A Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree provides candidates with a law degree that opens doors to a diverse range of professional careers in Australia and around the world.
In addition to equipping you with an understanding of law and the contexts in which it operates, the LLB (Hons) places a significant emphasis on building your high-level research skills through opportunities to conduct independent legal research.
Through the LLB (Hons), you will graduate with an honours-degree, giving you additional advantages in establishing your career or providing a strong foundation for postgraduate study. The program satisfies the academic component to be admitted as a legal practitioner in Australia.
The Bachelor of Arts is the most diverse, most flexible, and most popular degree at The Australian National University. Each of its some fifty majors, in fields throughout the arts, humanities and social sciences, is taught by truly outstanding scholars to ensure that each student receives the very best education, is engaged with cutting-edge research, and learns to think like a researcher. These majors can be coupled with more than seventy minors and specialisations to broaden or deepen your study. Regardless of your choices, your Arts degree will provide you with core skills in critical analysis and in written and oral communication, while developing your adaptability and ability to help shape change and prepare you for a multifaceted career or further study.
Career Options
Graduates from ANU have been rated as Australia's most employable graduates and among the most sought after by employers worldwide.
The latest Global Employability University Ranking, published by the Times Higher Education, rated ANU as Australia's top university for getting a job for the fourth year in a row.
Employment Opportunities
Law graduates may find work either in areas where a law degree is a professional requirement or more general fields in which law is especially useful. A Bachelor of Laws would normally be a requirement for the following occupations: a Barrister or Solicitor in professional practice; a Legal Officer in government departments or private enterprise; a Corporate Legal Officer in private industry, commerce and finance; community legal work; law teaching and academic research; a Judge's Associate, and legal journalism. To practice as a Barrister or Solicitor graduates must complete professional training such as the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at ANU. More general fields of employment include: the Australian Foreign Service; industrial relations; social welfare; government administration; business management; lobbying; media; public relations; law librarianship; court reporting; environmental agencies; technology and communications; and Federal and State police forces. Law graduates may find work either in areas where a law degree is a professional requirement or more general fields in which law is especially useful. A Bachelor of Laws would normally be a requirement for the following occupations: a Barrister or Solicitor in professional practice; a Legal Officer in government departments or private enterprise; a Corporate Legal Officer in private industry, commerce and finance; community legal work; law teaching and academic research; a Judge's Associate, and legal journalism. To practice as a Barrister or Solicitor graduates must complete professional training such as the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at ANU. More general fields of employment include: the Australian Foreign Service; industrial relations; social welfare; government administration; business management; lobbying; media; public relations; law librarianship; court reporting; environmental agencies; technology and communications; and Federal and State police forces.Learning Outcomes
- review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge from primary and secondary legal sources to identify and provide solutions to complex legal and justice problems with some intellectual independence;
- demonstrate a broad understanding of law and theoretical understandings of law with advanced understanding of caselaw, legislation and extrinsic legislative material, government documents and academic commentary on law;
- exercise critical thinking and judgment in developing new understandings about the nature of law and the impact of law in society;
- use technical legal research skills, and interdisciplinary research skills, to access a range of legal materials and other research materials in literature databases and other online sources;
- use those technical skills to conduct research with some independence; and
- communicate research to a variety of legal and non-legal audiences and in a range of presentation and writing formats.
- critically apply theoretical frameworks and research techniques to understanding national and international issues and problems;
- identify, including through interrogation of databases, relevant sources of information from across a variety of media (print and digital, written and audio-visual) and judge the importance and reliability of those sources;
- evaluate ideas and develop creative solutions to problems, including through independent pursuit of knowledge and making connections between different disciplinary approaches and methods;
- communicate and debate both orally and in writing, and work with others, using a variety of media; and
- understand the ethical implications of ideas, communications, and actions.
