) Modules
LW6536 Intellectual Property Law (10 credits)
LW6574 Intellectual Property and Internet Regulation (10 credits)
LW6578 Consumer Rights: Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6579 Law of Secured Lending (5 credits)
LW6580 Environmental Law in Practice (5 credits)
LW6581 Method in Environmental Law (5 credits)
LW6589 Contemporary Issues in EU Competition Policy (5 credits)
LW6612 IT Law Clinic (5 credits)
LW6618 Climate Change Law and Policy (5 credits)
LW6619 Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution (5 credits)
LW6636 European Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency and Rescue (5 credits)
LW6637 Brexit - Legal and Political Perspectives (10 credits)
LW6638 Brexit and the Future of Europe (10 credits)
LW6639 FinTech: Law and Regulation (5 credits)
LW6640 E-Commerce (5 credits)

Students may choose a maximum of 10 credits from List B and a maximum of 10 credits from List C.

List B: Non Law Modules
Students may choose up to 10 credits from the following:
EC6002 Financial Institutions and Money Markets (5 credits)
FI6001 Treasury Risk Management (5 credits)
FI6002 Regulation and Compliance in Capital Markets (5 credits)
FE6601 Co-operatives and the Third Sector (5 credits)
FE6701 Co-operative and Social Enterprise (10 credits)

List C: Undergraduate Modules
Students may choose up to 10 credits from the following:
LW2254 Commercial Law (10 credits)
LW2269 Privacy and Data Protection Law (5 credits)
LW3301 Employment Law: Contracts, Rights and Termination (5 credits)
LW3302 Employment Law: Employee Protection, Equality and Industrial Relations (5 credits)
LW3316 Financial Services Law and Regulation (5 credits)
LW3345 Company Law I: Fundamental Concepts and Doctrines (5 credits)
LW3346 Company Law II: Management, Finance and Insolvency (5 credits)
LW3347 Contemporary Issues in Corporate Law (5 credits)
LW3368 Principles of Revenue Law (5 credits)
LW3369 Income Tax Law (5 credits)

Students may not choose a module from List C if they have already taken that module or equivalent subject matter at undergraduate level.

Students may not choose modules from List B or List C which involve a timetable clash.

Note: In certain cases, with the permission of the Programme Director, students may elect to take 10 credits from the modules available in the LLM (Taught) (other than those listed above) (see here) in substitution for 10 credits of elective modules from those in Lists B and C above.

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 2020/2021 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules, 2020/2021.

Submission of LLM Dissertation
The LLM 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.

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

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

• Critically evaluate primary and secondary legal materials of relevance to business law including Irish and European legislation, case-law and academic commentary;
• Identify and explore interconnections between legal topics in the area of Business Law;
• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving legal problems in respect of business law;
• Demonstrate original, independent and critical thinking in relation to the relevant legal issues;
• Place legal developments in respect of Business Law in broader economic and social contexts;
• Formulate research questions and develop appropriate research methodologies;
• Undertake scholarly research exploring legal themes of relevance to Business Law;
• Conduct research on a legal topic in the area of Business Law and write a masters-level dissertation on that topic;
• Use Information Technology appropriately for high-level legal research and writing;
• Prepare and deliver presentations on legal topics;
• Express complex legal and/or policy analysis in an appropriate legal style, in accordance with legal writing standards.

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

• Critically evaluate primary and secondary legal materials of relevance to business law including Irish and European legislation, case-law and academic commentary;
• Identify and explore interconnections between legal topics in the area of Business Law;
• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving legal problems in respect of business law;
• Demonstrate original, independent and critical thinking in relation to the relevant legal issues;
• Place legal developments in respect of Business Law in broader economic and social contexts;
• Formulate research questions and develop appropriate research methodologies;
• Undertake scholarly research exploring legal themes of relevance to Business Law;
• 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.