UCC LLM

Cole

Does anyone have any opinions/experiences of the general LLM in Cork?

The subject choice available is very appealing to me, as there is a lot of public law/interest areas catered for. I'm already familiar with some of Deirdre Madden and Mary Donnelly's academic work and the other academic staff seem impressive also.

I have not attended UCC before, so any opinions of the law school in general would also be appreciated.

Thanks.

Cole

Anyone?

Abstar

Hi Cole,

I did my undergrad law degree in UCC - majority of lecturers are fantastic. Along with the 2 you've mentioned, Fidelma White (Commercial), Shane Kilcummins (Criminal), John Mee (Equity/Property law areas) are all excellent. Few other 'legends' around the place as well! In an LLM (I did mine in UCD), one of the most important things is selecting your thesis title and obviously, the area of law you choose will determine which lecturer will be your supervisor. A common complaint amongst my classmates in UCD (and certainly it was my experience also) was that their supervisor gave absolutely no input, didn't read rough drafts of the work, made no recommendations, and generally seemed unwilling to help etc. (Now, of course there are a few exceptions, but like I say, it was a common experience - I never even met my supervisor for example!). In UCC, I also did a thesis at one point, and there was a big difference in the approach towards supervising. Again, it will depend on the lecturer you choose but friends who did the LLM in UCC never mentioned the supervisor as a problem.

So - that's my tuppence worth. UCC does have an excellent law faculty, decent computer access and (when I was there - might have changed) free printing. Decent library - always at least one copy of the texts on desk reserve so that helps. Some law students have a rep for removing useful pages from the books though and hiding important books on the other floors etc! Lovely atmosphere in the University itself, nice setting and Cork is a nice city.

I have heard that there is a perceived bias in the big Dublin firms towards students from Dublin Universities. I can't say for definite that it is the case but it is something you hear about so in that regard, maybe a masters from Dublin might be more advantageous (although that's nothing to do with the quality of either Cork or Dublin). The truth is though that so many people have masters now that it doesn't really set you apart in any way when it comes to the job hunt. Purely from an interest in law point of view, it's a nice way to spend a year and Cork is a great place to be.

Hope this helps. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Cole

Thanks for the reply Abstar.

I've always had a good impression of the law faculty in Cork and many of the subject areas in the general LLM really suit my interests.

I don't want to do a Masters just for the sake of it. My decision is based on course content and lecturers, regardless of where the Masters is based.
I take your point about the perceived bias re. Dublin universities, but that would not sway me in the slightest. I have utter contempt for that kind of mentality.

The general LLM in Trinity, for example, has a dreadful subject choice imo. I have no doubt that there are some who will still choose it, however disinterested they are in the actual content, just because it's a Trinity Masters...each to their own.

bella.donna

Like Abstar, I did both my BCL and LLM in UCC. I would also highly recommend it. As far as the course itself is concerned, there is a huge variety of modules. You do 6 - a maximum of 4 in one term but most people do three per semester - and a thesis of 12,500 words. You mention that you're interested in public law and there's a huge emphasis on public and human rights law in the Law Faculty.

Both Siobhán Mulally and Siobhán Wills teach there and both have great reputations. Never had Siobhán Wills for any class and I had Siobhán Mulally for Human Rights at undergrad; she's a good lecturer but I've heard she engages much more with people at postgrad level. She was just named a Fulbright Scholar for Columbia in NY and Temple. Between them, they teach Immigration and Refugee Law, International Criminal Law and International Humanitarian Law. The Medical Law module is also good but having never studied it at undergrad level, I found it tough. Mary Donnelly is great! If you're interested in the criminal aspect of public law, there is also the LLM (Criminal Justice).

As for the thesis, you have to submit a title by the middle of November. My own supervisor was great and none of my friends who did the LLM ever had any problems with their supervisors.

The only thing I really disliked about the LLM in UCC was the lack of subjects that really interested me. I'm interested in EU law and environmental law and in retrospect, I probably should have gone somehwere else as EU law is not UCC's forte. But you don't seem to have that problem! It's a nice campus, good library and Cork is a great city to live in!

PM me if you have any more questions.

hada

OP, you mentioned you're into public law - why not look at the Public Law LLM at NUIG? I know quite a number of students who did it last year and quite a number of them have/are going towards PhDs, jobs with the Law Reform Commission, clerking for judges, commercial law firms, etc etc

Cole

Thanks for the feedback bella.donna.

hada wrote: »

OP, you mentioned you're into public law - why not look at the Public Law LLM at NUIG?

I thought that Masters would be the obvious choice for me, but the subjects appear very abstract and theoretical...not for me.
I'm more interested in the practical side of things and with the broad subject choice in Cork, I think it is possible to do a more practical LLM with a public law emphasis.

partyguinness

I considered UCC for an LLM but as my interests are in EU law I am looking elsewhere.

I found Birmingham Univeristy has an excellant choice but that is prob not possible for you and in the top 10 ranking Law Departments in the UK.

bella.donna

partyguinness wrote: »

I considered UCC for an LLM but as my interests are in EU law I am looking elsewhere.

I found Birmingham Univeristy has an excellant choice but that is prob not possible for you and in the top 10 ranking Law Departments in the UK.

Thanks for mentioning Birmingham; had never thought of it. If you're interested in EU Law, the TCD LLM programme has a lot of EU modules: consumer law, European environmental law, public procurement. I'd be interested in doing it but personally, I don't really see the point in doing 2 LLMs. But if I still don't have a job by this time next year, then I might have to go back to college. Also, given your interest in EU law, have you thought about the College of Europe in Bruges? By any chance, did you do your degree in UCC? One of the EU lecturers has links with the College of Europe