MSc Law and Finance Curriculum
The programme consists of 3 core modules in Michaelmas (September–December) and 2 core modules in Hilary (January–April), alongside a wide range of electives. Students may choose from 10 Law electives and 6 Finance electives, selecting either 10 ECTS in Law and 20 ECTS in Finance, or 20 ECTS in Law and 10 ECTS in Finance. The final Trinity term (April–August) is dedicated to your dissertation. Assessment is through a blend of written examinations and continuous coursework.
| Module | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Corporate Finance | 5 |
| Corporate Finance, Company Law and Governance | 5 |
| EU Financial Services Law | 10 |
| Business Ethics | 5 |
| Investments & Sustainability | 5 |
| Dissertation | 30 |
Taught modules normally take place across Michaelmas and Hilary terms, with the final Trinity term dedicated to the dissertation or group consultancy project.
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September-December Michaelmas Term |
January-April Hilary Term |
May-August Trinity Term |
| Core | |||
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Electives Select either 10 ECTS in Law and 20 ECTS in Finance or 20 ECTS in Law and 10 ECTS in Finance. |
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Note: Modules offered each academic year are subject to change. The modules listed above and below are the modules and timetable for 2026/27.
This dissertation will be undertaken during the summer months.
Module Descriptions
Corporate Finance (5ECTS)
Develop a strong foundation in the core principles of financial management and learn how finance drives strategic decision-making in organisations. Gain practical skills in investment appraisal, risk-return analysis, and value creation, while engaging with both theoretical frameworks and real-world financial practices.
How this fits your MSc journey: Equips you with essential financial literacy and decision-making skills that support leadership, strategy, and value creation across all areas of business.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand financial management fundamentals: Grasp the critical role of finance in organisational success and sustainability.
- Evaluate capital raising regulation: Appraise the legal regimes governing debt and equity financing, IPOs, insider dealing, and takeovers.
- Manage risk and return: Explore the balance between risk and return in corporate decision-making.
- Navigate financial markets: Understand stock market behaviour through alternative investment theories.
- Create corporate value: Examine how firms generate and maximise value in competitive environments.
Corporate Finance, Company Law and Governance (5 ECTS)
Gain a legal perspective on how companies finance their activities and how law and regulation shape corporate governance. The module examines debt and equity finance, initial public offerings, insider information and takeovers, together with the relationships between boards, managers, shareholders and other stakeholders. It also considers governance, conduct and accountability requirements for listed companies and regulated financial institutions.
How this fits your MSc journey: Build the company law and governance foundation needed to understand capital raising and financial decision-making within regulated organisations. The module connects corporate finance with the legal responsibilities, controls and stakeholder relationships that influence business conduct.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand legal finance frameworks: Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the legal aspects of corporate finance.
- Evaluate capital raising regulation: Appraise the regimes governing debt, equity, initial public offerings, insider information and takeovers.
- Analyse corporate relationships: Critically assess the dynamics between boards, managers, shareholders and other stakeholders.
- Examine listed company obligations: Evaluate the rules and governance requirements applied to publicly listed companies.
- Assess financial-sector governance: Appraise regulation intended to improve conduct, culture and accountability in financial institutions.
EU Financial Services Law (10 ECTS)
Explore the legal and regulatory architecture governing financial services in the European Union and Ireland. The module surveys banking, securities, occupational pensions and insurance, addressing the Single Market, authorisation, prudential supervision, capital adequacy, recovery and resolution, misconduct, accountability and consumer protection.
How this fits your MSc journey: Develop the regulatory literacy needed to understand how EU law balances market integration with financial stability, market integrity and investor protection. This foundation supports careers in financial services, compliance, policy, supervision and legal advisory work.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand EU financial regulation: Explain the principal directives and regulations governing financial services.
- Evaluate regulatory principles: Examine authorisation, supervision, enforcement and cross-border cooperation in the EU and Ireland.
- Assess regulatory objectives: Analyse how regulation protects consumers, investors, financial stability and market integrity.
- Critique conduct regulation: Evaluate EU and Irish approaches to misconduct and accountability.
- Analyse regulatory impact: Assess how financial regulation affects institutions, markets and the provision of services.
Business Ethics (5 ECTS)
Explore the key debates shaping contemporary business ethics. You will examine the nature and scope of corporations, the moral obligations created by organisational structures, and the leading ethical perspectives used to assess decisions affecting individuals and groups. The module also considers emerging questions around artificial intelligence, including its wider social impact and its use in employment.
