DCU law school is offering a new masters’ degree in data protection and privacy law from this September.

The growth of the digital economy has resulted in personal data processing becoming a global industry of enormous value, DCU law lecturer Dr Aisling De Paor told Gazette.ie.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect in May 2018, protects EU privacy rights and harmonises data protection law across the EU.

GDPR impact

The new regulation changes the way in which personal data must be collected, stored and processed, and this impacts upon a vast number of sectors.

“Data privacy has become an important concern for businesses, internet users, lawyers and public bodies,” Dr De Paor (pictured) said.

The MA in Data Protection and Privacy Law is an inter-disciplinary degree run jointly by the School of Law and Government and the School of Computing.

The aim of the programme is to combine the university’s expertise in law and computing to provide students with advanced expertise in the technological and legal aspects of data protection and privacy law.

Competitive assessment

Successful applicants will be honours post-grads in computing or related fields or will be graduates with significant experience in software development.

Law stream applicants will be expected to have an upper second in law or an interdisciplinary degree that includes law as a significant component.

Applicants who have not achieved a H2.1 may apply, but applications will be assessed on a competitive basis.

The cost is €6,950 for EU students.