BBLS vs BCL

joxer05

Hi im a leaving cert student and im not sure whether to pick law or business and legal studies in ucd. can anyone help???

Sangre

Prepare to get some objective, unbiased answers!

Farcear

...in favour of B&L!

Stabshauptmann

I wanted to do law when filling out my CAO, and Commerce was my second choice.

Though I definitly knew Id have the points for BBLS (barely missed law as it was) I put BCOMM on the CAO for second choice and didnt put BBLS down at all.

Why? Because I was told a BBLS degree would have little standing in employers eyes. I know a lot of 3rd yr BBLS students as they are doing all the courses in 2nd Commerce (because thats the route they choose), I dont know how many courses the BBLS students who choose law share with the pure law course. I dont know what second yr BBLS is like or if there is a 4th, but first year they do less than half of the commerce course.

What I know is what I was told, do commerce or law, dont do a B&L degree.

Chinafoot

Some more opinions here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054875927

hullaballoo

A law degree in UCD isn't really an option unless you want to be second rate. If you can get the points for Trinity, do law there by all means. However, there's no reason to do law in UCD unless you can't muster up the points for Trinity.

B&L is a different ball-game really. It's effectively two degrees in one. I'm not sure what research Kaptain Redeye did but B&L is a four-year degree. We do all of the same subjects as Commerce and Law and we have the same options (limited to timetabling as always).

Insofar as employment is concerned. That's an issue you can work out for yourself from first principles. If you are hiring someone to work in the field of business and you have two candidates going for the same job, each of whom has a degree from UCD. One has a pure Commerce degree, and the other has done all of the same subjects, plus a law degree and commit an extra year to study in so doing, who would you hire? You can use the same logic to decide whether a solicitor will hire a B&L grad or a BCL grad.

Most companies worth their salt are aware of BBLS and start headhunting fairly early on from the course.

There's one caveat; it doesn't matter which course you pick, if you don't put in the work from early on, you're in the same boat as all the other 2:1 grads.

TheVan

Well......you could do law and come out just knowing the law or....

you could do B+L and come out knowing the law and the business world!
Considering the amount of corporate law going on these days B+L is the way to go!

Also I worked in one of the big law firms over the summer and they seemed to be taking B+L students before law students from any college!

Therefore.....choose B+L! QED

Sangre

Oh God DONT do law in Trinity. That would be the worst idea EVER.

Bottom line is do you want to do law, business or a bit of both?
Tbh I'd rather cut myself and embrace the sweet red death then do any business course.

Oh and if you to go away for a year to say Europe or further afield do law not BnL.

Ron DMC

Ah now, Sangre. Don't dismiss Trinity just like that. Law here is actually a fantastic course. I've never heard of any complaints.
Plus, It's full of girls.

Sangre

Just going on what an ex told me who did it.

I will say one thing about BnL. The girls are a LOT hotter

Font22

i knew u were eyeing me up in international business law the other day sangre...........

Sangre

Its like looking at a horrific car crash. You know you don't want to but you can't help but stare...

TheVan

Sangre wrote:

Its like looking at a horrific car crash. You know you don't want to but you can't help but stare...

Ah now children!

Anyway in B+L you can go on Erasmus to Europe for a year and also to America, Canada, Australia or any number of other places for a year!

Not one argument against B+L yet...come on, we can rebut anything!

Stabshauptmann

out of interest what subjects do second yr B&L do, because in 1st year, ye dont do all the subjects BCOMM do

Stabshauptmann

UCD wrote:

The Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) degree provides you with everything you need to pursue a career in business and industry. The BComm is recognised by employers as a leading international business degree that follows the highest international standards for undergraduate business programmes.



.....

The Bachelor of Business and Legal Studies degree is about giving you greater choice. By combining two vital components of the commercial world this programme allows you additional flexibility in your future career.

This four-year programme, offered in conjunction with the School of Law, allows you to study the basic principles of both Business and Law ensuring that you are uniquely equipped with a comprehensive range of business and legal skills.

On the business side, you receive a thorough grounding in all aspects of running a business in the domestic, European and global contexts. Students also receive a thorough grounding in the fundamental principles of law relevant to both the business and legal world.

The advise I got from my schools guidance councellor and at UCDs open day was, if I want to do law, do law, if I want to do business do business, if Im not sure or are dedicated to further study, masters or phd, do BBLS.

On this advice, I put law 1st on my CAO and BCOMM second. I had the pints for BBLS but decided against it

TheVan

All I can say Kaptain Redeye is that you got your facts COMPLETELY wrong.

B+L do the vast majority of the same subjects as commerce and all the ones law do.

The reason we take some of them later is because we stagger them into a 4 year degree (due to the extra subjects) rather than a 3 year.