Admission Requirements
- ATAR:
- 98
- QLD Band:
- 2
- International Baccalaureate:
- 40
Prerequisites
Students who successfully complete the below program will be admitted to the Bachelor of Arts:
ELIBS Diploma of Liberal Studies (offered by the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences)
Adjustment Factors
ANU offers rank adjustments for a number of adjustment factors, including for high achievement in nationally strategic senior secondary subjects and for recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies. Rank adjustments are applied to Bachelor degree applicants with an ATAR at or above 70. Points are awarded in accordance with the approved schedules, and no more than 15 points (maximum 5 subject/performance-based adjustments, maximum 10 equity-based adjustments and maximum 5 Elite Athlete adjustments) will be awarded. Please note that Adjustment Factors vary and do not apply to a select few programs, please visit the ANU Adjustment Factors website for further information.
Indicative fees
Bachelor of Laws (Honours) - Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
Bachelor of Arts - Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
For more information see: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/costs-fees
- Annual indicative fee for international students
- $43,344.00
Scholarships
ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.
Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are. Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.
For further information see the Scholarships website.
Program Requirements
The Bachelor of Laws (Honours) flexible double degree component requires completion of 144 units, of which:
A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses
The 144 units must include:
90 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:
LAWS1201 Foundations of Australian Law
LAWS1202 Lawyers, Justice and Ethics
LAWS1203 Torts
LAWS1204 Contracts
LAWS1205 Australian Public Law
LAWS1206 Criminal Law and Procedure
LAWS2201 Administrative Law
LAWS2202 Commonwealth Constitutional Law
LAWS2203 Corporations Law
LAWS2204 Property
LAWS2205 Equity and Trusts
LAWS2207 Evidence
LAWS2244 Litigation and Dispute Management
LAWS2249 Legal Theory
LAWS2250 International Law
48 units from completion of 4000-level courses in the subject area LAWS Law
6 units from completion of 2000, 3000 or 4000-level courses in the subject area LAWS Law.
HONS4300 Final Honours Grade will be used to record the class of honours (determined by Table 2 of the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy.
Marks will be calculated using the formula Σ (mark x units) / Σ units, giving NCN and WN a nominal mark of zero, from the following Honours courses:
54 units of 4000-level [elective] courses in the subject area LAWS, which may include LAWS4300 Supervised Research Paper (12 units), and,
90 units of compulsory courses, which are:
LAWS1201 Foundations of Australian Law
LAWS1202 Lawyers Justice and Ethics
LAWS1203 Torts
LAWS1204 Contracts
LAWS1205 Australian Public Law
LAWS1206 Criminal Law and Procedure
LAWS2201 Administrative Law
LAWS2202 Commonwealth Constitutional Law
LAWS2203 Corporations Law
LAWS2204 Property
LAWS2205 Equity and Trusts
LAWS2207 Evidence
LAWS2244 Litigation and Dispute Management
LAWS2249 Legal Theory
LAWS2250 International Law
The Bachelor of Arts flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:
A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses
The 96 units must consist of:
48 units from the completion of one Arts major from any of the following lists:
Disciplines and Fields
Technology, Networks and Society
Languages
Geographically Defined Area Studies
Asia and Pacific Culture, Media and Gender
Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies
Either:
24 units from the completion of one Arts minor, which must have a different name to the Major on any of the following lists:
Disciplines and Fields
Technology, Networks and Society
Languages
Geographically Defined Area Studies
Asian and Pacific Anthropology
Asia and Pacific Culture, Media and Gender
Asia-Pacific International Relations
Asia and Pacific Literature and Film
Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies
24 units from completion of courses listed in any Arts major, minor and the following list:
Or:
24 units from completion of ANIP3007 Australian National Internships Program D
ESEN1101 Essential University English
24 units from completion of courses listed in any Arts major, minor and the following list:
