Bachelor of Laws

Designed and taught by practising lawyers and academics, Deakin's accredited Bachelor of Laws combines sound legal training with real-world experience. You will develop key skills in communication, problem solving and analytical thinking, and gain sought-after experience through our substantial work-integrated learning opportunities.

Tailor your studies to a field of interest by choosing from a wide range of commercial and public law electives, and work with clients on real cases under the supervision of qualified solicitors at the Deakin Law Clinic, our community legal service that offers free legal advice.

Study at Deakin Law School and join the ranks of high-performing students attending one of Australia's top law schools.* For over 30 years we've attracted some of the best and brightest students in Australia who have gone on to enjoy high employment rates in dynamic roles across law, business, journalism, public administration, private enterprise and politics.

Are you looking for a degree that prepares you for a leading legal or professional career?

Choose Deakin's Bachelor of Laws and develop a solid foundation of practical legal skills, including:

• negotiation
• problem solving
• preparing for court appearances
• legal drafting
• statutory interpretation.

You will also learn transferable skills that can launch you on a variety of career paths that could see you entering the business sector, government, law reform, politics or public administration.

The legal profession is undergoing rapid change and lawyers are increasingly required to provide clients with practical, commercial advice. A distinctive feature of our programs is our focus on experiential learning, which helps you develop critical skills and obtain disciplinary knowledge, giving you an edge upon graduation.

At the Deakin Law Clinic, you will get the opportunity to hone the legal skills acquired in your academic training, including the capacity to analyse complex legal problems and other critical skills necessary for pursuing a career in law.

*Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2022

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 as a solicitor or barrister in all legal fields, including:

• commercial law
• criminal law
• family law
• public international and human rights law
• refugee law
• personal injury law.

In addition, your degree opens up many other career opportunities. As an alternative to practising as a barrister or solicitor, you may choose to enter:

• business as a corporate lawyer, consultant, company administrator or business manager
• government as a lawyer or policy adviser with departments or authorities as diverse as the Attorney General's Department, the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Office of Public Prosecutions, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
• industrial relations
• public administration
• education
• media
• politics
• law reform.

To complete the Bachelor of Laws, students must attain a total of 32 credit points, plus completion of the compulsory 0-credit point module, DAI001 Academic Integrity Module. Most units (think of units as 'subjects') are equal to 1 credit point. Most students choose to study 4 units per trimester, and usually undertake 2 trimesters each year.

To complete the course you must include:-

• 18 credit points of core units
• completion of DAI001 Academic Integrity Module (0-credit-point compulsory module)
• 14 credit points of elective units (no more than 5 elective units at Level 1)

The 14 credit points of elective units must include:-

• a minimum of 6 credit points of law electives, including 1 credit point of WIL/practical/experiential unit from a list.
• a minimum of 4 credit points of non-law electives (these may be selected from any undergraduate units offered by the University, subject to eligibility) (i.e. a maximum of ten credit points of Law Electives can be chosen)
• and 4 credit points of electives that may be Law

The University aims to provide students with as much credit as possible for approved prior study or informal learning which exceeds the normal entrance requirements for the course and is within the constraints of the course regulations. Students are required to complete a minimum of one-third of the course at Deakin University, or four credit points, whichever is the greater. In the case of certificates, including graduate certificates, a minimum of two credit points within the course must be completed at Deakin.

RPL will generally be granted for a Priestley 11 unit where a student completed the unit within 5 years of the date on which they will commence their Law degree at Deakin University. Whether RPL is granted for a Priestley unit that a student completed more than 5 years before that date will depend on an assessment of the particular unit, including whether its content remains current and it is substantially equivalent to the relevant unit in the Deakin Law course for which RPL is sought. It is possible that RPL may not be granted where the coverage of Priestley 11 knowledge areas across units of study is structured differently in the Law course at Deakin University compared to the Law course at the university where the student previously studied.

You can also refer to the Recognition of prior learning system which outlines the credit that may be granted towards a Deakin University degree and how to apply for credit.