How this fits your MSc journey: Place financial and business decisions within their wider ethical, social and governance context. The module broadens your understanding of business beyond financial returns and strengthens the critical reasoning needed to evaluate corporate responsibility, stakeholder interests and the role of organisations in society.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand core ethical concepts: Explain corporate sustainability and responsibility, stakeholder management and value creation.
- Develop responsible solutions: Apply stakeholder-oriented management approaches to new and existing business challenges.
- Diagnose complex business issues: Identify ethical, economic, social, environmental and political dimensions and use appropriate decision-making frameworks.
- Think and communicate critically: Develop rigorous reading, writing and argumentation skills in relation to contemporary business ethics.
- Engage with difficult questions: Discuss challenging social and political issues productively and respectfully with peers.
Investments & Sustainability (5 ECTS)
Explore how investment decisions allocate capital, shape economies and increasingly reflect sustainability priorities. You will assess traditional and alternative asset classes, measure risk and performance, and apply portfolio theory to asset allocation. The module also examines passive and factor investing, investment mechanics, behavioural influences and the ways sustainable finance can reshape established approaches to risk and risk-adjusted performance.
How this fits your MSc journey: Build a core understanding of investing while connecting financial analysis with environmental, social, governance and regulatory considerations. The module strengthens the quantitative and critical judgement needed to evaluate portfolios and assess how sustainable finance is changing capital markets and investment practice.
Learning outcomes:
- Compare asset classes: Evaluate traditional and alternative assets and their contribution to portfolio diversification.
- Analyse risk and performance: Assess risk, return and covariance and distinguish expected from realised returns.
- Optimise asset allocation: Calculate a minimum-variance portfolio and determine how investment capital can be allocated across risky assets.
- Critique asset-pricing models: Evaluate Markowitz portfolio theory, the Capital Asset Pricing Model and Fama-French multi-factor models.
- Evaluate sustainability risks: Explain climate, environmental, social and governance risks and how underestimated externalities can affect investment decisions.
Dissertation (30 ECTS)
The objective of the project is to allow students to demonstrate and apply the techniques and knowledge acquired from the taught courses to a problem of real-world academic or managerial concern. To complete this module, which is worth 30 ECTS credits and is compulsory, students should:
- Demonstrate that they have a good knowledge of the relevant literature on their chosen topic.
- Identify an interesting question associated with that topic and analyse this question using the techniques and tools learned, showing that they have a good grasp of the applicability of these techniques (statistical, numerical or theoretical);
- Present the results of their analysis in a clear and convincing manner, within the word limit of no more than 12,000 words;
- Show their ability to communicate their work to a broad audience via the creation of an executive summary which should be 1500 words or less and which should be in the form of an academic article or managerial report.
Law Electives
Fintech Regulation and Policy (10 ECTS)
Examine how emerging technologies and artificial intelligence are transforming financial services, business processes and fintech models. The module focuses on the legal, policy and regulatory challenges created by new products, services and technologies, and asks how established frameworks can respond to a rapidly changing digital landscape.
How this fits your MSc journey: Connect technology, finance and law while developing the research and communication skills required for work in financial regulation, compliance, policy, legal advisory and fintech innovation.
Learning outcomes:
- Analyse legal frameworks: Assess the challenges of applying existing law and policy to fintech models.
- Conduct independent research: Develop a coherent proposal and critically engaged research paper.
- Communicate across disciplines: Present technological, business and regulatory analysis clearly and provide constructive feedback.
- Evaluate digital transformation: Assess how current and emerging technologies reshape financial products and processes.
- Interpret future trends: Analyse the policy implications of technological change and evolving regulatory objectives.
International Aviation Law (10 ECTS)
Examine the international legal framework governing civil aviation. Beginning with the history of international aviation law and the 1944 Chicago Convention, the module considers the role of the International Civil Aviation Organization, carrier liability, crimes and unlawful acts on board aircraft, aviation insurance and international interests in mobile equipment.
How this fits your MSc journey: Develop a transnational legal perspective on a globally connected industry. The module builds treaty interpretation, regulatory analysis and problem-solving skills relevant to aviation, transport, insurance, international trade and cross-border compliance.
Learning outcomes:
- Evaluate international regulation: Identify the institutions and instruments governing global civil aviation.
- Interpret the Chicago Convention: Assess its importance and the role of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
- Analyse carrier liability: Apply the Warsaw and Montreal Convention frameworks.
- Assess aviation security law: Identify instruments addressing crimes and unlawful seizure of aircraft.
