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Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Business

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Gain the academic and professional requirements to be admitted to legal practice in Victoria. Develop skills, knowledge and professional acumen across a range of business specialisations, preparing you for careers in the legal community, business or government.

You'll gain a range of legal professional skills such as advocacy, ethical judgement, communication, legal research and writing, interviewing and negotiation and relevant legal professional computing and related skills. This degree will provide a sound education in the principles and practice of a business specialisation by providing a comprehensive overview of relevant issues, methodologies, and techniques within the context of the Australian and/or international business environments.

Course Essentials

How to apply

We are currently accepting applications for this course. Applications close on 25 January 2013

Methods of applying:

  • You can apply direct to VU

Please note that part-time study may not be available at all campuses.

Already a VU student?

You can transfer into this course through our internal transfer process.

For more info contact the
College of Law and Justice

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Careers

Graduates of the Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Business meet the academic and professional requirements to be admitted to legal practice in Victoria.

They also have the opportunity to begin careers in a legal capacity in a government department or agency such as Treasury or Foreign Affairs at a federal level or in state government.

They may also begin a career in community legal centres supporting legal access in particular geographic locations.

There is also the opportunity to begin a career in-house in a profit or not-for-profit business. This is where the flexibility of the Bachelor of Business really allows graduates to focus their career opportunities, by developing their skill, knowledge-base and professional acumen in their business specialisation of choice.

Learn more about your career options on the Australian government's Career Information and Resources website.

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Course Objectives

The Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Business course aims to:

  1. Produce intellectually well rounded law and business graduates who have the professional and academic skills required to work in a variety of legal and/or commercial or business settings;
  2. Provide students with a range of legal professional skills such as advocacy, ethical judgement, communication, legal research and writing, interviewing and negotiation and relevant legal professional computing and related skills;
  3. Provide specialised education and skills in core areas of law as well as in various areas of commercial law, particularly those which have a comparative dimension;
  4. Provide graduates with such other attributes and competencies as would be expected of law graduates from an Australian law school and to satisfy the academic requirements for admission to legal practice in Victoria;
  5. Produce graduates with a sound education in the principles and practice of a business specialisation by providing a comprehensive overview of relevant issues, methodologies, and techniques within the context of the Australian and/or international business environments.
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Units and electives

The course is usually offered over five years on a full-time basis, or part-time equivalent. All undergraduate degree units of study carry a value of 12 credit points. Each student must obtain 480 credit points through academic study to graduate. Subject to Grade Point Average (GPA), students undertaking the Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Business may receive their award with honours. In calculating a specified grade of honours, the following points shall be attributed to Bachelor of Laws units:

  • Pass = 5 points;
  • Credit = 6 points;
  • Distinction = 7 points; and
  • High Distinction = 8 points.

In calculating the GPA, those Bachelor of Laws units successfully completed by the student will be ranked in order commencing with 8 point units and ending with 5 point units (if applicable). The aggregate of points attributed to the first two thirds of units so listed shall then be calculated and a grade point average determined (aggregated so calculated by the number of units being the first two thirds of units in the list):

  • Bachelor of Laws with 2B Honours - GPA of 7 or more and a Credit grade in the unit of study Advanced Legal Research Dissertation;
  • Bachelor of Laws with 2A Honours - GPA of 7 or more and a Distinction grade in the unit of study Advanced Legal Research Dissertation;
  • Bachelor of Laws with 1st Class Honours - GPA of 7.5 or more and a Distinction or better grade in the unit of study Advanced Legal Research Dissertation.

The course total of 40 Units of Study for this double degree is comprised of:

  • 20 compulsory law units of study (mandatory)
  • 4 elective law units of study selected from an approved list
  • 6 core business units (mandatory)
  • 3 Professional Development units (mandatory)
  • A compulsory 7 unit specialisation in any of the following 15 business specialisations:
    • Accounting
    • Banking and Finance
    • Event Management
    • Financial Risk Management
    • Global Logistics and Transport
    • Hospitality Management
    • Human Resource Management
    • International Business
    • International Trade
    • Management
    • Marketing
    • Music Industry
    • Retail Commerce
    • Small Business and Entrepreneurship
    • Tourism Management

Compulsory Law Units of Study

Elective Law Units of Study

Select four of the following:

or an unspecified Law unit of study approved by the Head of the Victoria Law School

Core Business Units of Study

Business Specialisation Units of Study

Students will be required to choose a specialisation to study from the list of specialisations below

Professional Development Business Units of Study

* Students enrolling in either of the following business specialisations will be required to complete a compulsory year of industry experience instead of BFP2100 Professional Development 2 - Analysis and Strategy and BFP3001 Professional Development 3. This will extend the length of the program to six calendar years.

1. Hospitality Management
2. Tourism Management

Students enrolling in the Event Management specialisation are required to complete a semester of compulsory industry experience instead of BFP3001 Professional Development 3.

What's a unit?

A unit or 'subject' is the actual class you'll attend in the process of completing a course.

Most courses have a mixture of compulsory 'core' units that you need to take, and optional 'elective' units that you can choose to take based on your area of interest, expertise or experience.

Credits

Each unit is worth a set amount of study credits based on the amount of time you study. Generally, 1 credit is equal to 1 hour of study per week.

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Admission Information

  • Year 12: To qualify for admission into the Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Business, applicants must have successfully completed a course of study at Year 12 or equivalent. Year 12 Prerequisites: Units 3 and 4 – a study score of at least 35 in English (ESL) or 30 in any other English. Selection Mode: Current Year 12 applicants: ATAR and two-stage process with a middle-band of approximately 20%. Middle-band: consideration is given to performance in the full range of Year 12 studies undertaken.
  • International: Applicants must provide evidence of proficiency in the English language: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) result with an overall score of 6.5 and no individual band score less than 6.0. Applicants must also have completed a secondary school qualification equivalent to Australia’s Year 12.
  • Mature: Applicants who have not completed Year 12 but who possess appropriate educational qualifications, work or life experiences which would enable them to successfully undertake the course, will be considered for admission.
  • Other: Interview (some applicants only): Details will be provided by telephone and/or mail to the applicants required to attend.
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How to apply for this course

We are currently accepting applications for this course.

You can apply direct to VU. Applications close on 25 January 2013.

When you're ready to apply:

  1. Read the Advice to applicants (contains details about how to apply for your course, extra requirements, what happens when you submit your application and other important information).
  2. Complete the Higher education direct entry application form.
  3. As part of the application you may need to complete extra requirements such as:
    • submit supplementary forms
    • attend an interview, audition, information session or workshop
    • submit a folio
    • sit a test

Details about extra requirements are available from the College of Law and Justice.

You need to complete all extra requirements by the given dates, otherwise your application may not be considered.

Transferring between VU courses

Want to transfer into this course from another VU course? Complete the Victoria University internal course application form and check whether you need to complete any extra requirements, listed above.

You can also contact us directly:

  • Ring us on +61 3 9919 6100
  • Find answers and ask questions at GOTOVU

Get in touch

Contact us to discuss your course options:

Ring us on +61 3 9919 6100

Find answers and ask questions at GOTOVU

At Victoria University, we make every reasonable effort to make sure the information displayed online about our courses is accurate and complete. We continually look to provide innovative courses. Those courses are shaped by a number of things including your feedback and changes in Government funding arrangements. As a result there may be changes to the courses we deliver and fees charged. We will update the website regularly to reflect any changes.

Information about course fees, articulation and credit transfer, recognition of prior learning, admission and enrolment procedures, examinations, and services available to students can be accessed on the University’s website or by contacting the University directly on +61 3 9919 6100.

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