Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws
2026 Deakin University Handbook
| Year | 2026 course information |
|---|---|
| Award granted | Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws |
| Course Credit Points | 40 |
| Deakin course code | D312 |
| Course version | 7 |
| Faculty | Faculty of Business and Law |
| Course Information | For students who commenced from 2023 onwards |
| Campus | Offered at Burwood (Melbourne), Waterfront (Geelong), Online |
| Duration | 5 years full-time or part-time equivalent |
| Course Map - enrolment planning tool | This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2026 This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 2 2026 Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central. |
| CRICOS code | 015206G Burwood (Melbourne), Waterfront (Geelong) |
| Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition | The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 7 |
| Supplementary Information | Students and Applicants to Geelong Waterfront Campus |
Course sub-headings
- Course overview
- Indicative student workload
- Professional recognition
- Career opportunities
- Participation requirements
- Mandatory student checks
- Alternative exits
- Articulated courses
- Course Learning Outcomes
- Course rules
- Majors
- Course structure
- Work experience
- Fees and charges
Course overview
Graduating with two versatile degrees sets you up for a career without limitations. Combine an industry-leading legal education with thought-provoking investigative learning when you study Deakin's Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws. Study everything from tort law to commercial law at Deakin Law School, while exploring a complementary specialisation, from areas including criminology, sociology, politics and policy studies and media studies, through your arts degree.
The real-world experience you gain throughout your degree will prepare you for roles across a wide range of fields. In the law stream, you can work on real cases alongside established legal professionals at the Deakin Law Clinic. In the arts stream, you will develop industry-relevant skills on work-integrated learning projects and, depending on your major, you may choose to undertake a study abroad experience.
Ready to develop transferable skills to enhance your career prospects in law?
The law is influenced by many social, economic, environmental and political factors. A combined Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws course gives you the knowledge and skills to understand these factors and work in areas where they may be relevant.
Deakin Law School provides a strong foundation in all major areas of law, including:
- contract law
- criminal law and procedure
- torts
- property law
- equity and trusts
- constitutional law
- administrative law.
Ranked the #3 law school in Victoria*, Deakin offers a robust legal education and practical skills through our renowned programs at the Deakin Community Law Clinic, industry placements and internships. You can also undertake opportunities to study abroad through exchange programs and university partnerships to further enhance your contextual understanding. Explore the latest industry concepts, legal practice and approaches in units taught by active researchers and legal professionals. Benefit from their existing connections and insights and gain that all-important competitive edge to stand out to your future employers.
Deakin’s Bachelor of Arts allows you to explore meaningful ideas that matter to you, preparing you to make a positive impact on the world around you. Complement your legal studies and design your own learning by combining specific majors and minors – from international relations to journalism. Or choose to pursue your interests with specialisation options from design thinking and performing arts, strategic advertising and history to sport journalism and web design.
Our hands-on experiential learning gives you the critical skills to make an impact and curate a future career you love.
*AFR BOSS Best Business Schools 2024
Indicative student workload
You can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include lectures, seminars, online interactions, or professional experiences for Work Integrated Learning (WIL) units. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.
Professional recognition
Deakin's Bachelor of Laws is designed to satisfy the academic qualifications necessary for admission to the legal profession. In Victoria these have been set by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board (VLAB). In addition to satisfying the academic qualifications, a person seeking admission to the legal profession in Victoria is required to have satisfactorily completed certain practical legal training requirements and must be considered a fit and proper person to be admitted to the legal profession.
Requirements for admission in jurisdictions outside Australia vary. Please check the relevant jurisdiction’s legal admissions authority to confirm the required academic qualifications criteria, including any restrictions on online study or distance education.
Career opportunities
Graduate from the #1 Victorian university for graduate employment and step confidently into your career. Obtaining a law degree is your first step to entering the legal profession. Upon completion of your degree and the additional practical legal training, you will be qualified to work in such legal fields as:
- commercial law
- criminal law
- family law
- public international and human rights law
- personal injury law
- refugee law.
With the complementary arts degree, your studies will open you up careers in areas such as:
- advertising
- business and management consulting
- communications, media, publishing, public relations, and journalism
- community organisations and not-for-profits
- criminal justice
- education and government
- galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM)
- human rights
- performing and visual arts
- policy development
- politics
- research.
Participation requirements
Units in this course may have participation requirements that include compulsory placements, work-based training, community-based learning or collaborative research training arrangements.
Mandatory student checks
Units which contain work integrated learning, a community placement or interaction with the community may require a police check, working with children check or other check. These requirements will be detailed in unit guides upon enrolment.