- Evaluate specialist regimes: Analyse aviation insurance and international interests in mobile equipment.
- Solve aviation-law problems: Apply critical legal analysis to international scenarios.
International Economic Law (10 ECTS)
Explore the legal rules governing trade between states and the institutions that regulate international economic relationships. The module focuses on the World Trade Organization and agreements covering goods, services and intellectual property, including most-favoured-nation treatment, national treatment, tariffs, non-tariff barriers, defences, negotiations and dispute settlement.
How this fits your MSc journey: Build a legal foundation for understanding how international markets are governed. You will develop the ability to evaluate the tension between trade rules, state interests and the institutions that structure the global economy.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand international trade rules: Identify their essential characteristics and underlying legal tensions.
- Explain the WTO system: Assess the organisation's functions and institutional role.
- Analyse the GATT: Critically evaluate its central principles, obligations and exceptions.
- Evaluate trade barriers: Apply rules on discrimination, tariffs and other restrictions.
- Assess dispute settlement: Analyse the methods used to resolve international trade disputes.
Mergers and Acquisitions (10 ECTS)
Examine the business drivers and legal regulation of mergers and takeovers, with particular attention to the European and Irish landscape. The module considers the market for corporate control, domestic and cross-border transactions, sources of value creation, hostile takeovers and takeover defences.
How this fits your MSc journey: Connect company law, corporate finance and transaction strategy. The module develops the legal and commercial judgement needed to assess how major corporate combinations are structured, regulated and contested.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand transaction drivers: Explain the strategic and financial sources of value in mergers and acquisitions.
- Evaluate merger regulation: Assess the rules governing domestic and cross-border transactions in Ireland and the EU.
- Analyse takeover markets: Examine the operation and implications of the market for corporate control.
- Critique hostile takeovers: Evaluate their potential benefits, risks and governance effects.
- Assess takeover defences: Develop reasoned positions on the desirability and regulation of defensive measures.
Business and Human Rights (10 ECTS)
Explore the rapidly evolving relationship between business activity, human rights and environmental harm. The module examines global soft-law frameworks, mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence, corporate accountability, supply-chain litigation, climate cases, access to remedy and the wider sustainability and ESG reporting landscape.
How this fits your MSc journey: Develop the ability to assess how regulation, litigation and business practice shape responsible conduct across global operations and value chains. The module is directly relevant to corporate law, compliance, sustainability, governance and human-rights advisory work.
Learning outcomes:
- Evaluate business impacts: Analyse the legal, commercial, human and environmental consequences of corporate activity.
- Assess global frameworks: Critique the performance and accountability gaps in business and human-rights standards.
- Interpret due-diligence duties: Explain new obligations to identify, prevent and address adverse impacts.
- Analyse accountability and remedy: Evaluate regulation, litigation and continuing barriers faced by affected communities.
- Connect human rights and ESG: Assess sustainability reporting, supply-chain responsibility and the social dimension of ESG.
- Apply law to business practice: Examine how organisations are adapting policies and operations.
Commercial Litigation (10 ECTS)
Study the life cycle of commercial litigation through the Irish Commercial Court. The module follows proceedings from initiation and pleadings through interlocutory stages, discovery, expert evidence and judgment, while examining the rules, norms and strategic choices that shape commercial disputes. Practical drafting, written and oral advocacy, and court visits are integral to the learning experience.
How this fits your MSc journey: Translate legal analysis into litigation practice. You will develop procedural knowledge, drafting and advocacy skills relevant to commercial legal work in Ireland and other common-law settings.
Learning outcomes:
- Map a commercial case: Explain the life cycle and procedural stages of typical litigation.
- Use interlocutory procedures: Assess discovery, interrogatories and related case-management tools.
- Evaluate expert evidence: Understand the role, engagement and use of expert witnesses.
- Critique litigation rules: Analyse the norms and practices governing commercial proceedings.
- Draft legal materials: Prepare and interpret key litigation documents.
- Advocate effectively: Develop clear written and oral submissions.
EU Aviation Law (10 ECTS)
Explore the legal and regulatory structure of civil aviation within the European Union. Topics include liberalisation and the single aviation market, safety and security, passenger rights, environmental protection, competition law, aircraft finance and leasing, and the EU's external aviation relations following the Open Skies judgments.
How this fits your MSc journey: Apply EU law to a commercially important and highly regulated sector. The module develops regulatory, competition and problem-solving skills relevant to aviation, transport, consumer protection, finance and cross-border policy.
