International Business Law

The LLM in International Business Law is a masters degree offered by Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology. The programme will enable law graduates to further their legal education by gaining a systematic understanding of the critical issues at the forefront of select areas of international business law. The programme also aims to develop legal research, reasoning, writing, advocacy, and teamwork skills, which are highly sought after by employers.

Certain modules on the programme are run in partnership with leading law firms, offering students the opportunity to apply for work placements at the end of their studies.

International Peace Building, Security And Development Practice

The Master’s programme in Peacebuilding, Security and Development Practice offers a rewarding learning experience for those who wish to work in development and peacebuilding in conflict or post-conflict contexts.

Integrating negotiation skills with an analysis of wider conflict and development issues, it provides participants with critical insight into the spectrum of international conflict intervention. This includes theory, strategies and practices which range from addressing resource conflict and the use of negotiation tools in the wake of Climate Change, to the role of governments, business and civil society in participatory peace processes. It explores issues around gender and conflict, racism and human rights; and it addresses security concerns which arise from poverty, exploitation and global economic crises. Drawing on insights from peace education, human security and community development processes, it challenges top-down imposed solutions and examines what’s involved in participatory, community-led processes of change.

It draws together insights and analysis from different conflict and development situations, as well as from diverse experiences and perspectives on peace and security. Through it, participants develop the understanding, knowledge and skills they need to play an active and leadership role in peacebuilding, security and development in a variety of situations.

The main theme of the programme is an integrated and comprehensive approach to the nexus of peacebuilding, security and development. With increased awareness of the importance of these interlinkages has come increased demands on national and international institutions to respond in a holistic way. When responding to conflict, security actors are required to have a better understanding and greater skills in engaging with communities, institutions and organisations at the local level, while development practitioners recognise a skills-deficit with respect to conflict resolution and mediation. They need to understand and engage with representatives of multifaceted agencies and communities, particularly when anticipating or responding to the consequences of complex crises.

The MA in International Peacebuilding, Security and Development Practice offers participants a unique learning opportunity to engage deeply with these issues and to develop the skills they need to address them. It draws on a range of experienced lecturers, who have extensive experience in development, peacekeeping/ peace making or security in international settings.

Through this Master’s programme, participants will develop-:

Their understanding of violent conflict and its impact on human security and development.
Insight into the processes involved in realising integrated and comprehensive responses to peacebuilding and development in complex contexts.
Analytical and problem-solving skills, along with innovative and creative solutions, which can be applied in the resolution of a wide range of violent conflicts.
Ability to negotiate and to engage people in participatory development processes which enable people to reach agreement.
Knowledge of international institutional mandates, policies and guidelines pertaining to interventions in violent conflict.
Research skills and primary research experience in the interconnected fields of international peacebuilding, security and development practice.

Comparative Criminology And Criminal Justice

Criminology can be described as the study of crime, criminals and the criminal justice system. The MA in Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice gives students the opportunity to develop a specialist knowledge of debates around crime causation and control, within a comparative and international context. Students undertake a wide variety of modules which aim to combine theoretical concepts with real-world problems such as terrorism and organised crime.

As a student in Maynooth you will be part of our vibrant community of students and scholars working in the fields of criminology and criminal justice. Our expert academic team, drawing on their extensive research and professional experience, deliver an interdisciplinary programme with a strong emphasis on enhanced research skills. These skills are highly sought-after by employers in the area. There is a strong focus on employability throughout the programme, including opportunities for student placements with criminal justice organisations and civil society.

Global Legal Studies

The LLM (Global Legal Studies) masters degree provides law graduates with an advanced and systematic understanding of specialised subject areas, affording an ideal platform for students to acquire expertise and knowledge informed by research-led teaching. The programme is open to all law graduates and graduates of hybrid law degrees, including, for example, Law and French, Law and Business, and Law and Politics. The programme facilitates career pathways in law, business, politics, non-governmental organisations, and policymaking bodies at the national and international levels.

The distinct international focus of the programme reflects the increasingly global nature of legal practice. The modules offered are distinguished by the approach taken, which is to focus not on a national or regional jurisdiction, but to address these issues from the point of view of foundational (global) principles and to illustrate these with examples from jurisdictions all over the world.

In addition, certain modules on the programme are run in partnership with leading law firms, offering students the opportunity to apply for work placements at the end of their studies.

