Every Irish law degree — from pure LLB to BCL with languages — mapped side by side. Universities, technological universities, and private colleges. CAO codes, 2025 points, degree structures, professional pathways, and the route to qualifying as a solicitor or barrister.
In Ireland, both the BCL (Bachelor of Civil Law) and LLB (Bachelor of Laws) are full qualifying law degrees — they lead to exactly the same professional outcomes. The naming is historical: UCD, UCC, and DCU use "BCL," while TCD, Maynooth, UL, TU Dublin, and Galway use "LLB." Some universities also offer combined law degrees (law with business, languages, criminology) under the same CAO code. All accredited programmes qualify graduates to sit the Law Society FE-1 exams or the King's Inns entrance examination.
| UNIVERSITY | CAO CODE | PROGRAMME | DEGREE | YEARS | 2025 R1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCD | TR004 | Law | LLB | 4 | 578 |
| TCD | TR018 | Law and French | LLB | 4 | 592 |
| TCD | TR019 | Law and German | LLB | 4 | 541 |
| UCD | DN600 | Law (BCL with 8 pathway options) | BCL | 4 | 567 |
| UCD | DN610 | Business and Law | BBL | 4 | 566 |
| UCC | CK301 | Law (Pathways: Clinical / International) | BCL | 3–4 | 532 |
| UCC | CK302 | Law and French | BCL | 4 | 532 |
| UCC | CK304 | Law and Irish | BCL | 4 | 542 |
| UCC | CK307 | Law and Business | BCL | 4 | 566 |
| UL | LM027 | Common and Civil Law | LLB | 4 | 518 |
| UL | LM029 | Law Plus (with second subject) | LLB | 4 | 510 |
| UL | LM020 | Law and Accounting | BCL | 4 | 444 |
| DCU | DC232 | Law and Society (BCL) — includes INTRA placement | BCL | 4 | 496 |
| Galway | GY250 | Law (BCL) and Business | BCL | 3 | Check CAO |
| Galway | GY251 | Law (BCL) | BCL | 3 | Check CAO |
| Maynooth | MH501 | Law (LLB) — pure law, 4-year | LLB | 4 | Check CAO |
| Maynooth | MH502 | BCL (Arts / Business / Criminology / Accounting) | BCL | 3 | Check CAO |
| Maynooth | MH503 | BCL Law and Languages (French/German/Spanish/Irish) | BCL | 4 | Check CAO |
Points shown are 2025 CAO Round 1 cut-offs. "Check CAO" = verify at cao.ie/points. All programmes are Level 8 and covered by the Free Fees Scheme for eligible EU students.
You don't need 500+ points to study law in Ireland. TU Dublin, SETU, ATU, TUS, Griffith College, and DBS all offer fully accredited law degrees — many with lower entry points and distinct practical advantages.
To sit the FE-1 exams (solicitor route) or the King's Inns entrance exam (barrister route), you need a recognised qualifying law degree that covers the eight core subjects: Constitutional Law, Contract, Tort, Criminal Law, Land/Property Law, Equity, EU Law, and Company Law. Every Level 8 LLB and BCL listed on this page meets this requirement. The institution name on your degree does not determine your career ceiling — your FE-1 results, training contract performance, and professional reputation do.
| Institution | CAO Code | Programme | Level | Duration | 2025 R1 Points | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TU Dublin | TU918 | Law (LLB) | L8 | 3 yrs | 420 | Grangegorman |
| TU917 | Law (LLB) with a Language | L8 | 4 yrs | 357 | Grangegorman | |
| TU904 | Business & Law | L8 | 4 yrs | 455 | Grangegorman | |
| SETU | SE404 | Law (LLB) | L8 | 4 yrs | 325 | Waterford |
| SE405 | Law (LLB) | L8 | 4 yrs | 300 | Carlow | |
| SE403 | Business with Law | L8 | 4 yrs | 271 | Carlow | |
| ATU | AU310 | LLB (Law) | L8 | 4 yrs | 326 | Letterkenny |
| AU311 | Corporate Law | L8 | 4 yrs | 301 | Letterkenny | |
| TUS | US837 | Law (LLB) | L8 | 4 yrs | 328 | Limerick |
| US850 | Law (LLB) | L8 | 4 yrs | 327 | Athlone | |
| US838 | Business & Law | L8 | 4 yrs | 295 | Limerick | |
| US848 | Business & Law | L8 | 4 yrs | 270 | Athlone | |
| Griffith College | GC403 | Law (LLB) | L8 | 3 yrs | 251 | Dublin |
| GC418 | Law — Criminal Justice | L8 | 3 yrs | 260 | Dublin | |
| GC419 | Law — Commercial Law | L8 | 3 yrs | 281 | Dublin | |
| DBS | DB568 | Law (LLB) | L8 | 3 yrs | 247 | Dublin |
| DB514 | Business Studies (Law) | L8 | 3 yrs | 260 | Dublin |
Points shown are 2025 CAO Round 1 cut-offs. Griffith College and DBS charge separate tuition fees (not covered by Free Fees Initiative). Check each institution's website for current fee schedules.
