Bachelor of Laws (Honours)
2023 Deakin University Handbook
| Year | 2023 course information |
|---|---|
| Award granted | Bachelor of Laws (Honours) |
| Campus | This course is only offered Online |
| Duration | 1 year part-time |
| Deakin course code | M412 |
| Approval status | This course is approved by the University under the Higher Education Standards Framework. |
| Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition | The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8. |
This course is only available to Deakin students currently enrolled in M312 Bachelor of Laws or combined Law degrees and who meet the entry requirements for M412. Further information can be found here. | |
Course sub-headings
- Course overview
- Indicative student workload
- Professional recognition
- Career opportunities
- Participation requirements
- Mandatory student checks
- Fees and charges
- Course Learning Outcomes
- Course rules
- Course structure
- Research and research-related study
Course overview
If you value independent thinking and are looking for a pathway to research degrees and enhanced career opportunities, Deakin’s Bachelor of Laws (Honours) could be ideal for you. This course offers high-achieving law graduates additional opportunities to establish their career as a pathway to a PhD or Masters by Research degree.
Undertake specialised study where you’ll conduct in-depth, independent legal research on a topic you’re passionate about and develop advanced research skills and disciplinary knowledge. You’ll be supervised by experienced academics while you work on your thesis and engage with the research community about your chosen topic.
Improve your critical and constructive thinking and gain practical research skills you can use in a range of private and public sectors to positively impact issues you care about.
Entry will be based on performance in:
- Completion of a minimum of 21 credit points of MLL coded units from the Bachelor of Laws (M312) with a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of at least 65% across these units OR
- Completion of a minimum of 16 credit points of MLL coded units from Law combined degrees with a Weighted Average Mark of at least 65%.
Indicative student workload
As a student in the Faculty of Business and Law, you can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include classes, seminars, practicals and online interaction. 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 (Honours) is designed to satisfy the university component of the requirements to become an Australian lawyer set by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board (VLAB).
In addition to completing an approved law degree, if you are seeking entry to legal practice you are required to work for one year as a supervised legal trainee or undertake a practical legal training (PLT) course.???
Career opportunities
Obtaining a law degree is normally the first step towards becoming a barrister or solicitor, and most students entering law school aspire to enter one of these branches of the legal profession. A law degree, especially when combined with a degree in arts, commerce, management or science, is a qualification that offers unequalled career opportunities.
As an alternative to practising as a barrister or solicitor, you may choose to enter business (eg. as a corporate lawyer, company administrator or business manager), government service (as a lawyer with departments or authorities as diverse as the Attorney Generals Department, the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Australian Securities Commission), industrial relations, public administration, teaching (at a university) or in law reform (as a research officer).
The Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree provides students with demonstrated research skills, which are highly prized in legal practice, government, policy, and corporate roles. In particular, students who complete the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) will have a strong foundation for entry into postgraduate study and potential careers in academia, legal practice, and government roles.
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.
Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. More information available at Disability support services.
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.
Fees and charges
Fees and charges vary depending on your course, the type of fee place you hold, your commencement year, the units you choose and your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
Use the Fee estimator to see course and unit fees applicable to your course and type of place. Further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods is available on our Current students fees website.
Course Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Learning Outcomes | Course Learning Outcomes |
| Discipline specific knowledge and capabilities | Apply advanced legal research methodologies and legal reasoning to identify and address legal issues with reference to relevant social, political and global contexts and theoretical approaches as appropriate |
| Communication | Employ advanced legal writing skills to effectively communicate legal arguments and the conclusions that follow |
| Digital literacy | Utilise a variety of resources in order to formulate and execute a research strategy and plan |
| Critical thinking | Critically evaluate and synthesise legal and other relevant sources to identify and articulate a legal problem that is suitable for research at an advanced level, and apply high-level legal reasoning to explore such policy, theoretical and legal questions as arise |
| Problem solving | Apply rigorous legal analysis to formulate and articulate well-reasoned and nuanced responses to the legal problem under consideration |
| Self-management | This CLO is not explicitly assessed |
| Teamwork | This CLO is not explicitly assessed |
| Global citizenship | Evaluate and compare different approaches and solutions to legal problems in Australian and international jurisdictions and incorporate consideration of ethical perspectives where appropriate |
Course rules
To complete the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) students must be concurrently enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws (M312) (or combined Deakin Law degree) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (M412) course.
To complete the Bachelor of Laws (Honours), students must attain a total of 4 credit points from the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (M412) consisting of:
- MLH401 Legal Research Training (2 credit points)
- MLH402 Legal Research Project (2 credit points
Overall:
- Students enrolled in the single Law degree must attain a total of 36 credit points, consisting of 4 credit points from the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (M412) and 32 credit points from the Bachelor of Laws (M312) with a minimum Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 65%
- Students enrolled in a combined Law degree must attain a total of 44 credit points, consisting of 4 credit points from the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (M412) and 40 credit points from the Law combined degree.
Course structure
Core Units
Bachelor of Laws (Honours) core units:
| MLH401 | Legal Research Training (2cp) |
| MLH402 | Legal Research Project (2cp) |
Other course information
Course duration - additional information
Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as accessing or completing work placements.
Further information
Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.
- Contact Student Central
Research and research-related study
Research and research skills are developed through two core 2 credit point units. MLH401 Legal Research Training, MLH402 Legal Research Project. Both units require students to demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills in the application of online and print research resources that relate to case law, legislation, and legal literature, and advanced writing skills that integrate critical thinking and synthetic analysis.