ESEN1101 Essential University English
Or:
48 units from completion of a second Arts major
Majors
Bachelor of Arts Majors
- Ancient Greek
- Ancient History
- Anthropology
- Arabic
- Archaeology
- Art History and Theory
- Asian and Pacific Culture, Media and Gender
- Asian History
- Asian Studies
- Australian Indigenous Studies
- Biological Anthropology
- Chinese Language
- Chinese Studies
- Contemporary Europe
- Criminology
- Demography
- Development Studies
- Digital Humanities
- Economic Studies
- English
- Environmental Studies
- French Language and Culture
- Gender, Sexuality and Culture
- Geography
- German Language and Culture
- Global Security
- Hindi Language
- History
- Human Evolutionary Biology
- Human Rights
- India Studies
- Indonesian Language
- Indonesian Studies
- International Communication
- International Relations
- Italian Language and Culture
- Japanese Language
- Japanese Linguistics
- Japanese Studies
- Korean Language
- Korean Studies
- Latin
- Latin American Studies
- Linguistics
- Mathematics
- Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies
- Music
- Music Technology
- Musicology
- Northeast Asian Studies
- Pacific Studies
- Peace and Conflict Studies
- Performance
- Persian
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Sanskrit Language
- Screen Studies
- Sociology
- Southeast Asian Studies
- Spanish
- Technology, Networks and Society
- Thai Language
- Vietnamese Language
- War Studies
Minors
Bachelor of Arts Minors
- Advanced Ancient Greek
- Advanced Arabic
- Advanced Chinese Language
- Advanced English Language
- Advanced French Studies
- Advanced German Studies
- Advanced Hispanic Culture
- Advanced Hispanic Linguistics
- Advanced Italian Studies
- Advanced Japanese Language
- Advanced Korean Language
- Advanced Latin
- Advanced Persian
- Advanced Sanskrit Language
- Advanced Spanish Studies
- American Studies
- Ancient Greek
- Ancient History
- Anthropology
- ANU Leadership and Research
- Applied Linguistics
- Arabic
- Archaeology
- Archaeology of Aboriginal Australia in its Regional and Cultural Context
- Art History and Theory
- Asian and Pacific Anthropology
- Asian and Pacific Archaeology
- Asian and Pacific Culture, Media and Gender
- Asian and Pacific Linguistics
- Asian and Pacific Literature and Film
- Asian Art History
- Asian History
- Asian Studies
- Asia-Pacific International Relations
- Asia-Pacific Politics
- Australian Indigenous Studies
- Australian Politics
- Biological Anthropology
- Burmese Language
- Chinese Language
- Chinese Studies
- Climate Science and Policy
- Composition, Arranging and Sound Design
- Contemporary Europe
- Criminology
- Demography
- Design
- Development Studies
- Digital Humanities
- Economic Studies
- English
- Environmental Policy
- Environmental Studies
- Forensic Anthropology
- Forensic Linguistics
- French Language and Culture
- Gender and Sexuality
- Geography
- German Language and Culture
- Global Security
- Health, Medicine and the Body
- Heritage and Museum Studies
- Hindi Language
- History
- Human Ecology
- Human Evolutionary Biology
- Human Rights
- Indian and South Asian Studies
- Indonesian Language
- Indonesian Studies
- International Communication
- International Relations
- Italian Language and Culture
- Japanese Language
- Japanese Linguistics
- Japanese Studies
- Korean Language
- Korean Studies
- Latin
- Latin American Studies
- Linguistics
- Literary Chinese
- Mathematics
- Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies
- Mongolian Language
- Music
- Music Technology
- Musicology
- Northeast Asian Studies
- Pacific Studies
- Peace and Conflict Studies
- Performance
- Persian
- Philosophy
- Philosophy and Science
- Political Science
- Popular Music
- Russian
- Russian and Central Asian Studies
- Sanskrit Language
- Screen Studies
- Social Psychology
- Social Research Methods
- Sociology
- Southeast Asian Studies
- Spanish
- Sustainable Development
- Technology, Networks and Society
- Tetum Language
- Thai Language
- Tok Pisin Language
- Vietnamese Language
- Visual Arts Practice
- War Studies
Specialisations
Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Specialisations
Study Options
| Year 1 | LAWS1201 Foundations of Australian Law 6 units | LAWS1203 Torts 6 units | Arts Major 1000 level Course 6 units | Arts Minor 1000 level Course 6 units |
| LAWS1202 Lawyers Justice and Ethics 6 units | LAWS1204 Contracts 6 units | Arts Major 1000 level Course 6 units | Arts Minor 1000 level Course 6 units | |