Students who enter through a 300-point programme sit the exact same FE-1 exams and complete the same professional training as those who entered on 580 points. No employer will ever see your CAO points — they care about your exam results, your training contract, your experience, and your ability to think clearly under pressure. The lower-points institutions on this page produce solicitors, barristers, corporate counsel, and legal professionals every year.
The CAO isn't the only route. If you missed the points, left school early, already have a non-law degree, or are coming back to education later in life, there are well-established pathways that lead to exactly the same professional qualifications.
PLC (Post Leaving Certificate) courses in Pre-University Law or Legal Studies let you gain a QQI Level 5 award, which you can then use to apply through the Higher Education Links Scheme (HELS) for a law degree via the CAO. No Leaving Certificate points are needed — just a completed Leaving Cert or equivalent. These are full-time, one-year courses that run September to May, and many are eligible for SUSI grant support.
Typical modules include Legal Practice & Procedures, Business Law, Criminal Law, Criminology, and Work Experience. Graduates progress via HELS to law degrees at TCD, UCD, DCU, TU Dublin, Maynooth, and more. Course fees are typically only €100 at ETB colleges plus a €50 QQI certification fee.
Several universities let you enter through a lower-points Arts or Business degree, study law as a subject in first year, and then transfer into a dedicated law programme in second year based on first-year results. This is a well-known "backdoor" route that leads to exactly the same degree as direct CAO entry.
Take Law as one of your Arts subjects. Perform well in 1st year exams and transfer into dedicated LLB/BCL in Year 2. The most popular transfer route in the country.
Study Law within the Arts BA, then specialise fully in Legal Science from 2nd year onward.
Programmes like US848 (Athlone, 270) and SE403 (Carlow, 271) combine business and law from day one. While not a "transfer" per se, they cover core FE-1 subjects and keep your options wide open.
If you're 23 or over by 1 January of the year you want to start, you can apply as a mature student through the CAO. Points are not used — instead, institutions assess you based on a personal statement, relevant life and work experience, and sometimes an interview. Each university reserves a percentage of places specifically for mature students, and competition varies depending on the programme.
Apply via the CAO by 1 February and tick the "mature" category. Some institutions (particularly TCD and UCD) have supplementary application forms with their own deadlines — check each university's admissions office directly. Late applications (after 1 May) are not assessed as mature students.
Pro tip: Many mature entrants find law particularly accessible because the course content is new to everyone — unlike science or engineering, there's no assumed knowledge from Leaving Cert. Your life experience actually gives you an advantage in understanding real-world legal contexts.
If you already hold any degree (arts, science, engineering, business — anything) and decide you want to pursue law, you don't need to start a full undergraduate degree again. There are two main conversion routes depending on which profession you're targeting.
Any graduate with a Level 7+ qualification can sit the FE-1 exams. You don't need a law degree at all. You'll study the eight core subjects independently or through prep courses (City Colleges, Griffith, LawSchool.ie) and pass each exam. It's harder without the degree background, but entirely possible.
A 2-year part-time evening programme at King's Inns (Mon–Thu evenings) that covers all core law subjects. Fee: €9,950 total (payable in instalments). On completion, you're eligible to sit the King's Inns Entrance Exam — and historically, Diploma graduates perform as well as or better than law degree holders on that exam.
For the solicitor route, non-graduates must pass the Preliminary Exam (€470, three papers) before sitting FE-1. For the barrister route, the King's Inns Diploma is also open to applicants with no formal qualifications — one of the few professional pathways in Ireland that doesn't require any prior education.
Whether you enter via PLC, Arts transfer, mature entry, graduate conversion, or direct CAO — the professional exams are identical. A solicitor who qualified through PLC → TU Dublin → FE-1 holds the exact same practising certificate as one who went TCD → FE-1. The Law Society and King's Inns don't distinguish between entry routes. What matters is that you pass.
A law degree alone doesn't make you a lawyer. After graduating, you choose one of two professional training paths. Both are demanding, prestigious, and lead to distinct careers.
Eight written papers covering core legal subjects. Graduates of approved law degrees are exempt from the preliminary exam and go straight to FE-1. Can begin sitting during final year of degree.
Find a practising solicitor willing to take you on as a trainee for 2 years. Competitive — apply early to law firms. Minimum wage applies during training (€13.50/hr from 2025). Top Dublin firms pay €28k–€35k during training.
