Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

The MA in Irish-German Studies is a unique programme harnessing particular strengths in UL thanks to the Centre for Irish-German Studies while combining it with attractive and complementary existing MA programmes in Ireland (Galway), Germany (Berlin, Lüneburg and Jena), Austria (Vienna) and Switzerland (Bern). It aims to attract highly qualified students who will benefit from a strongly interdisciplinary and internationally focused academic programme. All participating exchange programmes for the second semester, ranging from German, Austrian, English and Irish Studies to Teaching German as a Foreign Language as well as Cultural Studies and Intercultural Business Communication, have been chosen in order to provide students with expertise interrelated with and complementary to their studies in UL in semester one, giving students the chance to specialise in a range of contexts of the inter-relationship between Ireland and the German-speaking countries. The intellectual outcomes consist of in-depth knowledge of cultural, political, and historical dimensions of Irish-German relations as well as a high level of linguistic competence and intercultural skills, gained both inside the classroom and through international experience. The interdisciplinary academic dimension will contribute to the development of analytical and research skills needed for high-level international positions, whether in the fields of business, culture or politics and education.

The Master of Laws (General) is offered on a one year full-time or a two year part-time basis. The full-time programme runs over two semesters with a dissertation being completed over the summer. The part-time programme runs over four semesters with the dissertation being completed over the second summer. The programme is designed to give the post-graduate student a deeper understanding and insights into a variety of subjects across a broad general range. It draws on the modules offered on the specialised LLM programmes and covers such diverse areas as criminal law, civil obligations, property, human rights, comparative law and legal history. It is suited to those looking for an advanced legal education, without wishing to focus on a single branch of law.

Reconstructing the life and dinnseanchas of local communities in the past fulfils a real need in people who identify with or belong to that locality. Though long regarded primarily as the territory of the antiquarian and the leisured scholar, local history is moving in from the margins of university teaching and scholarship and there is a growing awareness that its practice can benefit from the broader paradigms and the research methods used in history and the human sciences.

The MA in Music Therapy is a two-year full-time programme of study which prepares graduates for professional practice as a music therapist. The course requires a high level of music skill at entry allowing students to make the transition to the use of these music skills in therapeutic work with a range of client groups in different contexts. Students attend clinical placements throughout each semester of the course; these are usually offered at various sites in Ireland but sometimes can be offered abroad. Music therapy theory, research skills, sensitivity to cross-cultural issues and the use of the self in relating to others form the basis of studies to prepare students for work in the clinical practice context.