| Year 2 | LAWS1205 Australian Public Law 6 units | LAWS1206 Criminal Law and Procedure 6 units | Arts Major 2000/3000 level Course 6 units | Arts Minor 2000/3000 level Course 6 units |
| LAWS2250 International Law 6 units | LAWS2249 Legal Theory 6 units | Arts Major 2000/3000 level Course 6 units | Arts Minor 2000/3000 level Course 6 units | |
| Year 3 | LAWS2201 Administrative Law 6 units | LAWS2203 Corporations Law 6 units | Arts Major 2000/3000 level Course 6 units | Arts Elective 6 units |
| LAWS2202 Commonwealth Constitutional Law 6 units | Law Elective Course 6 units | Arts Major 2000/3000 level Course 6 units | Arts Elective 6 units | |
| Year 4 | LAWS2204 Property 6 units | Law Elective Course 6 units | Arts Major 2000/3000 level Course 6 units | Arts Elective 6 units |
| LAWS2205 Equity and Trusts 6 units | Law Elective Course 6 units | Arts Major 2000/3000 level Course 6 units | Arts Elective 6 units | |
| Year 5 | LAWS2244 Litigation and Dispute Management 6 units | Law Elective Courses 18 units | ||
| LAWS2207 Evidence 6 units | Law Elective Courses 18 units |
Back to the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) page
The curriculum of the ANU law degree consists of compulsory and elective
courses.The compulsory courses are designed to ensure that every
student gains a sufficient grounding in the fundamental branches of the
law, as well as satisfying applicable requirements for admission to
practice. The elective courses provide an opportunity to develop
particular interests, deepen understanding and engage students in research opportunities.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
It is important that you attend the Law Information Session
that will be held during O'Week. You will receive an introduction to
the program, introduced to relevant college staff and advisers,
the timetable and tutorial information will be explained.
PRIOR STUDY
If you wish to apply for credit or exemptions for courses completed prior to your new ANU program, you
will need to seek approval prior to your enrolment.
An information session for commencing Law students will be held in O'Week. Please see the timetable for more information.
Single degree
The Bachelor of Laws (Honours) consists of 192 units. Most courses are worth 6 units each, with 48 units (8 courses) per year being the standard full-time load. 15 courses are compulsory and a minimum of 9 elective courses must be LAWS courses; with the remaining 8 elective courses chosen from any other ANU College or from LAWS courses.
You must enrol in the following courses in first year in this order:
Commencing Semester 1:
Semester 1 LAWS1201 Foundations of Australian Law and LAWS1203 Torts + 2 non-Law first year electives
Semester 2 LAWS1202 Lawyers, Justice and Ethics and LAWS1204 Contracts + 2 non-Law first year electives
Commencing Semester 2:
Semester 2 LAWS1201 Foundations of Australian Law, LAWS1204 Contracts + 2 non-Law first year electives
For your non-Law electives, you may wish to seek advice from the relevant college that offers the course or from a Law adviser. Courses coded in the 1000 range are first year courses and most first year courses do not have any prerequisites – details of any prerequisites will be listed in the relevant course entry. If you are interested in undertaking a language and have prior knowledge/experience with that language you may need to undertake a placement test – you should check with the relevant language area for further details.
Double degree
The Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in a flexible double degree consists of 144 units. Most courses are worth 6
units each, with 48 units (8 courses) per year being the standard
full-time load. 15 courses are compulsory and all 9 elective courses must be LAWS courses.
You must enrol in the following courses in first year in this order:
Commencing Semester 1:
Semester 1 LAWS1201 Foundations
of Australian Law and LAWS1203 Torts
Semester 2 LAWS1202 Lawyers, Justice and Ethics and LAWS1204 Contracts
Commencing Semester 2:
Semester 2 LAWS1201 Foundations of Australian Law, LAWS1204 Contracts
Academic Advice
If you need any further information or advice regarding your degree please contact the Law School Office, ground floor Building 5, telephone (02) 6125 3483 or email enquiries.law@anu.edu.au
Single degree
This following information is to be read in conjunction with the program rules that are outlined on the “Study” tab. Please always make sure that you refer to the program rules for the year that you commenced your program.