Attend Blackhall Place for PPC I (full-time, ~5 months) then return to your training firm, then PPC II (~3 months). Covers drafting, advocacy, client management, and professional conduct.
Apply for a practising certificate. Total time from degree to qualification: approximately 2.5–3 years.
Written exam in designated legal subjects. Must have passed "core subjects" during your law degree (Constitutional Law, Contract, Tort, Criminal, EU Law, Equity). Check King's Inns requirements early.
Full-time course at King's Inns covering advocacy, drafting, evidence, procedure, and professional ethics. Intensive and highly practical. On successful completion, you are "called to the Bar."
Shadow an experienced barrister (your "master") to learn the profession. The first year must be in Dublin. Barristers are self-employed — there is no salary during devilling, which is a significant financial consideration.
You are now a practising barrister. Work is referral-based from solicitors. Income varies widely — top barristers earn very high fees, but starting out can be financially challenging.
A law degree opens far more doors than the courtroom. Law graduates go into compliance and regulation, corporate governance, human resources, mediation and arbitration, policy development, journalism, the civil service, NGO advocacy, financial services, tech company legal teams, academia, and international organisations like the EU and UN. The analytical, research, and communication skills you develop are valued across every sector.
Your law degree gets you to the starting line. These professional exams are what actually determine whether you qualify. Here's everything you need to know — subjects, costs, timelines, and how to prepare.
You can sit as few as one paper per sitting. Since 2020, pass marks carry forward regardless of how you did on other papers that sitting — no more "all or nothing" pressure. Most candidates spread the exams over 2–4 sittings. Law degree graduates have covered these subjects already; non-law graduates study them from scratch.
PPC course fee: €11,850 (SUSI grant may cover up to €6,270). Training contract: 2 years under a practising solicitor — most firms pay a trainee salary (top Dublin firms: €28k–€35k/year; regional firms: less but still paid). Total cost FE-1 → qualification: approximately €13,000–€15,000 before living expenses, but significantly offset by trainee salary and SUSI.
Your law degree must have covered: Land Law (including Succession), Equity & Trusts, Jurisprudence, Company Law, EU Law, and Administrative Law. If your degree is missing any of these, you must pass them through King's Inns' Diploma in Legal Studies before sitting the entrance exam.
BL Degree tuition: €7,000/year (full-time, 1 year) or €7,000/year for 2 years (part-time modular). Devilling: unpaid — 1 year minimum shadowing a senior barrister in Dublin. Total cost entrance → qualification: approximately €14,600–€21,600 before living expenses. No SUSI for King's Inns, but the Bar of Ireland and DSBA have bursary schemes.
| Stage | Solicitor Path | Barrister Path |
|---|---|---|
| Law Degree (4 years) | Free* (EU student contribution €3,000/yr covered by State) | Free* (same) |
| Professional Exam Fees | FE-1: €1,000 (8 × €125) | King's Inns application: €600 |
| Prep Course (optional) | ~€2,300 (City Colleges, all 8) | ~€1,500–€2,000 (Griffith/City Colleges) |
| Professional Training | PPC: €11,850 (SUSI may cover ~€6,270) | BL Degree: €7,000/yr (1 or 2 years) |
| Practical Training | 2-year training contract (paid by employer) | 1-year devilling (unpaid) |
| Estimated Total Out-of-Pocket | ~€9,000–€15,000 | ~€15,000–€22,000 |
The PPC is approved for SUSI grant purposes — apply through susi.ie even before you have a confirmed PPC place. The Law Society runs an Access Scholarship for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, which can reduce or waive FE-1 and PPC fees. King's Inns offers the Maurice Gaffney Scholarship for the Diploma in Legal Studies. The DSBA Bursary assists those qualifying in the Dublin area. Additionally, FE-1 exam fees and PPC course fees are eligible for tax relief (IT 31 Form). Do not assume you can't afford to qualify — research every support available before making a decision.
€27k–€42k in regional/small firms. €58k–€67k in top Dublin commercial firms (A&L Goodbody, Matheson, Arthur Cox, McCann FitzGerald, William Fry).
Senior associates and partners in commercial firms command significantly higher. In-house corporate lawyers (newly qualified) typically start at €60k–€75k.
Barristers are self-employed. Income starts modestly during devilling (often nil) but experienced barristers in commercial, tax, or planning law can earn significantly more than solicitors. Top Senior Counsel earn €300k+.
Tech companies (Google, Meta, Stripe), financial services, pharma, and multinationals all employ in-house legal teams. Compliance, data protection (GDPR), and intellectual property are high-growth areas.
Civil service, regulatory bodies (CBI, ComReg, CCPC), international organisations (EU, UN, ECHR), diplomacy, NGOs, human rights advocacy. Strong demand for policy specialists.
