The School of Law has a number of important international links with universities, employers, and placement agencies across the globe. As a result, there are a number of opportunities for current students to gain prestigious international education opportunities.
Full details on how to apply for each of the opportunities below will be circulated to all eligible students via email as competitions open.
Each year the School of Law offers one 3rd or 4th year student the opportunity to gain international legal experience in the USA through the Los Angeles Federal District Court Summer Externship Program. The School of Law offers a generous scholarship to the winning student who will gain invaluable experience in both the Los Angeles Federal and Superior Courts working in the judges' chambers and participating in the preparation of legal memoranda.
“This year I was delighted to be selected by the School of Law to participate in a three-month legal externship in Los Angeles, California. My time was split between the Los Angeles Superior Courts and Federal District Court (for the Central District of California). I spent two weeks in the Superior Courts and ten weeks in the Federal District Court. The Irish American Bar Association (IABA) and the University of Limerick School of Law generously sponsor the programme. Four other law students from UCC, TCD, UCD and QUB also participated in the externship. The IABA helped to organise accommodation and acted as a sponsor and guide throughout the visa process and during the externship.
Zara Murphy, LA Externship, 2018
I was extremely lucky to be selected by the School of Law, UL, to take part in the 2015 Summer Externship Programme in the Los Angeles (United States) Federal District Court… I learned a great deal about the US legal system, and my legal writing and research skills were dramatically improved…
Sean Beatty, LA Externship, 2015
Read about the experience of School of Law students on this programme.
Building on the School of Law’s links with China’s prestigious Sichuan University (SCU), opportunities exist for undergraduate and postgraduate students to participate in SCU’s Summer Immersion Programme. In 2015, supported by a generous scholarship from the School of Law in UL and Sichuan University, a team of 10 School of Law students completed the two week programme in China, with fellow students from all around the world, gaining an invaluable international education experience.
Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone will always lead to new experiences that shape you as a person, and travelling to Chengdu to take part in the Sichuan University Immersion Programme has certainly done that for me.
Nicola Hackett, Summer Immersion Programme, 2015
Read about the experience of School of Law students on this programme.
At the School of Law we are committed to developing our links with key Chinese stakeholders. This commitment has led to the introduction of a very generous three year scholarship programme for one law student to gain real-world, hands-on work experience for 2/3 months in a top legal firm in Shanghai, Beijing, or Shenzen, China in conjunction with CRCC, Asia’s China Internship Programme, each summer.
I was lucky enough to be granted a scholarship by UL’s Department of Law to fund 3 months within Liu & Wang Attorneys at Law (part of Guangdong HaiPai), a Chinese law firm based in Shenzhen, China... As I apply for jobs in the legal field, employers are especially interested in my experience working in a law firm in China...
Siobhan Sugrue, China Internship Programme, 2015
Read about the experience of School of Law students on this programme.
UL Law students have the opportunity of completing a semester or a year abroad in our partner institutions across Europe (through our Erasmus programme) and North America (through our Study Exchange programme). Eilbhe Harrington completed her spring semester of 3rd year at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Law – a top-10 US law school. This was Eilbhe’s experience:
The experience surpassed my expectations and was rewarding, academically, socially and culturally. I was able to choose modules that really interested me. Negotiation was an experiential module where we worked in competitive groups on real-world cases working closely with group tutors.
Eilbhe Harrington, Law Plus Texas 2017/2018
The School of Law also has well established links with a number of prominent universities and law schools across North America. There are a limited number of study abroad places available for our undergraduate law students. Scholarships to aid the cost of travel to North America are also available from the School of Law for participating students. The participating universities include the University of Texas, Austin, the University of Massachusetts, School of Law (Dartmouth), and the University of Victoria, British Columbia.
University of Texas Graduate Law School Experience
While I arrived in Austin not really knowing what to expect, I would recommend the University of Texas to anyone considering a semester abroad – UT Law is a top US law school & Texas is a unique state with plenty to see and do.
Stephen O’Reilly, 2015/16
Read more about student experiences in TexasLaw
University of Victoria Graduate Law School Experience
My exchange to the University of Victoria offered me the chance to experience graduate level North American law school from the perspective of an undergraduate European law student. I can safely say that the experience has allowed me to push my limits and broaden my educational horizons further than I could ever have imagined.
Luke Woulfe, 4th Year Law Plus 2017
Read more about student experiences at the University of Victoria
Applications are now invited from Law Plus (current 2nd year) and Law & Accounting (current 2nd year) students interesting in studying in in Spring 2019 in one of our partner Law Schools in North America: University of Texas, Austin, the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and the University of Victoria, British Columbia.
UL has the largest exchange programme in Ireland with established links to 300 partner universities in 38 countries. Each year a large number of our 3rd year undergraduate law students study at another European institution for a semester or full year. We have a number of links with European universities where subjects are taught through English (including those in Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland). We also have links with universities in Germany, France, and Spain where subjects are taught through the native language. All students going on Erasmus benefit from a grant towards travel and accommodation costs.
The benefits of participating in the Erasmus programme are enormous. It can offer you a unique opportunity to travel, meet new friends, and study new modules. The programme is also highly rated by employers. For more information, please click here.
Law Plus students interested in participating on Erasmus plus in their 3rd year should contact Dr Andrea Ryan (Andrea.ryan@ul.ie).
Law and Accounting students interested in participating on Erasmus plus in their 3rd year should contact Dr Kathryn O’Sullivan (Kathryn.osullivan@ul.ie)
"I am now three weeks into my Erasmus. It has probably been three of the hardest weeks of my life. It is a very different set up here to in UL. The lectures here are structured more like a secondary school class with small numbers and a more intimate classroom set up..."
Amy Beck (Law Plus) Erasmus 2016 – Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Read more about Amy's experience here