Employers are going to look at it like this: If you are going into business (say accounting) and you know the law relating to Corporate Finance and Directors etc, you are going to be much more valuable.
Similarly if you are going to go into law, a lawyer with a good knowledge of marketing, operations and accountancy is going to be invaluable.

I'm not saying you were wrong to choose commerce but all I can say is that the above are the facts?

Plus B+Lers have more fun and when they walk outside the rain stops and the sun starts shining. But that's a bonus!

Sangre

You don't do all the law subjects.

Also about 10 people go away in BnL, in law its about 60.

On the whole employer thing I'd hardly presuppose what an employer wants. He could easily think that he'd rather picked a course with decades of history over an untried one a few years old.

Slippers

The Commerce booklet lists eight compulsory courses for 2nd year BComm on p11.

ACC2001 Management Accounting
ACC2004 Financial Accounting 2
BMGT2001 Business Logistics and Operations Management
ECON2281 Intermediate Economic Theory
FIN2001 Finance
HRM2001 Managing Employee Relations
MKT2001 Marketing
MIS2001 Database Systems Development & Information Management

It lists eight compulsory courses for 2nd year BBLS on p97.

MIS1002 Quantitative Analysis for Business
ACC2003 Management Accounting
ACC2005 Financial Accounting 2
MIS1005 Introduction to Computers and Information Systems
ECON2208 Economics for Law and Business
LAW2501 Company Law
LAW2503 Criminal Law
LAW2505 Law of the European Union

The Law booklet lists two compulsary courses and sixteen (choose three) optional courses for 2nd year BCL on p6.

LAW2013 Land Law and Succession
LAW2014 Law of the European Union

and 3 of:
LAW2001 Administrative Law
LAW2002 Banking Law
LAW2020 Commercial Conflicts of Law
LAW2003 Company Law
LAW2004 Comparative Law
LAW2005 Environmental Law
LAW2006 Evidence
LAW2007 Family Law
LAW2008 Intellectual Property Law
LAW2009 International Business Law
LAW2010 International Human Rights Law
LAW2016 Irish Legal History
LAW2012 Labour Law
LAW2017 Medical Law
LAW2018 Public International Law
LAW2019 Revenue Law

Sangre

Can only do medical in 2nd year by the by. In 3rd year you also get the choice of equity, criminology and media law (jurisprudence compulsory)

besty

B&L is great. A really rounded knowledge of a broad number of subjects is available in the course and I don't think I've heard anyone in my year say a bad thing about it. Well, except for exam time obviously - but thats the same in all courses.

JustCoz

If you know law is what you want to do than do that but if your not sure then do B+L coz it's more general and we do all the law subjects anyway. You don't even need a law degree to go into law after college so I reckon you should do b+l. Advice though, if you really wanna go on erasmus you have a way better chance in law coz places are less competitive

hullaballoo

Sangre wrote:

You don't do all the law subjects.

Yeah, neither do you.

It's just we have the option to do the same subjects as you.

Sangre

No you don't

panda100

my mate who i lived in belgrove with got honours in her b+l degree and finished last may and since then has been working in topshop and is just temping at the mo. Another fella i know finished his law degree at the same time too and has a pretty good job at some law firm down in limerick now,while he studys to become a barrister.Dunno if thats the reality of the job situation but thats what happened to me mates anyway

Psychedelik

Hmmm.... Well as the saying goes, the jury seems to be out on this one...

selephonic

Seems to me(from people I know) that it depends on what you want to do afterwards. If you want to work in corporate law, do B&L, if you want to be a barrister do law(in trinity), if you want to be a general solicitor do either.

The biggest choice comes when you get to the Kings Inns/Blackhall place stage, at least that's what I've gathered from the people I know who've done different law degrees.

By the way, asfaik someone with any degree can apply to blackhall and sit their entrace exams, law students just get certain exemptions, I think.

Font22

yup anyone can sit the exams, dont have to have a history of study in law. helps though for the exams etc

Sangre

The Chief Justice and Attorney General have never gone to Trinity. Owned.

jack da Lad

Im a first law student in ucd ..........its ok but definitely make sure youve researched law as a career. Its pretty difficult, and the jargon n latin in the legal texts is a bit daunting at first. criminal law is ok as is contract, but some subjects like constitutional r Fu*K*n brutal. A word of advice stay away 4m french law its evilllllll. Mates r in B & L seems ok, but the business component is a serious amount of work, and the hours r crazy. Theres 3 new law courses dis yr law with politics n history n crap, so take a look at dem points might b low as its da first yr n stuff . ne way gud luck

rainbow kirby

Seriously, lay off the txtspk. You have a full keyboard in front of you, use it!

Sangre

Law is an easy course. The only hard part is getting in.