Legal journalism, mediation and ADR, academic teaching, management consulting, politics, financial regulation, forensic accounting, sports management, and startup advisory. The degree is a launchpad, not a prison.
From your first CAO click to your first day in court — every key deadline and milestone mapped out. This timeline covers the typical direct-entry path, but the same professional milestones apply regardless of how you got your degree.
Research phase. Attend university open days — most run between October and March. Visit law faculties specifically, not just the campus. Look into TY mini-trials and moot court events. Compare programmes using this guide. Start thinking about pure law vs combined degrees. If considering the barrister route long-term, check whether your preferred degree covers the King's Inns prerequisite subjects.
CAO opens (5 Nov). Create your CAO account early and start entering course choices. The early-bird fee is just €35 if you apply by 20 January. List your law programmes in genuine order of preference — you can change them later via Change of Mind.
Last day for €35 fee. After this, the application fee rises to €50 until 1 February. If you're also considering medicine, HPAT registration closes around the same time (check hpat-ireland.acer.org).
Normal CAO application closes. Your course choices must be submitted. This is also the deadline for HEAR and DARE applicants, and for restricted-application courses. After this, you can still amend course choices (5 Feb – 1 Mar, €10 fee) and make a late application (5 Mar – 1 May, reduced options).
Change of Mind opens 5 May, closes 1 July (5pm). This is your free opportunity to reorder, add, or remove courses based on how you feel your exams went. Many students rethink their order of preference at this stage — if you're now less confident of 550+ points, consider adding TU Dublin (420), TUS (327), or SETU (325) as safety options. Meanwhile, you sit the Leaving Cert exams in June.
Leaving Cert results and CAO Round 1 offers arrive on the same day. Accept your offer promptly — you typically have about a week. If you didn't receive your first choice, check Available Places which opens later in September for courses with remaining seats. Round 2 and subsequent offers follow in the coming weeks.
Study, intern, and build your CV. Join law societies and moot court competitions. Apply for summer internships at law firms from 2nd year onward (top firms recruit in autumn for the following summer). If pursuing the solicitor route, you can begin sitting FE-1 papers from the end of 1st year. Use placements (UL Co-Op, DCU INTRA) to get real experience. Attend career law fairs. Start networking early — the legal profession in Ireland is smaller than you think.
Choose your path and commit. Solicitor: complete any remaining FE-1 papers, secure a training contract, enrol in PPC at Blackhall Place (apply to SUSI for grant support). Barrister: apply to King's Inns by 31 May, sit the entrance exam in August, begin the BL Degree in September/October. Both paths take approximately 2–3 years from graduation to full qualification.
You've made it. Admitted to the Roll of Solicitors or Called to the Bar. Total journey from Leaving Cert to qualification is typically 6–8 years. That sounds like a lot, but you're earning during part of it (training contract) and the degree itself is only 3–4 years. Many graduates who start FE-1 early manage to qualify within 2 years of graduating.
If you're 100% committed to becoming a solicitor or barrister, a pure law degree (TR004, DN600 BCL, MH501 LLB) gives you the deepest legal education. If you want career flexibility or aren't fully certain, combined degrees (Law & Business, Law & Languages, Law & Criminology) keep your options open while still qualifying you for professional practice.
UL's mandatory 8-month Co-Op and DCU's year-long INTRA placement are unmatched for real-world legal experience. TCD, UCD, and UCC all offer strong international exchange networks if a semester abroad appeals. UCC's Clinical pathway guarantees at least one semester in a professional environment. Consider what matters more: a semester in a foreign university or a year in a law firm.
TCD's TR004 (578) and UCD's DN600 (567) are the highest. UL (518/510), DCU (496), and Maynooth offer strong law education at mid-range points. But the real story is the TU/college tier: SETU Carlow (300), TUS (327–328), ATU (326), Griffith (251), and DBS (247) all offer fully qualifying law degrees at much more accessible points. Your FE-1 or King's Inns results and training contract matter far more than which institution is on your degree.
At Maynooth, you can enter through Arts (MH101 — just 300 points) with law as a subject, then transfer into 2nd year of LLB (MH501) or BCL (MH502) if you perform well. Galway's Arts degree (GY101) can also lead to a BA in Legal Science. Alternatively, TUS Business & Law at Athlone (US848) requires just 270 points and still covers core FE-1 subjects, while SETU Business with Law in Carlow (SE403) is available at 271. These are all legitimate routes to the same profession.
There is no single "best" law school in Ireland — every Level 8 programme on this page is accredited and leads to the same professional qualifications. What separates graduates is what they do during and after their degree: their moot court performance, internships, exam results, pro-bono work, and the connections they build. Whether you study at Trinity on 578 points or SETU Carlow on 300, you sit the same FE-1 exams and earn the same professional title. Choose the institution where you'll thrive, not just the one with the highest points.