European Studies is an exciting and challenging new UCD BA Humanities course for 2021, taught by some of Ireland’s leading academics. Transnational and interdisciplinary in perspective, the course is designed to inspire in-depth exploration of the rich and varied cultures and histories of Europe. This course will equip students with valued skills in research, communication and language.

Global Studies invites students to ask how a deeply connected world has come into being, why barriers and divisions remain and how ‘local’ relates to ‘global’. We ask how people experience and make sense of globalisation, as an opportunity, challenge and threat. We analyse the impact people have on the global environment. We give students the skills, historical background, cultural context, and linguistic knowledge, to live and work in globally connected societies. This is the only undergraduate Global Studies degree available in Ireland.

Irish Studies is an interdisciplinary programme that examines the variety and diversity of Irish history, society, cultural practice and the complex processes through which Ireland and Irish identities have been constructed.

It asks a series of provocative and stimulating questions about ideas of Ireland and Irishness, such as how can we understand the ways in which place, history, culture and society have shaped Ireland, past and present? How do processes of emigration and immigration impact on Irish culture, society and identity? What influence have identity categories such as gender, sexuality, ethnicity and class had on Irish culture, society and identities?

If you are interested in the performing arts, television and film, fashion, music, festivals, media, visual arts and museums — or aspire to work creatively in business, the public sector, and digital technology — this course is for you! Combining project-based work with high-level career mentorship, this new four-year course prepares students for careers in the cultural and creative industries.

This course is running in partnership with Creative Futures Academy (CFA).

This course will enable you to develop your creativity and musicianship through classes in composition, performance, and theory. You will enrich your knowledge of the role that music has played in the past, and continues to play in societies around the world, through classes in history and culture. You will dive deeper into your own musical interests – whether as a composer, performer, or thinker – through research. You will find out and experience why music is so foundational to contemporary life.

Modern Languages combines advanced language skills with the literature, history and culture of the countries where these languages are spoken. It also focuses on developing critical faculties and cross-cultural awareness.

This degree is for those of you who want to concentrate on at least two modern foreign languages, explore the connections between them, spend a year abroad and graduate with a BA International degree.

The BCL/Maîtrise is one of two French Law Courses offered by Sutherland School of Law, the other being the BCL (Law with French Law) on the previous page. All students interested in the French Law Courses enter the BCL (Law with French Law) degree in first year. Both degrees offer the exciting opportunity for immersion in two of the world’s major legal systems, the common law and the civil law. A deep knowledge of civil law is invaluable to graduates who choose to pursue careers with organisations of the European Union or have ambitions to work in international law firms.

The UCD Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree enjoys a proud history and an established reputation at home and abroad. The BCL degree allows you to immerse yourself in the study of law, to engage with a range of interesting legal perspectives and to acquire a profound understanding of how law works in theory and in practice.

This course allows you to obtain a highly respected degree in law, whilst simultaneously acquiring a broad knowledge of economics. Certain areas of law (e.g. competition regulation and intellectual property) are heavily influenced by economic theory. BCL (Law with Economics) graduates are uniquely equipped to understand these regulatory frameworks in all of their conceptual complexity.

On this degree, you’ll embark on a field of cross-disciplinary study which is intellectually very demanding, but also tremendously enriching and of immense practical importance.

Law with French Law is one of two French Law Courses offered by Sutherland School of Law, the other being the dual degree – the BCL/Maîtrise (more information on the following page). All students interested in the French Law Courses enter the BCL (Law with French Law) in first year.

Both degrees offer the exciting opportunity for immersion in two of the world’s major legal systems. Student will learn about the common law system, practised in Ireland and the UK (and in some form, in most of the English-speaking world) and the civil law system which is used throughout Europe.

There’s a natural affinity between the disciplines of law and history. Each is shaped by the other. Important historical events are often interlinked with contemporary legal structures. Legal reform may be prompted by the defining events of the past.

This course allows you to acquire a highly respected degree in law, whilst also pursuing a passion for history and acquiring a deeper understanding of past events that have shaped our current legal system.

The BCL (Law with Irish) course allows undergraduate law students to access a cohesive set of Irish language modules which are relevant to the study and practice of law. This programme offers you the opportunity to acquire a highly respected BCL degree, whilst additionally deepening your competence in the Irish language in the context of law.

Your Irish language communication skills will be developed by the resources provided by a modern multi-media language laboratory (An Teanglann) and the advanced language skills training in Lárionad de Bhaldraithe.

Law and politics are inextricably linked by the legislative process. This course allows you to obtain a highly respected law degree, whilst also acquiring a deeper understanding of political theory and the political process. Many UCD law graduates have progressed to political careers. Others have become high-profile political commentators.

Legal systems express and reflect the prevailing moral, political, social and economic philosophy of the State. Law and philosophy are, therefore, complementary fields of study. An understanding of law is fundamentally enhanced by a deeper knowledge of philosophical theory. This course offers you a highly respected degree in law, combined with an enriched appreciation of its philosophical underpinnings.

