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This program is offered only to continuing students. No new admissions will be accepted. Students who are interested in this study area should consider the 3–year LLBP Bachelor of Laws which will be offered from Semester 1, 2014.

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Professional accreditation

The Bachelor of Laws has been accredited by the , and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland as an approved academic qualification under the Supreme Court (Admission) Rules 2004 (Qld). This will partially satisfy the requirements to practise as a solicitor or barrister in Queensland, or as a legal practitioner elsewhere in Australia. Intending solicitors and barristers must also complete an approved practical legal training course in order to become admitted to practice. USQ law graduates have the option of completing their practical legal training through a one-year traineeship in a law practice, or through an institution that offers a practical legal training qualification.

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Program aims

The Bachelor of Laws provides students with the opportunity for a comprehensive study of law, not only to prepare for practice as a solicitor or barrister in Queensland but also to examine the legal process and its social, political and economic context.

The program aims to equip students with an academic qualification for professional practice. While students undertake the traditional studies in the litigation process, they also learn about the increasingly important alternative methods of resolving disputes. They learn about conflict and communication, negotiating, mediating – from a theoretical as well as practical perspective.

Not all law graduates aspire to a career in legal practice and so the program also builds the special capabilities that a legal education can offer. It provides opportunities to develop analytical, complex problem-solving and research skills. It seeks to build critical thinkers with an appreciation for a range of theories explaining legal regulation as well as for the social, political and economic context of the legal process. To inform students on global issues, an international dimension, for example on the regulation of business and on the protection of human rights, is also available.

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Program objectives

On successful completion of this program students will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical framework of subject areas of study

• apply theoretical knowledge, concepts and principles to areas of practical significance

• research legal issues at a proficient level

• critically appraise law reform trends and recent developments and assess their impact upon legal practice and public policy

• demonstrate advanced communication, problem-solving and analytical skill

• satisfy academic admission requirements for legal practice in Queensland (subject to accreditation).

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Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission, applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

• Year 12 English [4,SA] or equivalent.

• Admission to the Bachelor of Laws is in accordance with for undergraduate programs.

All students are required to satisfy the applicable .

If students do not meet the English language requirements they may apply to study a ¾«¶«´«Ã½app-approved . On successful completion of the English language program, students may be admitted to an award program.

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Program fees

Commonwealth supported place

A Commonwealth supported place is where the Australian Government makes a contribution towards the cost of a students' higher education and students pay a , which varies depending on the courses undertaken. Students are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

Commonwealth Supported students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called .

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. Students are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the

Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called provided they meet the residency and citizenship requirements.

Australian citizens, Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who will be resident outside Australia for the duration of their program pay full tuition fees and are not eligible for .

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus, via distance education/online. Students are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

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Program structure

The undergraduate program is 32 units in total. It has 3 prime components: a core (22 units), law electives (at least 3 and no more than 6 units), and non-law electives (4 but no more than 7 units). It is highly recommended that students complete non-law electives before law electives.

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Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 10 years to complete this program.

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Core courses

Compulsory core courses:

All students are required to complete a core of 22 single-unit courses. The purpose of the core courses is to expose law students to fundamental legal concepts and methods in legal research and reasoning.

The following courses are required of all students in the Bachelor of Laws:

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Electives/Approved courses

The following law electives have been approved for the Bachelor of Laws:

Non-law elective courses

All students must select elective courses from courses offered at undergraduate level by any of the faculties at the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app of Southern Queensland. Enrolment and pre-requisites requirements must be satisfied for any course selected.

The exceptions to this ruling are the following business law courses:

• LAW1101

• LAW2104

• LAW2106

These business law courses are NOT considered to be suitable non-law electives, as the content of these courses is either covered in other core law courses or are not relevant to the Bachelor of Laws program structure. These three business law courses should NOT be completed as part of the non-law elective requirement of the Bachelor of Laws program.

Students considering legal practice are encouraged to choose as one of their non-law electives in order to understand the accounting environment and the common financial accounting (external) reports and management accounting (internal) tools used for decision-making purposes. This is useful for many areas of legal practice, not only commercial fields such as taxation but also family and succession law, as well as for a lawyer’s own practice management.

Students with an interest in examining the political and economic context for the legal process are encouraged to choose POL2000 as one of their non-law electives. This is a course for students interested in political and economic debates who wish to develop a capacity for critical analysis.

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IT requirements

For information technology requirements please refer to the .

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Other program requirements

Students must maintain good standing in this program. Please refer to the .

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Credit

Credit may be permitted for a limited number of courses, equivalent in content and level, successfully completed recently with a recognised institution, in accordance with USQ policy.

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Honours

The Bachelor of Laws may be awarded with Honours. The class of honours to be awarded to a student is dependant upon the Grade Point Average (GPA) calculated from the grades achieved in the core law courses and elective law courses studied in, or transferred to, the program. The minimum levels of achievement normally required for each class of honours are shown in the following table.

To be awarded a particular class of honours, students must meet the GPA requirements for all of the core and law elective courses studied or for the last 16 core and law electives studied or for the last 8 core and law elective courses studied.

Recommended enrolment patterns

In this section:

• Recommended enrolment patterns
• Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba and Springfield on-campus and Toowoomba external (standard semester 1 intake)
• Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba and Springfield on-campus and Toowoomba external (standard semester 2 intake)
• Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba external (3 courses per semester)

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Recommended enrolment patterns

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

The flexibility of this program, particularly for the distance learning students means that there will be a range of enrolment patterns and many distance learning students will have a unique enrolment pattern. Students requiring assistance should contact the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts.

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Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba and Springfield on-campus and Toowoomba external (standard semester 1 intake)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

It is highly recommended that students complete non-law electives before law electives.

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Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba and Springfield on-campus and Toowoomba external (standard semester 2 intake)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

It is highly recommended that students complete non-law electives before law electives.

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Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba external (3 courses per semester)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

It is highly recommended that students complete non-law electives before law electives.