International Justice

The LLM (International Justice) provides students with critical insights into the international legal system and how it operates to promote and secure justice. It analyses how the international legal order works and how it seeks to address social inequalities and protect vulnerable, marginalised and oppressed groups. The programme draws on law and other disciplines, including sociology, anthropology and political science, to provide students with a comprehensive examination of the challenges facing international justice mechanisms today.

Work placement opportunities are available as part the programme with partner civil society organisations including the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Transparency International, the Irish Penal Reform Trust, Trócaire and Oxfam.

Teaching is delivered by means of small class lectures, in-class simulations and workshops. Students will also benefit from guest lectures delivered by international speakers.The programme is very attractive to law graduates who wish to specialise in the fields of international law and human rights, and to non-law graduates who are interested in questions of social justice and in acquiring legal tools and skills for future career options.

Data Science And Analytics

The MSc in Data Science and Analytics is a 12 month conversion course (new in 2017) designed to give students the knowledge and skills to collect, process analyse and visualise data in order to extract useful information, explore patterns and evaluate models. The course is a collaboration between the Departments of Mathematics & Statistics, Computer Science and the National Centre for Geocomputation.

Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies

It is a one-year full time (or two-year part time) taught programme and is offered on a full-time basis using a combination of faculty-student contact hours and self-directed learning and research. It aims to provide students who already have a background in a foreign language and linguistics at undergraduate level with an opportunity to specialise at a postgraduate level in the areas of sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, corpus linguistics, bi- and multilingualism, second language pedagogy and the role of English in a globalised world. What makes this programme unique in Ireland is two-fold: the inclusion of Intercultural Studies, allowing students to expand their linguistic specialization to cognate (inter)cultural contexts such as intercultural competence and the interplay of language and culture; and the genuinely multilingual orientation of the programme focusing not only on English, but also other international languages like French, German and Spanish. The programme introduces students to academic research, new ideas and approaches. It aims to equip students with academic, analytical, creative and reflective skills in order to foster interest and involvement in research in the fields of applied linguistics and intercultural studies.

The programme is structured into core (compulsory) and elective (optional) modules in order to ensure concomitantly a solid foundation in the core themes of Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies, and to provide students with the flexibility to pursue their chosen areas of interest and passion.

It is possible to study modules of particular interest without completing a Masters degree, or to exit with a Postgraduate Diploma (Level 9) in Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies after completing 60 credits of taught modules.

International Development

The full-time Post Graduate Diploma in International Development is a 1 year (9 month) level 9 postgraduate programme designed to prepare learners for work in international development in a community, local government, youth/adult education, or NGO setting. It offers learners an opportunity to explore contemporary theories of social change and development and to critically analyse development policies and practices. It builds skills, especially in relation to critical reflection, research, leadership and working with groups and in the planning, management and evaluation of development projects.

It is aimed at advanced level learners who hold a primary degree or equivalent qualifications and who have experience of working in a development context in Ireland or in other countries in the Global North or South. Particularly welcome are leaders, facilitators and managers of community development projects, government and development agency staff, people involved in pastoral ministry, researchers, development educators, volunteers and activists. This course is also relevant to academics in the countries of the Global South engaged in teaching and research in development. Places are also retained for recent graduates who wish to study further before embarking on a career in development work.

Military History And Strategic Studies

This MA programme provides an in-depth introduction into the disciplines of military history and strategic studies. It aims to immerse students in the study of conflict from the late 1700s to the present-day, providing them with an overview of the development of modern warfare and also the skills necessary to analyse modern conflicts.

The programme is taught through a series of modules including “Modern Warfare I”, “Modern Warfare II” and “Strategic & Security Studies”. These modules provide an introduction to the key concepts, theories and debates in this field. No specialist knowledge is required and this MA programme will appeal to anyone interested in history, international relations, security studies and war studies.

The programme has attracted international students and significant links have been forged with military academies in the USA, the UK and the Netherlands.

Assessment is through a mix of written assignments and in-class presentations. Students also develop a 20,000 word thesis on a subject of their choice. There is much emphasis on independent study.

Irish History

This programme enables students to examine and research the rich subject area of Irish history from the earliest times to the present day, and to assess the major events which led to the emergence of modern Ireland.

Compulsory modules provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the sources and resources at their disposal to undertake a piece of detailed research, and foster their ability to assess and understand the major debates and controversies that have engaged historians in writing Irish history.

In addition, students choose from a suite of optional modules drawn from this and other MA programmes within the department, exploring key issues and debates associated with their chosen fields. Options vary from year to year and may include: Irish social, political, military or economic history; historic houses and landed estates; local history, etc.

Students also have an opportunity to complete a minor thesis in their chosen field.