This programme is intended for applicants with a degree in law or another relevant discipline, including the social and natural sciences. An upper second class honours NFQ Level 8 (GPA 3.08 or international equivalent) is required.
•Exemption may be given to those with significant, relevant, practical experience or those with a relevant graduate qualification.
English Language Requirements
Applicants whose first language is not English must submit satisfactory evidence of competence in written and spoken English, i.e. overall IELTS 6.5 (including a minimum of 6.5 in the reading and writing parts and no part below 6.0) or 90 in the TOEFL iBT (with a minimum of 22 (reading) and 24 (writing) and no part below 20.) The test results must be less than 2 years old.
Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the English language requirements, may enter the programme upon successful completion of UCD’s Pre-Sessional or International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information
http://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/
The School encourages all applicants whose first language is not English to attend the pre-sessional English programme offered by the UCD Applied Language Centre, details of which are available at
International applicants should visit the UCD International Office website (
An in-depth knowledge of environmental and climate law is invaluable to anyone with ambitions to build a meaningful career and make a contribution in this area. This online Masters will provide an unrivalled foundation to equip you with the key skills to become an environmental leader, including how to: Demonstrate a detailed awareness of current controversies in environmental and climate law. Have the intellectual toolkit required to research and write a major dissertation. Integrate source material from a variety of disciplinary areas to reach reasoned decisions about the relative status of competing claims to knowledge. Appreciate the strengths and limitations of key research methodologies. Unpack complex theoretical arguments to render key disciplinary insights intelligible to a non-specialist audience. Use knowledge of debates within the discipline and different methodological approaches to interpret empirical research findings and to critique research designs. Apply your knowledge and understanding of environmental and climate law, and your problem-solving abilities, in diverse legal scenarios. The aim of this programme is to equip graduates to work in the fields of climate and environmental law/policy, internationally or in Ireland, as a practising lawyer, legal adviser, policy maker, advocate, researcher, consultant or academic. Career opportunities exist for example in inter-governmental organisations (e.g. United Nations, European Union, Council of Europe), in government departments and agencies, in local government, in international and domestic non-governmental organisations and think tanks, and in leading planning and environmental consultancies and law firms. Masters students in UCD Sutherland School of Law can benefit from engaging both with the UCD Careers Network and the Head of Career Development in the School. There are careers events hosted through the academic year and a specific Law Fair every October where Domestic and International Employers come on campus to meet with students. For students based overseas undertaking this programme, they should ensure that they are registered with the UCD Careers Network to engage with online careers events or watch back previous recorded videos. Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information. Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.