Another new offering at NUI Galway next autumn will be a bachelor of civil law degree. Professor Tom O'Malley says the BCL degree is very similar to the degree already on offer in UCD, UCC and TCD. "It is a three-year programme and, essentially, is a pure law degree. Students will take the full range of law subjects that they will need for admission to the professional courses. In addition, they can choose various options," he says. The college already offers a successful undergraduate degree programme in corporate law.

O'Malley says: "NUI Galway is unique that in that students can take a joint honours BA programme in law and another arts subjects". At one time, because of scarce resources, all of the students who took law in first year could not proceed to second year. This cap has now been removed and there is no quota.

Until recently, students with the joint honours BA could apply for a place on the second year of the college's graduate LLB programme. This meant that within five years they could have both a BA and LLB but moves are under way to reduce that time to four years.

This will be particularly welcomed by students as the postgraduate LLB programme, like other postgrad programmes, does not come under the free fees initiative. For second-level students this means they get a place in college with lower points than those required by law degrees and still pursue a career in the legal professions.

The expansion of the law courses on offer at undergraduate level at NUI Galway will be complemented by the introduction of a new master's in human rights law. This will be the first such programme in the State. The new Human Rights Centre will be headed by a Canadian, Professor William Chabas.