International Relations and Law & Society

jenreily89

just wondering if there is anyone on here that is already in these courses and can tell me what they are like...very interested in both and unsure which to put first !!


and i am also apllying through fetac and i am wondering if anyone did the same ? and if so how many distinctions did they get ?:)

thanks....:D

arryanna

Hi, I'm a first year in Law and Society! First things first, we've never had any society classes. None of us quite know why the course is called it, its basically a pure law course.

If you want to do well you have got to cover the reading list, theres no way around this unfortunately. The people who covet the top marks normally make extensive use of articles and cases that one finds themselves just by doing solid research. At the beginning of the year its nothing short of terrifying, you start work on day one and assignments all come at you at once. A lot of people were scared at first, but theres a module that helps you overcome this fear; Foundations of Law and Legal Research is a year long module designed to help you to adjust to law and how to study it. I don't know how anyone studies law without such a class, you learn how to find cases, how to make a legal argument and the weekly tutorials keep you working and on your feet.

This is a demanding course, if you're coming to college to go out every night of the week and have the time of your life then you'll fail or end up dropping out, and believe me we're shedding numbers already. Its only three years so the workload and standard is high, the lecturers aren't there to go easy on you thats for sure. But, if you do work and are interested in some way then its the best course ever. Its challenging, but nothing in this life is worth it unless you have to fight for it! Everyone in it is really friendly and we're all in the same boat so there's always someone around to have a good old rant about the amount of reading/assignments to do!

Also, the course has been recognised by the Kings Inns and BlackHall Place, so if you want to go down the solicitor/barrister route, you're coming to the right place! The Law course is only two years old here in DCU and because of this the school of law and gov. are putting in an awful lot of effort to make it a success and get us noticed. Its a very exciting time to be apart of the school as its always got something happening, be it moot court competitions, opportunities to write for legal journals and so on and so forth!

So, if you're up for a challenge and want a good solid undergraduate degree at the end of your tree years, put BCL first on your CAO

arryanna

Sorry, forgot about the fetec aspect. No experience with this so cant help

Wolfe Tone

I think arryanna has described it as a wee bit more difficult and daunting than it actually is tbh.

"Always got something happening"? Maybe I sleep too much and miss that, but I wouldn't regard that as an accurate description. I wouldn't be relying on the course itself to give you things to do... join clubs n socs!

Its a fun course and I enjoy it. You get as much out of it as you put in tbh.

Here is a few points from me anyway...


First of all there is the timetable. There are a number of days where you are in for only an hour or two.... Huge pain to travel distances just for one hour for some people, something to be mindful of, its fine for me, but others, not so much. I would prefer fuller days, very easy to justify missing one lecture, 3/4? Not as much.

Assignments: Some are group work. Mostly this is fine, however in some modules you are assigned a group. Luckily everyone in BCL this year is real sound, however there is the prospect you could be lumped with someone you hate. Also some group sizes are simply too big. The logistics of assembling a 7 person group, spread across two courses once or twice a week is an unwelcome hassle. Be prepared to group work.

Personally I found the beginning grand, was a nice easy break in. Assignments tend to pile up though pretty quickly, try to keep on top of them. Realistically that probably wont happen, but try.(I should take my own advice here)

The library sucks big time. Very few copies of each book and they disappear around assignment/exam time. Be prepared to have to buy some yourself(approx 100quid a book!!!) On top of that the library fine system is farcical. Clearly designed to leech money from students, its a disgrace.

Foundations of law and legal research is a good module, very handy in the beginning to help you get to grips.

The amount of reading prescribed: If you did it all you would never do anything else. I dont do it all, I applaud anyone who does.

Lecturers: They all seem nice, approachable people, some are harder to understand than others though(or then again maybe thats the subject they teach).

Tutorials: These are good, give you a chance to ask questions etc in a more relaxed environment. Go to these, athough I question marks being docked for not going to these, I wouldnt be a fan of that.



Overall I would describe the course as fun and challenging. Go for it! If I think of anything else Il post it up

jenreily89

hey chaps....thanks for the info much appreciated


its sounds along the lines of what im looking for although id say ill be having a few sociables if i hit it up !!

ldxo15wus6fpgm

I'm also 1st year L&S... going to have to disagree with that poster, I'm not quite sure who it is?

arryanna wrote: »

Hi, I'm a first year in Law and Society! First things first, we've never had any society classes. None of us quite know why the course is called it, its basically a pure law course.

If you want to do well you have got to cover the reading list, theres no way around this unfortunately. Not quite true, I got a 2:1 in torts and couldn't get my hands on any of the books on the reading list - if you do end up coming here next year don't worry if you can't get a copy of whatever book, there's always something else. As Wolfe Tone said the library is disgraceful for law books, hopefully it will get better soon, it is a new course after all Foundations of Law and Legal Research is a year long module designed to help you to adjust to law and how to study it. I don't know how anyone studies law without such a class, While it was handy at the start, it's become slightly irrelevant in my opinion, generally once you've learned how to reference, find journals etc. there's not much more that class can do for you

This is a demanding course, if you're coming to college to go out every night of the week and have the time of your life then you'll fail or end up dropping out, definitely going to have to disagree with this, I've gone on tons of nights out, and I passed all my assignments and the xmas exams. Once you know when to get the head down and when it's ok to go on a week long boozing session you'll be fine. I actually did quite well considering!

The Law course is only two years old here in DCU and because of this the school of law and gov. are putting in an awful lot of effort to make it a success and get us noticed. Its a very exciting time to be apart of the school as its always got something happening, be it moot court competitions, opportunities to write for legal journals and so on and so forth! Just going to note something here, if you do decide to enter yourself for this kind of stuff you will be making life a lot harder for yourself... I'd wait until second year when you've got a more steady footing in your subjects. Trying to finish writing a submission for a moot court competition on a contract issue while simultaneously working on an assignment in say, criminal law, could get very confusing. You will have more than enough academic work to keep you busy without optional stuff!

So, if you're up for a challenge and want a good solid undergraduate degree at the end of your tree years, put BCL first on your CAO

It is a pretty tough course, but it's manageable and at the end of the day any degree that's worth something is going to be a challenge. We do get very few hours per week (we had 10 last semester and had mondays off, between 12-14 this semester) which is a big bonus, although it made getting to know the rest of the class a little harder during the first few weeks. Also it's only 3 years, which has positives and negatives. Overall it's a good course and I'd recommend it, I'm happy with it even though I'm looking at handing in 4 assignments over the next 5 weeks

Wolfe Tone

I'm actually gonna go out and say that the post reads as if someone from the college asked the poster to put something up. Hopefully I am wrong.

ldxo15wus6fpgm

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

I'm actually gonna go out and say that the post reads as if someone from the college asked the poster to put something up. Hopefully I am wrong.

I was thinking that myself actually! Reads like a brochure