Political Science & Law
Political Science is the study of governments, public policies and political behaviours. Politics affects us all in our daily lives. It is easy to think of issues that we all have opinions about.
The law degree will appeal to you if you are interested in society and how it works, and with the broader question of the regulation of inter-personal relationships. A general interest in history and political developments, will be an advantage, as the law is deeply linked to its historical and political context. However given the wide range of legal modules on offer, this degree attracts students with a broad range of interests.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | University of Dublin |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | University of Dublin | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
4 years full-time
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Minimum Entry Requirements: Irish Leaving Certificate
To be considered for admission to a degree course at the University you must:
Present six subjects, three of which must be at grade 5 or above on higher Leaving Certificate papers or at least grade 5 in the University matriculation examination.
The six subjects above must include:
A pass in English.
A pass in mathematics (or foundation-level mathematics (see note 2)) and a pass in a language other than English
OR
A pass in Latin and a pass in a subject other than a language.
Specific Subjects Required
Law
None
Political Science
None
Leaving Certificate General Entry Requirements
To qualify for admission to an honours degree course at the University you must:
1 meet the minimum entry requirements (see above).
2 satisfy course specific requirements (where applicable), see above.
3 where there is competition for places, have good enough examination results to be included among those to whom offers are made (see the Leaving Certificate scoring system or Advanced GCE (A Level) scoring system).
Minimum Entry Requirements: Irish Leaving Certificate
To be considered for admission to a degree course at the University applicants must:
› Present six subjects, three of which must be at grade 5 or above on higher Leaving Certificate papers or at least grade 5 in the University matriculation examination.
The six subjects above must include:
› A pass in English.
› A pass in mathematics (or foundation-level mathematics (see note 2)) and a pass in a language other than English OR
› A pass in Latin and a pass in a subject other than a language.
Notes:
1 A pass means grade O6/H7 or above in the Leaving Certificate and grade 7 or above in the University matriculation examination.
2 Mathematics at foundation-level is acceptable for minimum entry requirements only, for all courses except nursing or midwifery courses. Irish at foundation-level is not acceptable for minimum entry requirements, course requirements or for scoring purposes.
3 Students may combine grades achieved in different sittings of their Leaving Certificate/Matriculation examinations for the purpose of satisfying minimum entry and/or course requirements, but not for the purposes of scoring. This is not permitted for Medicine.
4 Combinations of Leaving Certificate subjects not permitted:
› Physics/chemistry may not be presented with physics or chemistry.
› Biology and agricultural science may not be presented as two of the six subjects required for minimum entry requirements, and they may not be presented together to satisfy course specific requirements. However, both may be used for scoring purposes.
› Art and music may not be offered as two of the three higher Leaving Certificate grades for minimum entry requirements, but both may be used for scoring purposes.
Bonus Points for Higher Level Mathematics
All students presenting H6 or above in higher level mathematics will have 25 points added to their score for mathematics. The bonus points will only be relevant where mathematics is scored as one of a student’s six best subjects for points purposes.
An applicant’s six best results from one sitting of the Leaving Certificate will be counted for scoring purposes. Applicants may combine results from the Leaving Certificate and the Trinity matriculation examination of the same year for scoring purposes.
The minimum entry levels (points) for Trinity in recent years are available at: www.tcd.ie/study/apply/admission-requirements/ undergraduate
Age Requirement
Applicants seeking admission in 2025 must have a date of birth before 15 January 2009.
Garda Vetting
Students on courses with clinical or other professional placements may be required to undergo Garda vetting procedures prior to commencing placements. If, as a result of the outcome of the Garda vetting procedures, students are deemed unsuitable to attend clinical or other professional placement, they may be required to withdraw from their course. Students who have resided outside Ireland for a period of 6 months or more will be required to provide police clearance documentation from the country (including different states) or countries in which they resided.
Students who accept an offer will be informed of the procedures to be followed to complete the vetting process (as part of the student orientation information).
Fitness To Practice
Professional courses demand that certain core competencies are met by students in order to graduate and practice professionally after qualification. Trinity has special responsibility to ensure that all students admitted to all professional programmes will be eligible for registration by the relevant professional body upon graduation. It is important to us that our students are able to fulfil the rigorous demands of professional courses and are fit to practice.
Health Screening
Offers of admission to the following courses are made subject to certain vaccination requirements and/or certain negative test results:
› Clinical Speech and Language Studies
› Orthodontic Therapy, Dental Science, Dental Hygiene, Dental Nursing, and Dental Technology
› Medicine › Nursing and Midwifery
› Occupational Therapy
› Pharmacy
› Physiotherapy
› Radiation Therapy
› Social Studies (Social work)
Full details are available at: www.tcd.ie/study/apply/admissionrequirements/ undergraduate
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
These modules are accepted for scoring purposes only and are awarded the following points: Distinction 66, Merit 46, Pass 28.
