This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025.
Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition
The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9
Please note: Full-time study in Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 only. part-time study only in Trimester 3.
Students should be aware of the commitment required for this course. Each subject includes 22 hours of pre-recorded lectures, 22 hours of seminars and up to 100 hours of reading and assessment time. The live seminars aren’t mandatory however students who do attend gain a far greater learning experience.
Prepare for a first-class law career at one of Victoria’s top 3 law schools.* Deakin’s practise-focused Juris Doctor (JD) is built on the principle that lawyers can be catalysts for positive change in society. Designed for non-law graduates, this prestigious law program goes beyond the typical theory-centred model. You will focus on sharpening your critical thinking and practical skills, while developing a solid foundation of legal knowledge.
Looking for a progressive, engaging and flexible online course to launch your law career?
Delivered fully online, Deakin’s JD gives you comprehensive training in each of the major areas of legal practice, with research, theory and policy considerations embedded throughout the curriculum. With flexibility at its core, lectures and interactive live seminars are recorded so you can schedule your study around your other commitments.
Learn from world-leading scholars in human rights, intellectual property, land, property, mining and engineering law, and be guided by teachers with strong practicing backgrounds, including a former judge. This impressive array of expertise helps shape the course, so you can be confident everything you learn is relevant to industry and can be applied as soon as you enter the field.
A placement in the Deakin Law Clinic is also on offer – an award-winning community legal centre where you'll gain real-world experience with practicing solicitors and real clients. Other work-integrated learning (WIL) options are available and strongly encouraged.
The Deakin JD cohort is made up of students with rich and diverse personal and professional backgrounds. Often already successful and established in their first career, your fellow classmates can be a positive source of encouragement and inspiration. Group assignments not only allow you to network in a professional capacity but will enable you to forge genuine connections that you'll carry throughout your career.
You will also have extracurricular opportunities to network with the Deakin Law Students’ Society and can access our campuses, libraries and facilities at any time.
*QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023
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 Juris Doctor 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.
A person seeking admission in a jurisdiction outside Australia may be required to satisfy additional requirements. 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
A Juris Doctor qualification meets the academic requirements for admission to legal practice in Victoria, as well as some other Australian and international jurisdictions.
Law touches every aspect of society, and the career opportunities reflect this. As a graduate, you will be qualified to practice in a broad range of areas including:
academia
business
government industrial relations
law firms – from small rural/regional practices to large national or international organisations
law reform bodies
public administration.
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.
Course Learning Outcomes
Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities
Develop an advanced and integrated understanding of the Australian legal system, the fundamental areas of knowledge required for legal practice, and the broader contexts within which legal issues arise, including international and comparative contexts and contemporary developments in the law; and apply that understanding, including to demonstrate appropriate competence in the fundamental areas of knowledge.
Communication
Develop and apply an ability to communicate effectively and persuasively to both legal and non-legal audiences, orally and in writing
Digital Literacy
Use technologies to identify, locate, and evaluate information for researching legal questions, solving legal problems and communicating legal solutions
Critical thinking
Apply sophisticated critical thinking capacities and exercise intellectual independence to identify and articulate complex legal issues.
Problem Solving
Apply legal reasoning and research to understand and analyse legal problems, to identify possible responses, and to make reasoned and appropriate choices to generate and justify jurisprudential and practical solutions.
Self-management
Develop the capacity to learn and research with autonomy, accountability and professionalism, and to reflect on and assess personal capabilities and performance.
Teamwork
Collaborate effectively in team environments, demonstrating constructive engagement and contribution to the team and the ability to draw on strengths of others.
Global Citizenship
Recognise and reflect on the ethical and professional responsibilities of legal professionals, and the requirements of ethical decision-making in legal practice; and apply these to a range of social, ethical, global and environmental contexts.
Course rules
To complete the Juris Doctor students must pass 24 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:
DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
Optional (but highly recommended) JD Induction program (refer to additional course information below for dates and times), which is live-streamed and recorded, plus online pre-recorded presentations
Note: MLP code denotes Priestley units, which teach the academic areas of knowledge prescribed for admission to legal practice.
Course elective units
Not all elective units will be offered every year. Units not offered in 2025 may be offered in 2026 or 2027. From time to time, the Law School may develop new units to strengthen the law elective list.
7 credit points of elective units can be chosen from:
This course does not require students to complete compulsory work integrated learning units.
Course duration
Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.
Online Juris Doctor Induction Program
JD students are invited to attend our Online Juris Doctor Induction Program which is delivered during Orientation Week and will support you in your studies. Orientation Week occurs the week prior to Week 1 teaching of each trimester. Please register for each session via your Orientation Itinerary.
2025 Induction Program dates:
T1: to be advised
T2: to be advised
T3: to be advised
Further information
Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.
Research-related learning tasks are embedded across units where student achievements is demonstrated in specific assessment tasks.
Fees and charges
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or 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.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.