The BCL with Social Justice course, the first of its kind in Ireland, combines the study of Law with rigorous analysis of social injustice, its causes and remedies. It will appeal to students who are interested in issues of equality, diversity and disadvantage, and who want to look in-depth at the social context in which law operates.

On completion, you’ll be uniquely equipped to offer a critical perspective on issues such as the adequacy of our criminal justice system, the legal treatment of women and minority groups, and the underlying causes of social and economic injustice.

The Business & Law (BBL) degree is a popular choice for many students and is extremely well regarded by employers across the legal and financial communities. The degree is a ‘double major’ which means it combines law and business in a single degree, providing an ideal skill-set for the commercial world and offering valuable career flexibility.

If you choose this degree, you will undertake business and law modules in equal measure for your first three years in both the UCD Sutherland School of Law and the UCD Quinn School of Business. This allows you to gain a deep understanding of both disciplines while offering you the opportunity to choose in final year which area interests you most for your career progression.

Criminology is the study of crime, the causes of crime and its impact on individuals and society. This unique new degree is designed to provide students with an advanced conceptual knowledge of Criminology and Psychology, an insight into the contribution of both disciplines to understanding key aspects of human behaviour and an ability to appraise the methodologies used in both areas

The Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) is a globally recognised business degree, designed for ambitious and achievement-orientated students who want to make a significant impact in the business world. Combining strong theoretical understanding with the practical skills needed for graduate employment, students are assured of a challenging and relevant programme for the modern business world.

You’ll learn to become an independent and critical thinker and a cogent and compelling communicator; with the skills to work seamlessly in groups; to develop the technical and mathematical skills to analyse and make sense of business data and intelligence.

Commerce International (BCIT) combines a flexible business education from Ireland’s leading business school with the linguistic skills and cultural understanding to succeed in the exciting world of international business. Students of the BCIT course are well-grounded in the theory and practice of business management and equipped to understand and comment critically on business issues.

To achieve a truly global perspective on business, it is necessary to immerse yourself in the culture and not just learn the vocabulary. As part of the course, BCIT students will also take a range of literature and culture modules from the UCD School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics.

Some examples of modules currently on offer include French New Wave Cinema, Surrealism in Spain and Mexico, Grimm’s Tales, Italian Cinema and Society. 

If you have a strong interest or ability in economics, maths and statistics, this degree provides everything you need for a future career in the areas of financial economics, banking and finance. Recognised as one of the premier degrees in its field in Ireland and internationally, it equips students with outstanding expertise in quantitative methods, analytical skills and a rigorous preparation in economics and finance. The skills that the course develops are valuable on their own in many careers and provide the essential background for learning Economics and Finance.

The world around us is undergoing significant changes due to digitization and deployment of Artificial Intelligence. Today we are more interconnected than ever before. As we navigate this new social landscape, we leave behind digital footprints that can be analyzed and interpreted through the lens of Computational Social Science.

This field of study leverages the power of big data, computer simulations, and social network analysis to gain insights into social phenomena and individual behaviour.

If you are interested in Mathematics, Statistics and Economics, then this course enables you to explore these areas in depth, while also emphasising how they complement each other.

Economists employ mathematics to design theoretical models and use statistics to test these models and to explore the tremendous amount of data that is generated by the economy. In turn, the models and data that are part of the study of Economics provide an interesting source of applications for students that have learned mathematical and statistical skills.

PPE provides a broad and deep understanding of how a society works, and indeed how international society works. It examines the complex economic and political forces in play, the problems of measuring and assessing the health of society, and the principles of justice that should guide political decision-making to improve society.

PPE will teach students how to read beyond media headlines, and where to find more information about the hot policy questions of the day, in national and international contexts.

Social Sciences students explore society and how people behave as individuals and in groups. With the four-year Social Sciences degree, you choose DN700 at CAO and then select your preferred option below. Your subject choices are guaranteed.

The Two Subjects Choice (TSC) options are: Archaeology; Economics; Geography; Information & Communication Studies, Philosophy; Politics and Sociology.

There are options to change subject choices at the end of first year if you wish. You will gain a deep understanding of each subject you choose to study and develop real-world skills in research, communication and leadership. You may additionally apply for an internship, or study abroad for a year or a semester. You will learn to analyse, criticise and challenge beliefs and assumptions - including your own.

If you study Archaeology, you will see the world, time and the human condition in an entirely new way. Archaeology is a uniquely multidisciplinary subject, using all sources of evidence from the past, from ancient manuscripts to the scientific analysis of plants, animals and materials.

Through undertaking Archaeology as a degree, you will learn how to assess, explain and make connections between different types of evidence that will allow you to develop a deeper understanding about the past.

Students will also develop practical skills valued by employers, such as report writing, teamwork, presentation, communication and analytical skills.