Alternative exits
Articulated courses
| Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (A400) | |
| Bachelor of Communication and Creative Arts (Honours) (A450) | |
| Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (M412) |
Course Learning Outcomes
| Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes | Course Learning Outcomes Bachelor of Arts (A310) | Course Learning Outcomes Bachelor of Laws (M312) |
| Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities | Critically analyse and synthesise a broad and coherent body of knowledge in one or more Arts disciplines, and apply specialised conceptual understanding to professional practice and/or scholarship. | Demonstrate an understanding of the Australian legal system and the fundamental areas of knowledge required for legal practice as situated within international contexts and the broader contexts within which legal issues arise. |
| Communication | Articulate complex ideas using oral, | Communicate legal knowledge effectively to legal and non-legal audiences, both verbally and in writing. |
| Digital literacy | Critically evaluate the effectiveness and ethical implications of digital technologies and apply them responsibly in the creation of research and analysis that is both authentic and accountable. | Use a range of digitally-based technologies to locate, evaluate and disseminate information. |
| Critical thinking | Analyse, synthesise and evaluate, complex and wide-ranging knowledge and information to create logical judgements and informed perspectives in a range of professional and academic contexts. | Exercise critical thinking, judgment and intellectual independence to evaluate, consolidate and synthesise knowledge relevant to legal doctrine and legal practice. |
| Problem solving | Integrate cognitive, methodological, and creative skills to generate and communicate innovative approaches to unpredictable and complex problems. | Apply legal reasoning and critical analysis to generate and articulate accurate and relevant responses to legal issues. |
| Self-management | Plan and execute actions with a high level of responsibility, accountability, and independence, while maintaining a consistent commitment to continuous learning in professional and scholarly contexts. | Exercise responsibility and accountability for own learning, and possess abilities to reflect on own capabilities, performance and feedback to support personal and professional development. |
| Teamwork | Collaborate effectively and contribute constructively to team objectives with colleagues, other professionals, and members of the wider community in diverse professional and scholarly contexts. | Collaborate effectively in a team environment demonstrating constructive engagement and contribution to the team and the ability to draw on strengths of others. |
| Global citizenship | Apply culturally responsive, critically reflective and embodied self-knowledge in decolonial practice and diversity principles, to engage ethically with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples as well as diverse communities and cultures, within professional and/or scholarly contexts. | Reflect on the ethical and professional behaviours and responsibilities of legal professionals and demonstrate an understanding of the impact that different social, ethical, global or environmental perspectives have on exercising legal practice in the community. |
Course rules
To complete the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws you must pass 40 credit points. This includes:
- DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in your first study period
- 16 credit points from the Bachelor of Arts (A310)
- 1 major (8 credit points)
- a minimum of 4 credit points of Faculty of Arts units at level 3
- The remaining credit point(s) may be used to undertake the Employability sequence, or additional elective units chosen from the Bachelor of Arts which may comprise of a minor sequence
- 24 credit points from the Bachelor of Laws (M312)
- 18 credit points of core units
- 1 credit point of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) or practical course elective unit
- 5 credit points of course elective units
- a maximum of 12 credit points at level 1 across both courses
- a minimum of 10 credit points at level 3 or above across both courses.
Course requirements for both the Bachelor of Arts (A310) and Bachelor of Laws (M312) must be satisfied.
Most units are equal to one credit point. As a full-time student you will study four credit points per trimester and usually undertake two trimesters per year.
Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements.
Majors
Bachelor of Arts Majors or minors
Refer to the details of each major sequence for availability.
One (1) approved Arts major sequences of 8 credit points selected from A310 Bachelor of Arts Major/Minor listing, the remaining credit point(s) may be used to undertake a Bachelor of Arts minor sequence or to take additional elective units chosen from the Bachelor of Arts. A minimum of 4 credit points at level 3 of Arts coded units.