Learning outcomes:
- Evaluate EU aviation regulation: Appraise the institutions, laws and policies governing civil aviation.
- Trace market development: Analyse major regulatory changes since the liberalisation process began in 1987.
- Assess regulated areas: Evaluate safety, security, passenger rights, competition, environmental and financing rules.
- Analyse regulatory bodies: Critically examine the roles of EU, national and international authorities.
- Solve aviation-law problems: Apply legal analysis to practical EU aviation scenarios.
International Business Tax Law (10 ECTS)
Gain an introduction to international and European business taxation. The module examines double taxation, tax treaties, the OECD Model Tax Convention and its main business articles, together with treaty interpretation, EU primary law, direct-tax directives, fiscal state aid and recent developments in tax competition and cooperation.
How this fits your MSc journey: Understand how tax law affects cross-border business structures and financial decisions. The module provides a legal framework for evaluating the responsibilities of businesses as taxpayers within European and global society.
Gain an introduction to international and European business taxation. The module examines double taxation, tax treaties, the OECD Model Tax Convention and its main business articles, together with treaty interpretation, EU primary law, direct-tax directives, fiscal state aid and recent developments in tax competition and cooperation.
How this fits your MSc journey: Understand how tax law affects cross-border business structures and financial decisions. The module provides a legal framework for evaluating the responsibilities of businesses as taxpayers within European and global society.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand taxing jurisdiction: Evaluate the bases on which states impose business taxation.
- Interpret tax treaties: Analyse the principal business articles of the OECD Model Convention.
- Evaluate international case law: Compare judicial approaches across different jurisdictions.
- Assess EU tax measures: Critically examine directives and other instruments governing direct taxation.
- Analyse CJEU jurisprudence: Evaluate key decisions affecting Member States' tax systems.
- Interpret emerging developments: Assess current trends in international and European tax law.
International Trade Law (10 ECTS)
Examine controversial issues at the intersection of international trade law, international economic law and public international law. The module considers development and global inequality, agricultural trade, intellectual property, foreign investment and tensions between trade rules and emerging international environmental norms.
How this fits your MSc journey: Move beyond the foundational rules of international economic law to analyse contested policy areas. The module develops negotiation, treaty interpretation and critical analysis skills relevant to trade, investment, sustainability and international policy.
Learning outcomes:
- Debate development approaches: Compare theoretical and legal responses to economic development and global inequality.
- Evaluate agricultural trade law: Assess multilateral treaty rules and their limitations.
- Analyse intellectual property: Identify international protection rules and differences in their application.
- Explain investment protection: Interpret the principal rules governing international investment.
- Assess trade and environment tensions: Critically analyse conflicts between environmental norms and trade obligations.
Regulation of Alternative Investment Funds (10 ECTS)
Explore the business models and regulation of alternative investment funds, with particular attention to hedge funds and private equity funds. The module examines the benefits and risks associated with these vehicles, the rationales for regulation and the contrasting approaches taken in the European Union and the United States.
How this fits your MSc journey: Connect financial-market practice with investor protection, financial stability and regulatory design. The module is suited to students interested in asset management, fund law, supervision, compliance and the wider field of law and finance.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand alternative funds: Explain the business models of hedge funds and private equity funds.
- Evaluate benefits and risks: Critically assess their contribution to markets and potential dangers.
- Compare regulatory regimes: Analyse approaches to fund regulation in the EU and the US.
- Assess regulatory effects: Evaluate impacts on the industry, financial stability and investor protection.
- Interpret market change: Analyse the evolving business and regulatory environment for alternative funds.
Finance Electives
Financial Statement Analysis (10 ECTS)
Develop comprehensive skills to analyse and interpret company financial statements and annual reports, focusing on key components such as income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, equity changes, and notes. This module equips you to assess past performance and forecast future financial health, incorporating traditional financial ratios alongside modern challenges in sustainability reporting. You will also learn how to integrate environmental and social impact metrics with financial data to evaluate firm performance across multiple stakeholder interests.
How this fits your MSc journey: Provides essential expertise for careers in financial management, equity and credit analysis, corporate valuation, and sustainability-focused financial reporting within diverse sectors.
Learning outcomes:
- Analyse and interpret real-world financial statements using professional techniques.
- Evaluate a company’s current and prospective financial position, addressing issues like revenue recognition and asset valuation.
- Prepare and present financial accounts distinguishing operating and financing activities.
- Apply valuation methods including discounted cash flow, multiples, and liquidation approaches.
