Bachelor of Laws - Graduate Entry

Overview

The Bachelor of Laws – Graduate Entry is designed for students who have completed a non-law undergraduate degree and who want to diversify their career options, including those in full-time employment.

This course attracts a cohort of mature students, forming a cohesive peer group to provide a network of like-minded professionals.

You’ll focus on intellectual property within a commercial law context  and be guaranteed a Work Integrated Learning opportunity, which could be a placement, internship or industry-linked project.

Learning Outcomes

The Bachelor of Laws - Graduate Entry provides an accredited qualification in law and educates students to meet the challenges of a profession and society that are increasingly diverse, complex and technologically sophisticated. It provides a rigorous and intellectually challenging legal education that develops and enhances legal knowledge and a broad range of skills necessary for legal practice; promoting respect for the Rule of Law and adherence to ethical conduct and professional responsibility.  

Upon successfully completing the Bachelor of Laws - Graduate Entry, students will be able to:

• apply the principles and doctrines that underpin the fundamental areas of Australian law and the Australian legal system
• Build on and continuously develop ethical and professional responsibility in the practice of law and a commitment to the pursuit of justice
• analyse and evaluate the interdisciplinary contexts in which legal issues arise and the disciplines and policy considerations that influence the content and operation of the law
  
• Interpret issues affecting the legal status and experiences of Indigenous peoples in Australia and apply legal doctrine and other approaches to solve problems in preparation for professional practice acknowledging the culture, traditions and beliefs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other communities
• critically evaluate events or factual situations, identify the legal issues to which they give rise and develop and articulate appropriate and creative responses
  
• undertake and critically evaluate research from a variety of sources to make judgements to solve complex legal problems with intellectual independence
• effectively communicate persuasive legal arguments to legal and non-legal audiences 
• function as an effective member or leader of a team and critically reflect on individual performance and professional development

Career Opportunities

In addition to career opportunities arising from a graduate’s initial degree, graduates of the Bachelor of Laws - Graduate Entry will have the theoretical and practical knowledge required to operate effectively in diverse settings such as law firms and barristers’ chambers, not-for-profit organisations, government, small businesses and corporate organisations. In particular, the specialisation in intellectual property law equips graduates for careers in the new knowledge economy, giving them the skills to work in media and entertainment, design, branding and advertising, and in internet companies and firms advising information-dependent industries. The specialisation in intellectual property law also equips science and engineering graduates with the skills to work as patent attorneys and in legal fields specialising in science and engineering.

Professional Recognition

The Bachelor of Laws - Graduate Entry satisfies the academic requirements for admission to practice as a lawyer in the Victorian and Australian Federal legal systems as set by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board.

Please be advised that non-academic requirements must also be satisfied for admission to practice and that no law degree allows graduates to practise straight away.

All laws graduates must also complete Practical Legal Training (PLT) prior to applying for admission to practice as a lawyer. Swinburne offers the opportunity to complete this PLT at the same time as completing your Bachelor of Laws via the Leo Cussen Centre for Law Swinburne Program.

Course rules

To qualify for the Bachelor of Laws - Graduate Entry, students must complete 300 credit points comprising:

• 20 core Law Units (250 credit points)
• 4 Law electives (50 credit points)
• 3 Professional Experiences in law (0 credit points) *
   

Students complete no more than 100 credit points (8 units) at Introductory Level (i.e. Stage 1 - eg: LAW1XXXX). A unit of study can only be counted once. Where units are shared between majors and/or minors, students must choose an approved alternative unit.

Please be advised that you are not permitted to take more than 8 LAW units per year unless you submit an Enrolment Amendment application which has been approved by the LLB Course Director.

Domestic students also have an opportunity to undertake a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Professional Placement. Please note that due to government regulation international students holding a student visa are not able to undertake Professional Placements in this course.

Maximum Academic Credit

The maximum level of credit that can be granted for the Bachelor of Laws is 200 credit points (normally 16 units).