- animation (Minor)
- anthropology (Major and Minor)
- arabic (Major and Minor)
- chinese (Major and Minor)
- criminology (Major and Minor)
- design thinking (Minor)
- digital cultures (Major and Minor)
- education (Major and Minor)
- english - children's literature (Major and Minor)
- english - creative writing (Major and Minor)
- english - literature (Major and Minor)
- film and television studies (Major and Minor)
- gender and sexuality studies (Major and Minor)
- global challenges (Minor)
- history (Major and Minor)
- indigenous studies (Major and Minor)
- indonesian (Major and Minor)
- international relations (Major and Minor)
- media and communication (Major and Minor)
- media studies (Major and Minor)
- middle east studies (Major and Minor)
- performing arts (Major and Minor)
- philosophy (Major and Minor)
- politics and policy studies (Major and Minor)
- public relations studies (Major and Minor)
- religious studies (Major and Minor)
- social media (Major and Minor)
- sociology (Major and Minor)
- spanish (Major and Minor)
- sport and society (Minor)
- sport journalism (Major and Minor)
- strategic advertising (Major and Minor)
- UX design (Minor) *
- visual arts and photography (Major and Minor)
- visual communication design (Major and Minor)
- web design (Minor)
* UX refers to User Experience
Course structure
Compulsory 0-credit point module
To be completed in the first trimester of study:-
| DAI001 | Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin |
Core units
| MLL110 | Legal Research and Statutory Interpretation |
| MLL113 | Resolving Disputes and Legal Communication |
| MLP114 | Criminal Law |
| MLP117 | Misleading Conduct and Economic Torts |
| MLP119 | Contract A |
| MLP213 | Torts |
| MLP218 | Criminal Procedure |
| MLP219 | Contract B |
| MLP235 | Legal Practice and Ethics |
| MLP323 | Constitutional Law |
| MLP325 | Land Law |
| MLP327 | Property |
| MLP331 | Corporate Law |
| MLP334 | Evidence |
| MLP391 | Civil Procedure and Dispute Resolution |
| MLP405 | Equity and Trusts |
| MLP424 | Administrative Law |
| MLL427 | Advanced Legal Problem Solving and Persuasion (Capstone) |
Note: MLP code denotes Priestley units, which teach the academic areas of knowledge prescribed for admission to legal practice.
Course electives
Students must complete 5 Law electives from the following list
| MLL215 | Commercial Law |
| MLL224 | Advanced Statutory Interpretation |
| MLL225 | Personal Injuries Compensation Schemes |
| MLL228 | Alternative Dispute Resolution: Principles and Practice |
| MLL277 | International Law |
| MLC305 | Business Tax Law |
| MLL302 | Human Rights Law |
| MLL318 | Corporate Insolvency Law |
| MLL319 | Sentencing Law and Practice |
| MLI320/MLL320 | Family Law * |
| MLL329 | Financial Services Regulation |
| MLL330 | Health Law |
| MLL332 | International Arbitration |
| MLL336 | International Commercial Law |
| MLL338 | Legal Professional Practice |
| MLL339 | Corporate Governance and Sustainability |
| MLL342 | Workplace Law |
| MLL351 | Community Legal Internship |
| MLL362 | Succession Law |
| MLL364 | Animal Law |
| MLL394 | Migration and Refugee Law and Policy |
| MLT324 | Transnational Study Tour ^ |
| MLL406 | Taxation |
| MLL409 | Competition Law and Policy |
| MLL410 | Intellectual Property |
| MLL419 | Contemporary International Legal Challenges (Intensive) |
| MLL420 | Deakin Law Clinic |
| MLL425 | Environmental and Climate Law |
| MLL426 | Mining and Energy Law |
| MLL444 | Privacy and Data Law |
| MLL460 | Mooting and Advocacy |
*MLI code denotes optional residential version of the unit.
^MLT324 does not count as one of the WIL/Practical course elective units (listed above) required for the Bachelor of Laws.
Note:
Not all units will be offered every year.
The Law School might from time to time develop new units to strengthen the law elective list.
WIL|Practical course elective units
Students must complete one of the following experiential/practice units as one of their Law Elective units:
| MLL338 | Legal Professional Practice |
| MLL351 | Community Legal Internship |
| MLL420 | Deakin Law Clinic |
| MLL460 | Mooting and Advocacy |
Further details can be found at WIL Opportunities for law students
Work experience
This course provides students the opportunity to complete one or more work integrated learning units.
Explore Business and Law WIL opportunities.
International Students:
This course includes Work Integrated Learning (WIL) formally registered as part of the course on the CRICOS register. The total work integrated learning hours will differ depending on the WIL unit you choose. For more information about WIL hours, please check the unit information in the handbook or the unit guide.
For information about how WIL units may impact student visa holder work rights, please visit Home Affairs. See 8105 Work limitation.
Course duration
You may be able to study available units in the optional third trimester to fast-track your degree, however your course duration may be extended if there are delays in meeting course requirements, such as completing a placement.
Fees and charges
Tuition fees will vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, your study load and/or unit discipline.
Your tuition fees will increase annually at the start of each calendar year. All fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD) and do not include additional costs such as textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment, mandatory checks, travel, consumables and other costs.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.
Further information
Contact Student Central for assistance in course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements. Student Central can also provide information for a wide range of services at Deakin. To help you understand the University vocabulary, please refer to our Enrolment codes and terminology page.