Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry)

Overview

Build on your previous study and equip yourself for a fulfilling career in law with a Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) at Victoria University (VU).

If you hold a degree in any other discipline, you can fast-track your law degree with VU. By entering as a graduate, you’ll study the same core subjects as your classmates in the Bachelor of Laws but graduate in three years instead of four.

Enjoy the flexibility of studying in four-weeks blocks with the unique VU Block Model®, with the option to study some of your units fully online so you can manage work and family commitments.

You’ll be based in the heart of Melbourne’s legal precinct at our City Campus, learning from expert legal academics and supported by adjunct professors who are some of Australia’s most reputable legal professionals. Thanks to our partnerships with the courts and community legal services, you’ll also gain practical, real-world experience of the justice system – preparing you to work in the corporate, commercial, community or government legal sectors.

In this condensed law degree, you’ll gain a broad perspective on legal practice and gain specialist academic and professional skills including:

*advocacy

*ethical judgement

*communication

*legal research and writing

*interviewing and negotiation

*legal interpretation.

By studying all of the major areas of law (including contract, torts, property, constitutional, criminal and corporate), you’ll graduate from VU’s Bachelor of Laws having satisfied the academic requirements of the Victorian Legal Admissions Board for admission to legal practice in Victoria.

You may also be able to complete an honours thesis in your final year, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours). 

Learning Outcome

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

*Integrate conceptual understandings of the Australian legal system, fundamental areas of legal knowledge and relevant advanced specialist bodies of knowledge within the discipline of law;

*Critically review, analyse, adapt and apply broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of law and underlying principles and concepts in diverse contemporary local and international and comparative contexts;

*Identify, articulate and respond to legal issues by critically analysing and applying information with initiative and judgement in order to both anticipate and creatively solve problems and promote justice in authentic/contemporary professional, community and global settings;

*Exhibit professional accountabilities and ethical judgement, by evaluating, synthesising and adapting knowledge, skills legal reasoning and research to make appropriate responses to legal issues that reflect the social, political and contextual factors;

*Communicate a clear, coherent and independent exposition of knowledge and skills appropriate for legal and non-legal audiences, in both oral and written form;

*Reflect on personal learning and skills in relation to career goals and implement effective, creative strategies to promote lifelong learning and pathways to further learning including a commitment to ongoing professional development;

*Apply personal and interpersonal competencies including organisational and collaborative skills necessary to operate within broad parameters in the immensely divergent and complex global and Australian cultures;

*Contribute effectively, with personal accountability for outcomes in a dynamic 21st century work team, working in an ethical and socially responsible manner.

Course structure

To attain the Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) students will be required to complete 288 credit points consisting of:

*228 credit points of Core Law studies

*60 credit points of Law Elective studies.

To be awarded a Bachelor of Laws with Honours: Students who enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws prior to 31 Dec 2014 may apply to undertake the unit Advanced Legal Research Dissertation in their later years in this degree based on the aggregate of points attributed to the top two thirds of units so listed shall then be calculated and a grade point average determined. Students will be further assessed on an outline of a proposed thesis topic and availability of a college based or college affiliated supervisor. Students will be awarded a Bachelor of Laws with Honours (Class H1, H2A, H2B or H3) based on their aggregate of points and overall mark in Advanced Legal Research Dissertation.

To be awarded a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (For students enrolled post 1 January 2015): Students in any Bachelor of Laws course may apply to transfer into any Bachelor of Laws (Honours) course if the selection criteria is met.

Careers

In Melbourne, law graduates are in high demand particularly in banking and finance, corporate/commercial, litigation, private equity, projects, property, tax and workplace relations.

With a Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) from VU, you’ll be in high-demand and equipped to work as a lawyer or in legal practice in areas including criminal law, human rights law, family law, commercial law and business.

Like many of our graduates, you may choose to work in community legal centres providing legal access to disadvantaged groups, and in not-for-profit organisations.

You could take on roles in the legal field such as:

*lawyer (barrister or solicitor)

*in-house legal counsel

*policy adviser

*legal adviser

*human-rights advocate.

Visit Jobs and Skills Australia to see the average salaries for the following career paths:

*Solicitors average salary

*Barristers average salary

*Judicial and other legal professionals average salary.