Bachelor of Arts Government (Politics, Economics and Law)

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Course Overview
Key Facts
Course Outline
Further Education
Why Choose This Course?
Course Fees
Find Out More

Entry Points (2024)

351

Course Overview

Government has a profound impact on our lives and the functioning of society. Government policies affect everything from our health and wellbeing, to the affordability of housing and transport, the quality of the environment and the viability of businesses and voluntary organisations. The BA Government (Politics, Economics and Law) will enable you to better understand public affairs and emerging critical issues and to develop the skills necessary to make a real difference in your chosen career path, whether in public, private or voluntary and non-profit sectors.

Do you want to better understand how government works and how public policy can be improved? Do you want to examine how democracy, politics, economics and law interact to shape public and social policy? Are you interested in working in a career where knowledge of government, public policy, business and law are important? If so, the BA Government (Politics, Economics, and Law) at University of Galway is for you.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, another language, and three other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Additional Requirements

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

4 years

Next start date

September 2025

A Level Grades (2024)

universityofgalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

2 (More Info)

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

GY132

Course code

Course Outline

YEAR ONE

Introduction to Politics
Practicing Politics
Introduction to Government
Practicing Government
Principles of Micro and Macro Economics
Skills for Economics
Tort Law
Irish Legal Systems
Legal Skills

YEAR TWO

International and Global Politics
European Politics
Methods for Social and Political Science
Modern Political Thought
Intermediate Micro and Macro Economics
Mathematics and Statistics for Economics
Legal Methods and Research
Contract Law
Constitutional Law
Financial Economics
Economics of Public Policy
Irish Economic History
Housing Law & Policy
Environmental Law

YEAR THREE

Professional Skills for Government and Policy
Study Abroad
Policy, Lobbying and Advocacy
Work Placement
Government Field Trip
Introduction to Sustainability
Green Political Thought
Governing the Poor
Design your Life
Navigating the Digital World

Study Abroad

There are opportunities to study in another European university in Third Year under the ERASMUS scheme (e.g., in Belgium, Finland, Netherland or Estonia) or to study for one semester at a university in the USA or Canada.

YEAR FOUR

Political Liberty
Contemporary American Politics
Contemporary African Politics
Comparative Public Policy
Thinking Politically
Government and Public Policy
Public Economics
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Health Economics
Administrative Law
European Union Law
Criminal Law

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits: You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module: An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject: Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional: A module you may choose to study.
Required: A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject: A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester: Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Further Education

Graduates may pursue postgraduate study in government, public policy and administration, journalism and media, business and management, economics and enterprise or further study and professional training in law. Students with a minor in Law will be exempted from the first year the three-year LLB programme and students majoring in Law may enter third year, subject to achieving a 2.2 award.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

CAREER PROSPECTS

The programme lays the foundation for careers in local and national government, business, voluntary andnon-governmental organisations, the EU, UN and global development agencies. The curriculum, combined with on-the-job professional placement and study abroad options, prepares you to work in public administration, policy analysis and research, industrial relations, public relations, journalism, community development, political advising, advocacy and consultancy.

STUDY ABROAD

Who’s Suited to This Course

– BA Government

Lisa Walshe

lisa.walshe@universityofgalway.ie

Website School of Political Science and Sociology

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Students can avail of opportunities to study abroad with the Erasmus programme throughout Europe.

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€6,076 p.a. (€6,216 p.a. including levy) 2025/26

Fees: Tuition

€3,076 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Non EU

€20,500 p.a. (€20,640 p.a. including levy) 2025/26

EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy* €140. *Payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI. Further detail here.

For 25/26 entrants, where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 3.4% per annum for continuing years fees**.
**Excludes Full-Time EU Undergraduate fees. These are fixed and do not change.

Find out More

College of Arts, Social Sciences,
and Celtic Studies
t. +353 91 493958
e. collegearts@universityofgalway.ie

Lisa Basquel | BA Government

I choose to study BA Government as I was interested in the multidisciplinary nature of the course with the opportunity to undertake three different subjects. Throughout my time on this course, I have had the opportunity to study in the University of Ottawa in Canada for 6 months, which gave me the chance to gain an international perspective on my studies. One thing I really like about this course is the smaller class size, as it means help is easily accessible from the school and the department. Earlier this year we received funding and support for a student led publication called “The Government Collective” which is something that would have been hard to do if there was a larger class size to cater for. Overall, I’ve had a fantastic experience over the past four years and will look back at my time studying BA Government in University of Galway fondly

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Bachelor of Arts Government (Politics, Economics and Law)

Expand all

Course Overview

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Additional Requirements

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

Next start date

A Level Grades (2024)

Average intake

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

Course code

Course Outline

Study Abroad

Curriculum Information

Glossary of Terms

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Further Education

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

CAREER PROSPECTS

STUDY ABROAD

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

Fees: Tuition

Fees: Student Contribution

Fees: Student levy

Fees: Non EU

Find out More

Lisa Basquel | BA Government

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