The Diploma in Legal Studies  is a one-year programme which has been designed primarily for those who wish to obtain foundation knowledge of the core principles of Irish Law, perhaps with a view to pursuing a career in the legal field as a legal secretary or solicitors’ clerk/assistant. It is also an ideal introduction for anyone in the business or management field who deals with legal issues on a day-to-day basis. The Diploma in Legal studies covers six modules in Contract Law, Company Law, Tort Law, Constitutional Law, Property Law and Criminal Law.

The Diploma in Legal Studies is suitable for those from a non legal background who wish to gain foundation knowledge of legal theories and practice before commencing studies for the entrance exams for the Law Society (Solicitor).

Further Study
The six modules are the areas in which students will study in preparation for taking the Law Society Final Examination Part 1 (FE1). The Diploma in Legal Studies is awarded by The Institute of Commercial Management (ICM).

Duration
These skills based Diploma courses are one year in duration part time and they are provisionally due to commence in March 2016. Typically, students attend classes two evenings per week, provisionally Tuesday and Thursday from 6.15pm to 9.30pm. Provisional timetables are available on the DBS website. Students can undertake the advanced programme without completing the six modules on the standard Diploma first.

Course Fees
The diploma course costs €2,000 inclusive of tuition, registration and exam fees. The Advanced modules cost an additional €500. Fees for year long programmes are payable by instalments with a minimum of 50% of fees due upon acceptance of your place and prior to course registration. The remaining fees are payable in two instalments of 25%, one in March and May.