QQI FET Applicants General Information
There is an entry route to a number of degree programmes in Trinity for applicants presenting appropriate QQI/FET Level 5 or 6 Major Awards. Applicants presenting distinctions in five modules can be considered for admission.
Full information on courses with QQI entry routes, requirements etc., can be found at the link below.
Careers / Further progression
Political Science
Graduate skills and career opportunities
There are careers for which a demonstrated interest in politics and advanced research skills are a definite plus and will give you a real head start. Journalism, finance, the civil service, public relations, business, and work in international organisations and NGOs, all come into this category. A demonstrated knowledge of how the world works is obviously an asset for many types of career. In addition, Political Science students develop exceptional communication, writing and critical thinking skills which are highly sought after by employers. An increasing number of graduates go on to do further postgraduate study.
Law
Graduate skills and career opportunities
Trinity’s LL.B. degrees prepare students not only for life as lawyers, but also enables them to enter many career fields such as business, journalism, accountancy, banking, insurance, politics, foreign affairs and public policy, both in Ireland and abroad. The skills learned through studying law are useful in all walks of life. A law degree teaches students to think logically and analytically. It also equips students with the ability to carry out research, to apply relevant information to problems, to use language precisely, carefully, and objectively.
Further information
Mature Students
All undergraduate courses in Trinity are open to mature applicants. Mature student applicants are not required to satisfy the normal minimum entry requirements and are not required to meet competitive academic entry levels (such as Leaving Certificate points), but are considered in the first instance on the basis of how relevant their life, work and educational experiences are to the course(s) that they wish to pursue. In addition, all applicants should demonstrate an interest in and knowledge of their course choice(s).
In order to apply to Trinity as a mature applicant you must:
› be an EU applicant (see page 216 TCD Undergraduate Prospectus 2025)
› be at least 23 years of age on 1 January 2025
› submit a CAO application form to the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 1 February 2025
Late applications will not be considered from mature students.
CAO applications may be made online at: www.cao.ie
Further information about applying through the CAO as a mature student can be found www.
For information on Alternative Entry Routes go to: https://www.tcd.ie/study/apply/alternative-paths-to-trinity/
Entry 2025
Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20 January 2025 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1 February 2025 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2025 CAO Handbook): Fee: €60 Closing Date: 1 May 2025 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2025 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2025 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2025. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2025, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2025 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2025 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €60 applies.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2025 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
What is Political Science?
Political Science is the study of governments, public policies and political behaviours. Politics affects us all in our daily lives. It is easy to think of issues that we all have opinions about. Should the government tax the rich to try to achieve greater equality? Should it introduce ‘green taxes’ in order to protect the environment? How high a priority should development aid be? What are the causes and consequences of ‘Brexit’? Questions such as these, along with analysis of political systems, political behaviour, international relations and how democracy works, are at the heart of the study of political science.
The study of politics as an academic subject involves, among other things, thinking about how these decisions get made. If it is not possible to keep everyone happy, whose views should prevail and why? If governments do not always make what seems to be the most ‘rational’ decision on economic policy, why not? How much say do ordinary people have in policymaking, and is it feasible to make the decision making process more open? Other big questions we study include issues such as: why don’t democracies go to war with each other? Why do civil wars last so long? Why are ethnic conflicts more difficult to resolve then other forms of conflict?
Political Science: The course for you?
Political Science will appeal to students who are excited about exploring the background to current events, the nature and use of power and how decisions are made that impact on wider society. If you are interested in having an in-depth knowledge of public affairs, developing critical and much sought after research skills and if your career interests lie in journalism, public service, teaching, public policy, international organisation and/or business then Political Science may be for you.
What is Law?
Law governs every aspect of our lives, from food labelling and football transfers to elections and crime. It regulates our social life from the contracts that we make when we buy products to the laws that determine when people can be jailed for committing criminal offences, and through to significant political decisions, such as constitutional reforms on marriage or abortion. As a law student, you will learn what laws are, how they work and how they change.
Do you enjoy…
Solving problems using critical thinking?
Debating important social issues?
Expressing an argument clearly and articulately?
Law: The course for you?
The law degree will appeal to you if you are interested in society and how it works, how we regulate the relationships between people. Given the wide range of legal modules, the degree attracts students with a broad range of interests. Those interested in politics are attracted to subjects such as constitutional law. Those interested in business are attracted to subjects as company law and commercial law. Those concerned about injustice, whether at an international or national level, will be attracted to subjects such as international human rights, environmental law, and public interest law. In truth, most students have overlapping interests.
