Master's Degrees

The Diploma Centre offers two well-regarded master’s degrees: the LLM Advanced Legal Practice and the LLM Employment Law in Practice.

LLM Advanced Legal Practice 

Our LLM Advanced Legal Practice, offered in partnership with the Law School at Leeds Beckett University, is specifically designed for those who are qualified solicitors. Uniquely the LLM provides you with the opportunity of using your solicitor qualification as a building block to achieve recognised academic qualifications. 

Leeds Beckett University

Programme structure 

Building upon your solicitor qualification, the programme provides the ideal opportunity for professional development in a specialised area of law. Candidates undertake in-depth study of an agreed legal topic under individual tutor supervision. The programme begins with an Induction day and is taught primarily through distance learning, with supervisors predominantly based in the Law Society. The programme lasts for one year and is designed to allow students the flexibility to complete the LLM in keeping with their work commitments.

The LLM Advanced Legal Practice focuses on legal research and coherent presentation of legal research in a written form. You will begin by attending a course induction day onsite in the Law Society, during which the Legal Research and Study Skills unit of the programme will be introduced.  This unit is not assessed but is designed to update your writing and research skills. For the remainder of the programme, you will complete a dissertation. The topic of study is of your choosing, but generally must relate to an area of Irish law and there must be an appropriate tutor available to support you. The possibility also exists of you choosing a topic relating to international jurisdictions if there is internal expertise to supervise the topic.

Audience

Applicants must either be:

  • qualified as a solicitor in this jurisdiction, or  
  • enrolled on the PPC at the same time as they enrol to the LLM Advanced Legal Practice and be expected to complete their training within the academic year.  Any student enrolled on the PPC at the same time as the LLM must satisfactorily complete the PPC before they can be awarded the LLM.

To apply

Applications for this course are closed. If you are interested in applying for a future offering of the course, please register here for our Interested List.

LLM Employment Law in Practice 

Programme overview

Our LLM Employment Law in Practice is specifically designed for those who have completed our Diploma in Employment Law. Uniquely the LLM provides you with the opportunity of using the Diploma in Employment Law as a building block to achieve a further recognised academic qualification.

Programme structure

Building upon the Diploma in Employment Law, the programme provides the ideal opportunity for professional development in a specialised area of employment law. Candidates undertake in-depth study of an agreed legal topic under individual tutor supervision. The programme is taught primarily through distance learning, with supervisors predominantly based in the Law Society. The programme lasts for one year, a timescale designed to allow students flexibility to complete the LLM in keeping with their work commitments.

The programme focuses on legal research and coherent presentation of legal research in a written form. You will begin by attending a course induction day onsite in the Law Society, during which the Legal Research and Study Skills unit of the programme will be introduced.  This unit is not assessed but is designed to update your writing and research skills. For the remainder of the programme you will complete a dissertation.. The topic of study is of your choosing, but generally must relate to an area of Irish employment law and there must be an appropriate tutor available to support you. The possibility also exists of you choosing an employment law topic relating to international jurisdictions if there is internal expertise to supervise the topic.

Who should attend

Those who have completed the Diploma Centre’s Diploma in Employment Law are eligible to apply for the LLM Employment Law in Practice. 

To apply

Applications for the 2024 offering of this course will open shortly. If you are interested in applying for a future offering of the course, please register here for our Interested List.

Why complete a Master's programme?

Apart from the personal satisfaction of gaining a Master's, the programme provides career benefits through focus on skills that are directly relevant to the needs of a modern work setting, including

  • The development of existing expertise and knowledge;
  • The opportunity to gain expertise in a new area;
  • Enhancement of skills in research and legal analysis; and
  • Enhanced understanding of the wider context in which the law is developed and is implemented.