Bachelor of Arts consists of 144 units. Most courses are worth 6 units each, with 48 units (8 courses) per year being the standard full-time load.
A course (usually 6 units) can only be counted towards one list such as in a major or minor or designated list. For example, you are not permitted to count POLS1005 towards the International Relations Major and the Human Rights Major.
For the Bachelor of Arts you will need to complete:
- One Arts major from the designated list (48 units)
- One Arts minor and four courses from any Arts
major, minor or the designated list (48 units)
or
An Internship and four courses from any Arts major, minor or the designated list (48 units)
or
A second Arts major (48 units) - Eight electives from across the ANU (48 units)
Please note that you are only permitted to count ten 1000-level courses (60 units) towards your program.
You are advised to complete a Program Plan for the Bachelor of Arts. This will help you seek advice on your course choices, ensure you meet the program requirements and give you a plan that you can refer to for the duration of your program.Double degree
This following information is to be read in conjunction with the program rules that are outlined on the “Study” tab. Please always make sure that you refer to the program rules for the year that you commenced your program.
Bachelor of Arts Double Degree program consists of 96 units. Most courses are worth 6 units each, with 48 units (8 courses) per year being the standard full-time load. During each semester you are likely to take two courses from your Bachelor of Arts degree and another two courses from the other half of your double degree – making up a total of four courses per semester.
A course (usually 6 units) can only be counted towards one list such as in a major or minor or designated list. For example, you are not permitted to count POLS1005 towards the International Relations Major and the Human Rights Major.
You will need to complete:
- One Arts major from the designated list (48 units)
- One Arts minor and four courses from any Arts
major, minor or the designated list (48 units)
or
An Internship and four courses from any Arts major, minor or the designated list (48 units)
or
A second Arts major (48 units)
Please note that you are only permitted to count six 1000-level courses (36 units) towards your degree.
You are advised to complete a Program Plan for the Bachelor of Arts. This will help you seek advice on your course choices, ensure you meet the program requirements and give you a plan that you can refer to for the duration of your program.
Enrolment Status
While it is possible for domestic students to enrol in fewer than four courses per semester, which is called studying part-time, it will take you longer to finish your program and get your degree. If you are an international student you must always be full-time.
First year students are not permitted to study more than four courses (24 units) per semester.
If you are beginning your program in Semester 1, you should enrol for all your courses for both Semester 1 and Semester 2 (8 courses for full time), so that you can plan your study year.
Important things to keep in mind when choosing your 1000-level courses
When you enrol for the first time you will study ‘1000-level’ courses. These courses have ‘1’ as the first number in their course code, such as ARTS1234. Whilst it is important to take 1000-level courses in your first year (so that you can meet the pre-requisites for later year courses) they also can be taken later in your program.
You can only count a maximum of ten 1000-level courses (60 units) towards your single degree or six 1000-level courses (36 units) towards your Bachelor of Arts half of the double degree.
In your first year you need to enrol in:
- 1000-level courses from your Arts major
- 1000-level courses from your Arts minor or second Arts major
- Elective courses for students undertaking the single degree.
Electives
For students in the single degree, your electives (48 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU) can be additional courses from your discipline (including the option of a major or minor) or courses from another ANU College. If you have an interest in another discipline, for example management, psychology or mathematics, then you should explore first year courses in your area of interest. In particular look at the majors and minors. These will give you an idea of the first year courses you can study.
If you are interested in undertaking a language and have prior knowledge/experience with that language you may need to undertake a placement test – you should check with the relevant language area for further details.
Study Options
Study Plan
Please refer to the "Study" tab.Study Options
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Study Plan
Please refer to the "Study" tab.Study Options
| Year 1 48 units | - | - | - | - |
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