Further professional qualifications
No law degree entitles a person to practise law as a solicitor or barrister. If you wish to go on to obtain a professional qualification, the governing bodies for the profession require that you study certain modules in your primary law degree. Our Single and Joint Honours Law degree programmes are designed to ensure you have the opportunity to take these required modules. Students reading for a Joint Honours Law programme, who would like to go into professional legal practice after their degree, will need to ensure they pursue the professional pathway (taking Law as a Major subject) from the second year of onwards. Our programmes also offer additional modules currently required for entry into the UK professional bodies.
All students considering a career as a lawyer should consult the relevant professional body of their preferred jurisdiction to ensure they satisfy all entry requirements.
Political Science
First and second years
First year students will be given a grounding in core topics related to the course material, including an introduction to the concepts of political science, sociology, and economics.
In the second year students will advance their understanding of the core concepts covered in the first year to take in modules such as: History of Political Thought; International Relations; and Comparative Politics.
Third and fourth years
The following is a list of the modules typically on offer: Research Methods; Irish Politics; Democracy and Development; European Union Politics; Political Institutions of the US; Political Psychology; Political Violence; Political Theory: Contemporary Topics; Issues in Contemporary Politics; Contemporary International Relation; African Politics; Autocracy; and Economic Inequality and Democracy.
Some courses are examined by a combination of assessed essays and formal examination; some others are assessed through coursework only. Normally, each course has two hours of lectures and one tutorial per week. In fourth year, students specialising in Political Science will have the opportunity to research and undertake a Capstone research project on a topic of their choice. Final year classes are typically run as small group seminars.
There are QQI/FET routes available for this course. Please see www.cao.ie for details.
Study abroad
The Department of Political Science is a partner in Erasmus exchanges with the Institut d’ Études Politiques in Strasbourg and Paris, the University of Zurich, the University of Bologna and the University of Mannheim. Students taking Political Science as a subject in Joint Honours may also go abroad on an exchange administered by other departments, subject to approval of their course of study abroad by the Department of Political Science. In addition there are opportunities for students to go on one of several international exchanges. These are open to all students on a university-wide basis. Further information on student exchanges can be found at: www.tcd.ie/study/study-abroad/outbound/ options
Law
Your degree and what you’ll study
Law at Trinity College Dublin is a four-year Honours programme. In the first two years, you will take foundational and professional modules, ensuring there is an appropriate balance between the academic and practical aspects of law. The Single Honours degree in law offers students the opportunity to study law in depth and breadth – with a wide offering of modules available to choose from in your final years of studies. This allows you to tailor your studies to develop specialised areas of interest—in, for example, media law and Intellectual property law, corporate law or human rights law—or to continue down a general route. You will apply and enhance the research skills that you have developed in the previous three years of the programme by completing a Capstone Project. Working as part of a research group, you will work both independently and collaboratively to explore in-depth a topical issue. You will learn the skills of a lawyer: how to research the law, how to make legal arguments, how to use the law to protect and serve your clients.
A distinctive feature of the Single Honours law degree is that you will also complete some modules outside of the School of Law. This will give you the opportunity to choose to study modules in a related discipline, or an unrelated discipline that is of interest to you. This is relevant both if you choose to pursue a career in the legal profession or if you follow an alternative career path.
Clinical legal education module
The Law School has long recognised the value of practical, skills-based training. Clinical legal education offers students a valuable opportunity to learn more deeply about the law by gaining practical legal experience. Offered in the final year, 35-40 students undertake a placement in a legal practice setting in a partner organisation in the private, public or not-for-profit sectors. Students also attend a lawyering class in which they develop their understanding of professional legal skills and legal ethics. We are privileged to have many of the leading legal practice settings in the State, in each of the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, among our partner organisations which offer placements. The lawyering class complements the placement by enabling students to identify and develop the skills, values and knowledge which is necessary for making the transition from the academic study of law to its application in a real world setting.
Assessment in law degrees is by a combination of coursework and semester examinations. As a reflection of the different teaching practices, a diverse range of assessment methods is used, including case notes, essays, mock trials, reflective journals, mock parliaments, contribution to web-discussion boards, response papers and research dissertations. Students are advised at the beginning of the teaching semester about the assessment methods in each module.
There are QQI/FET routes available for this course. Please see www.cao.ie for details.
Study abroad and internship opportunities
Third year students may apply to study abroad in a prestigious European university with the EU funded Erasmus programme. We also have links with leading universities in North America, Australia, Hong Kong and China which you may choose to apply to spend a semester or year in. These programmes are highly successful and are an extremely popular amongst our students each year.
Further information on the year abroad programme,and a list of partner universities, can be found at: www.tcd.ie/law/programmes/undergraduate/study-abroad
www.tcd.ie/law/programmes/undergraduate
E law.school@tcd.ie
www.tcd.ie/political_science www.tcd.ie/political_science/undergraduate
E polsci@tcd.ie