- Conduct credit analysis combining fundamental and statistical approaches.
- Understand accounting for long-term liabilities, investments, and multinational operations.
- Report on environmental and social impacts in line with international sustainability standards.
International Finance (5 ECTS)
This module describes and analyses the operations of the main international financial institutions and markets, it demonstrates the essential elements of international risk management, and it provides practical examples of managing risk.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand the evolution of the current international monetary systems and the role of the main international financial institutions.
- Critically appraise the extent to which the theories of exchange rate determination explain exchange rate movements in today's globalised economy;
- Compare, contrast and evaluate the main parity relationships in international finance;
- Understand the role of derivative instruments in managing international financial risk, and evaluate alternative approaches to international financial risk management within the firm;
- Assess global sustainability challenges and the role of international companies in achieving sustainable development objectives.
Private Equity & Venture Capital (10 ECTS)
Explore the evolving landscape of private equity, including buyouts, growth equity, venture capital, and private credit. This module provides practical insights into fund structures, valuation methods, and capital allocation decisions, with input from leading industry practitioners and access to professional data tools like Cobalt.
How this fits your MSc journey: Equips you with the tools and strategic perspective needed to analyse, manage, and invest in private markets, ideal preparation for roles in private equity, venture capital, or asset management.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand the shift toward private markets and the core structures, segments, and metrics of private equity.
- Evaluate investment strategies and trends in buyouts, venture capital, and private debt using industry data.
- Analyse private equity fund mechanics, including fundraising, valuation, and capital deployment.
- Assess private credit’s emergence and its role in financing private equity transactions.
- Examine venture capital strategies, early-stage funding models, and portfolio construction from an allocator’s perspective.
Treasury Management (5 ECTS)
Understand how treasury supports liquidity, resilience and corporate value. Explore cash and working-capital management, forecasting, financial and operational risk, treasury policy, funding and capital-structure decisions. You will also examine credit ratings and how market, regulatory and organisational factors influence access to capital and the cost of debt.
How this fits your MSc journey: Apply finance theory to the day-to-day management of liquidity, funding, risk and investor relationships across different organisations.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand treasury's role: Explain how treasury operates within corporate finance across different organisational structures.
- Develop treasury policy: Apply sound principles and practices while aligning policy with corporate objectives.
- Manage cash and working capital: Plan liquidity, prepare cash-flow forecasts and identify opportunities for optimisation.
- Evaluate treasury risks: Assess financial-market, operational, legal, regulatory, counterparty and liquidity exposures.
- Optimise capital structure: Compare debt and equity choices and understand their effect on funding and investor relations.
- Assess credit ratings: Explain rating processes and evaluate the factors that influence borrowing costs and access to capital.
Financial Markets and Institutions (5 ECTS)
Understand the foundations of modern financial systems and their critical role in economic stability and development. This module explores the core functions of financial markets and institutions, including banks, central banks, and supranational entities. Students will analyse the architecture of financial markets, key financial instruments, and the systemic importance of regulation. Case studies of recent financial crises provide real-world insight into market failures and regulatory responses.
How this fits your MSc journey: Offers essential context for understanding the broader financial ecosystem. Ideal for students pursuing roles in banking, regulatory bodies, central banks, financial consultancy, or policymaking.
Learning outcomes:
- Evaluate the role of financial systems in supporting economic growth and stability.
- Identify and describe major financial instruments and their associated markets.
- Analyse the structure and purpose of key financial institutions.
- Interpret the causes and consequences of recent financial crises.
- Assess the effectiveness of financial regulation in crisis prevention and market oversight.
Derivatives (5 ECTS)
Learn how derivatives allow companies and investors to reshape exposure to interest rates, currencies, equities, commodities, inflation and other market risks. Examine forwards, futures, options and swaps, how they are valued and how they support hedging or speculative strategies. Real market cases and developments in machine learning connect pricing theory with contemporary practice.
How this fits your MSc journey: Develop the derivative-valuation and risk-management capabilities that complement investment theory, fixed income, treasury and alternative investments.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand derivative markets: Explain the purpose, structure and analytics of the principal derivative instruments.
- Value derivatives: Price forwards, futures, options, swaps and related contracts.
- Design risk strategies: Assess how derivatives can support hedging and informed speculative positions.
- Compare specialised products: Evaluate index and currency options, futures options, exotic options and other structures.
- Learn from market events: Critically analyse historical derivative cases and apply the lessons to current risk decisions.