On the LLM (Children's Rights and Family Law), you will be exposed to the law and theory on child and family law in Ireland and internationally. At the same time you will get a rare insight into various aspects of the law in action by engaging with social workers, legal professionals and others. You will work with scholars who have a track record of outstanding scholarship on legal issues relating to children and the family. You will have the opportunity to become involved in UCC’s innovative Child Law Clinic where you can provide research assistance to lawyers on real cases, helping to make a contribution to the quality of advocacy on children’s issues, and lobbying for the reform of child law and children’s rights. Applicants for the LLM (Children's Rights and Family Law) Degree also have the option of registering for a Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Children's Rights and Family Law). Students take 60 credits of taught masters’ modules from those on offer for the LLM (Children's Rights and Family Law). The Postgraduate Diploma can be completed over 9 months full-time or 18 months part-time. Those who wish to apply for the Diploma should contact lawpostgrad@ucc.ie for application details. This shorter programme may be attractive to legal professionals and others who may prefer not to make an initial commitment to a full master’s programme. Graduates of the Postgraduate Diploma may further progress their studies by completing a 15,000 word research dissertation and graduating with a Masters in Law (LLM).

Skills and Careers Information As the only qualification of its kind in Ireland, graduates are uniquely qualified in the areas of child law and family law. As well as allowing legal professionals to specialise in these areas of legal practice, graduates of this degree are well equipped to work anywhere in the children’s sector – with government departments and agencies (in education, child protection, youth justice etc.), with non-governmental organisations (both nationally and internationally), or other bodies who work with children. Few statutory or children’s organisations have staff with legal expertise in the child and family law area and this is a significant gap in the sector.