Undergraduate course information

Undergraduate courses in the Faculty of Law are managed in the Undergraduate Program. The Faculty offers a range of Bachelor's degrees, from stand-alone Bachelor of Laws degrees to combined Bachelor of Laws degrees with a degree from the faculties of Business, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Information Technology, Science or the Institute of International Studies.

Contacts

The Law Information Office provides information and assistance to undergraduate students and is the first point of call for all inquiries.

Academic advice

Subjects

The Faculty timetables undergraduate subjects over three teaching periods – Autumn semester, Spring semester and Summer session. The full range of available core and optional subjects can be found under each of the course entries.

Core law subjects

All core law subjects are taught in both Autumn and Spring semesters. Core law subjects are timetabled in the day and repeated again in the evening.

Optional subjects

A range of optional subjects is taught over both Autumn and Spring semesters and in block intensive mode during Summer session. However, not all optional subjects are timetabled every semester and some optional subjects are offered on a two-yearly basis only. Timetabled optional subjects are offered subject to sufficient student interest.

Subject descriptions

Brief descriptions of the law subjects available are given in this handbook in the Subject Descriptions section. Detailed subject outlines are available in the online handbook.

In order to assist students with understanding the interrelationship of the various optional subjects, their general orientation and to make informed choices, optional subjects are classified into the groups listed below. Students are advised to contact the Faculty to determine what subjects fall under the various groups:

• Criminal Law
• Commercial Law
• Environmental Law
• Technology
• International Law
• Private Law
• Research
• Labour and Industrial Relations
• Land Law
• Legal Theory and Perspective.

Recognition of prior learning

Subject to approval by the Faculty Board in Law, students can obtain recognition of prior learning (subject exemption) towards their UTS undergraduate degree for both law and non-law subjects.

Students seeking recognition of prior learning are required to submit a Recognition of Prior Learning Application form, which is available from http://www.sau.uts.edu.au/forms/index.html. It is recommended that all students seeking recognition of prior learning make an application prior to enrolment.

Inquiries should be directed to:

Law subjects

Students may be able to obtain an exemption, up to a maximum of 48 credit points, from law subjects if they are able to satisfy the Faculty Board that a comparable course of study has been successfully undertaken as a Bachelor of Laws subject within the Faculty of Law of another recognised university. As a general rule, exemptions will not be given if the subject was studied more than six years ago. The period in the 'six-year rule' is calculated from the date on which the subject in which the exemption is sought was successfully completed, to when it is due to be undertaken in the Faculty of Law. However, the Faculty Board shall always retain a discretion to waive the strict application of the rule in cases where there is additional evidence of work or study experience. Indeed, in subjects where there have been significant recent changes in the law, an exemption may not be granted even though the subject was successfully completed less than six years ago.

The Faculty Board must be satisfied that the student has successfully completed a comparable subject elsewhere. To verify this, the student must produce a transcript of his or her academic record and a copy of the relevant institution's handbook containing a detailed description of the subject, together with the reading guide that was current at the time of study.

Exemption for law subjects will only be granted to students who have studied law in a recognised law school. Students who have studied law through the Law Extension Committee of the Supreme Court (LPAB) will not be granted exemptions.

Non-law subjects

It is possible to obtain exemptions for non‑law optional subjects in the Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Laws in Australian Indigenous Studies programs if students have completed a degree, diploma or associate diploma course from a recognised tertiary institution.

The maximum exemptions that can be granted on the basis of having completed a course are as follows:

• a degree course (three years, full time) – 48 credit points
• a diploma course (three years, full time) – 36 credit points
• an associate diploma course (two years, full time) – 24 credit points.

Formal application to do so must be made in writing to the Faculty's Undergraduate Program Director. In combined degree courses, this cannot be permitted.

Partially completed courses

No exemptions can be sought for a partially completed diploma or associate diploma course.

Students entering the Bachelor of Laws or Bachelor of Laws in Australian Indigenous Studies programs with a partially completed degree, either as transfer students from another faculty of the University or from another university, may be granted up to a maximum of 24 credit points.

Concurrent study

Students who wish to undertake a subject at another university and subsequently receive credit towards their UTS degree must complete a Concurrent Study application form, available from:

Internal course transfers

UTS students who internally transfer into the Bachelor of Laws or Bachelor of Laws in Australian Indigenous Studies programs may receive up to 48 credit points of exemptions from non-law subject options for subjects which have been completed as part of their previous UTS studies.

Admission to legal practice

Admission to the Supreme Court of NSW to practise as a legal practitioner in NSW is based upon the successful completion of an accredited legal qualification (i.e. Bachelor of Laws) and an accredited course of practical legal training (PLT).

The UTS Practical Legal Training (PLT) program is accredited by the Legal Practitioners Admission Board of the Supreme Court of NSW. Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws or combined Bachelor of Laws degrees have the option of completing five of the eight practical legal training subjects within their undergraduate Law degree (the other three subjects must be completed concurrently within the Graduate Certificate in Legal Practice – for further details see the course entry for the Graduate Certificate (C11128)).

Students who take this option must be in their final semester of study in their law degree and cannot attempt any other subjects in conjunction with the practical legal training subjects. Students in combined degrees must have completed 48 credit points of their studies in the other degree prior to enrolling in the Practical Legal Training program.

Students who wish to practice as a legal practitioner in NSW yet choose not to attempt practical legal training within their undergraduate Law degree are required to complete a course in practical legal training following completion of their Law degree. The UTS Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice is one possible option – for further details see the course entry for the Graduate Diploma (C07075).

Further details about the Practical Legal Training program can be found online at:

Other information

Recommended reading prior to entry

A Guide to Legal Problem Solving for Law Students, P Keyzer, Butterworths, or A Career in Law, edited by J F Corkery, Federation Press, may be purchased from the Co-op Bookshop, the Sydney Law Cooperative Bookshop, Butterworths or the Law Book Company.

Graduate Employment and Summer Clerkship programs

The Faculty of Law participates in the Graduate Employment and Summer Clerkship programs conducted by many of the law schools in NSW in conjunction with the major Sydney law firms and government departments.

Students are eligible to apply for the Graduate Employment scheme if at 30 June they have at least one but no more than two whole semesters to complete in order to obtain a law degree leading to admission as a legal practitioner. Students are eligible to apply for the Summer Clerkship program if at 30 June they have at least two but no more than four whole semesters to complete as above.

Interested students should check the notice boards and contact the UTS Careers Services at City campus, Broadway for further details on the conditions of participation and closing dates. Students should be aware that the deadlines imposed are strictly adhered to.

Honours

It is possible for students to gain an award with Honours in the Law degrees or the Law component of combined or double degrees.

The Bachelor of Laws degree is awarded with Honours, and does not require an additional Honours year. To this end, the 76040 Research Thesis, which is a necessary requirement, must be undertaken as an optional subject of 6 credit points within the degree. This subject forms part of the credit points required for degree completion: 192 for the full-time or part-time degree, 144 for combined degrees. The optional subject 76040 Research Thesis has requirements that students must comply with in addition to the Honours Regulations. Full details are available in the online subject description.

The Honours Regulations are set out below:

1. Awards

1.1 Awards of the Law degree or the Law component of a combined degree shall be classified as follows:

1. degree (with First Class Honours)
2. degree (with Second Class Honours), and
3. degree.

1.2 Award of the degree with Second Class Honours shall not be graded.

2. Requirements of Honours

2.1 To qualify for an award of the degree with Honours a student shall:

1. successfully complete the subject 76040 Research Thesis
2. subject to (e) and (f) below, obtain an Honours mark, calculated in accordance with the formula 'Sum of All' (UTS law subject credit points x mark) divisible by the 'sum of all law subject credit points' such that:
1. for First Class Honours – 75 per cent
2. for Second Class Honours – 70 per cent
3. not fail any subject after the first semester of study
4. successfully complete not less than 96 credit points of law subjects within the Faculty of Law
5. for the purpose of the calculation in (b), students may discount up to three of their worst subjects provided that at least 12 UTS Bachelor of Laws subjects are included in the calculation, and
6. a student's Honours mark shall include the mark obtained by the student in the subject Research Thesis notwithstanding that such mark might be one of their worst subjects.

2.2 In exceptional circumstances the Faculty's Undergraduate Programs Committee may modify or dispense with the requirements of Regulation 2.1(c) and (d), subject to appeal to the Faculty Board in Law.

International Exchange program

The Law Faculty participates in the international student exchange program administered by the UTS Institute of International Studies. Through the program it is possible to undertake three or four law subject options at overseas universities. To be eligible for the program, students should have a Credit average or better, and have completed 70516 Equity and Trusts before going overseas. The number of places is strictly limited and applications must be lodged no later than six months prior to intended departure.

Marks achieved in study overseas may be adjusted, and will appear on a student's UTS transcript. Exchange subject marks will be included in the calculation for Honours.

Information and application packs are available from the UTS Institute for International Studies. Further details are available online at: