Undergraduate course information

UTS: Law offers a range of bachelor's degrees, from the stand-alone Bachelor of Laws (C10124) to Bachelor of Laws degrees that can be combined with a degree in business, communication, creative intelligence and innovation, engineering, information technology, international studies or science. Whether students are focused on studying the law on its own, or are looking to expand their qualifications and career opportunities with a combined degree, UTS: Law offers practical, work-ready courses with the practical legal training (PLT) program option to get students qualified sooner.

Applications

Offers to undergraduate UTS: Law courses are based on academic merit. Further information is available at Application information.

Rules and procedures

Subjects

UTS: Law timetables undergraduate subjects over three teaching periods: Autumn session, Spring session and Summer session. The full range of core and option subjects that may be timetabled can be found under each of the course entries.

Core law subjects

All core law subjects are taught in both Autumn and Spring sessions. Core law subjects are offered as day and evening classes.

Option subjects

A range of option (elective) subjects are taught in both Autumn and Spring sessions and during Summer session. However, not all option subjects are timetabled every session and some are only offered once every two years. Timetabled option subjects are offered subject to sufficient student interest and academic availability.

Subject descriptions

Descriptions of the law subjects available are provided in subjects.

In order to assist students with understanding the interrelationships of the various option subjects, their general orientation and to make informed choices, option subjects can be classified into the groups listed below.

Students who are unsure which subjects fall under each group are advised to contact UTS: Law. The groups are:

• corporate and commercial law
• comparative law
• criminal law
• environmental law
• family and health law
• human rights
• industrial and employment law
• innovation and technology
• intellectual property law practice
• international law
• jurisprudence
• media and communications
• public law
• taxation law.

Recognition of prior learning

Procedure

Recognition of prior learning based on previous studies may be granted subject to the UTS Recognition of Prior Learning Policy and Procedure, section 6 of the Student and Related Rules, and guidelines of the Faculty Board in Law. The granting of exemptions is at the discretion of the associate dean (education).

An application for recognition of prior learning (RPL) is accepted only in circumstances where the basis for credit for law subjects was successfully undertaken in a comparable course of study at a recognised university.

Credit granted for subjects must comply with the AQF level for which the credit in being sought. This includes the same purpose, knowledge and skills required at the relevant level.

For applications for RPL where topics within areas of knowledge are distributed across subjects differently to subjects offered at UTS, the faculty assesses credit to reflect fulfilment of requirements of the nearest subject(s) offered at UTS.

Credit given for the subject taken at the other recognised university can only be up to the credit-point value of the equivalent UTS subject.

Applied experience subjects are not typically considered for credit (i.e. internships, practice-based placements, exchange subjects, research-only subjects and fulfilment of practical experience-type subjects).

As a general practice, the Faculty will accept content deviation of up to twenty per cent between the UTS law subject and the subject on which the RPL is based (or in-line with other practices of the Faculty administering the course).

Application

Students submit applications for RPL to the UTS Student Administration Unit (SAU). SAU reviews the application for completeness. If the subject on which the RPL is based appears on the currently published Precedent List, or the subject was completed in the year before or after the same subject that appears on the currently published Precedent List, SAU can approve the application under delegated authority of the Faculty of Law Board. A detailed subject outline and the subject reading guide (if relevant) is not required if a precedent can be applied.

If no precedent exists for the subject upon which the student is basing their application for RPL, the applicant must provide documentation as determined by SAU. The application is forwarded to the Faculty for assessment.

See the further information on how to apply for recognition of prior learning.

Credit point limits

The maximum overall amount of credit granted for a Faculty of Law undergraduate or postgraduate course shall not exceed one half of the credit-point value of that course.

Students transferring into a UTS law course from an incomplete UTS course may be granted credit for all subjects completed at UTS which are part of the structure of the destination course, even if the total amount of credit exceeds the general, course-level or course-specific credit point limits.

The maximum RPL available in an undergraduate course is no more than:

• 48 credit points for core or elective law subjects, and
• 48 credit points for non-law subjects.

Time limits

As a general rule, a limit of six years applies to law subjects used as the basis of credit, calculated from the date the subject was successfully completed to when credit is sought except in the following circumstances:

• 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
• applications for recognition of prior learning for practical legal training subjects have a time limit of three years, and
• the Faculty Board in Law shall retain discretion to waive the application of the rule in cases where there is additional evidence of work or study experience.

Appeal of decision

A student who is dissatisfied with the outcome of their application for recognition of prior learning may appeal the decision in accordance with section 6.2 of the UTS Student Rules.

Bachelor of Laws (C10124) and all combined Bachelor of Laws degrees

Recognition of Prior Learning in the Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Juris Doctor (JD) (and combined LLB and JD awards), and Legal Studies Program (LS) will only be offered on the basis of completed study in a course recognised as leading to practise as a legal practitioner within a law school at a recognised university.

An application for unspecified credit towards the elective component of the LLB, JD and courses in the LS program on the basis of having completed a Priestley 11 subject equivalent to the LPAB academic areas of knowledge (the LPAB Schedule 1 academic areas of knowledge comprises of Criminal Law and Procedure, Torts, Contracts, Property, Equity, Company Law, Administrative Law, Federal and State Constitutional Law, Civil Dispute Resolution, Evidence, Ethics and Professional Responsibility) at another university will not be approved irrespective of if the law subject completed at another university was insufficient to warrant exemption from a UTS core law subject.

Core subjects

Applications for recognition of prior learning of a core subject in the LLB, JD or LS:

• will be assessed to ensure coverage of 'academic areas of knowledge' as set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Admission Rules 2015 (the 'Priestley' 11), and
• must include official information from the other university indicating where the subject on which the RPL is based fits into the overall course structure of the other course (i.e. the University Handbook, or similar).

As a general rule, credit for 70102 Foundations of Law will be offered on the basis of completion of an equivalent core first year introductory subject taught within a law school at a recognised university provided that the subject addresses foundational knowledge and skills, including content in legal method, legal research, contracts law, criminal law, torts and constitutional law.

Non-law component

Students may be granted the following unspecified credit towards the non-law component of the LLB. (This RPL is only available in the non-law component of the stand-alone UTS LLB, and is not permitted in the non-law component of the UTS LLB combined degree courses):

• up to a maximum of 48 credit points on the basis of a completed bachelor's degree (three years' full time equivalent) or completed postgraduate degree from a law school at a recognised university;
• the completed proportion of an incomplete bachelor's degree or incomplete postgraduate degree from a law school at a recognised university calculated pro-rata as:
  (Total credit points completed at the other institution in a non-law degree ÷ total credit points of the non-law degree at the other institution) x 48cp
  • When the pro-rata amount referenced above is a decimal, the student is given the whole number amount as credit, and the amount following the decimal is not considered, e.g. a pro-rata calculation of 7.4 would result in the student receiving 7cp of RPL.
  • Next, the SAU reconciles the remaining credit points left to complete at UTS in the non-law choice block or degree structure in question, e.g. 24 cps, and by subtracting the pro-rata whole number, e.g. 7. The resulting number, e.g. 17, is rounded up to 18 cps, so it’s divisible by 6cps to enable the student to complete the correct number of subjects in this degree structure.
• up to a maximum of 24 credit points on the basis of a completed advanced diploma
• up to a maximum of 12 credit points on the basis of a completed diploma.

No recognition of prior learning can be sought for a partially completed advanced diploma or diploma.

Recognition of prior learning can be sought for cross-disciplinary subjects as non-law electives.

Inquiries

telephone 1300 ask UTS (1300 275 887)
Ask UTS

Concurrent study at another university

UTS students may apply to undertake subjects at other universities for credit towards their UTS course up to a maximum of two subjects. An application for CS will be considered when the concurrent enrolment is undertaken in a comparable course of study within a law school at a recognised University.

Credit granted for subjects must comply with the AQF level for which the credit in being sought. This includes the same purpose, knowledge and skills required at the relevant level.

Applications for concurrent study should be made in advance of the study being undertaken. Subjects completed concurrently at another university without prior approval risk the subject not being credited to the student's course at UTS.

Students will not be approved to undertake CS in core subjects and cannot undertake CS in electives if the Faculty offers the equivalent subject during the proposed session of the concurrent enrolment. An exemption from an elective at the other university will not be granted for the UTS core legal theory subject.

A currently enrolled UTS student who wishes to enrol in subjects at another recognised university and have these subjects credited towards their UTS award course must lodge a Concurrent Study application with SAU according to the instructions on the Concurrent Study webpage.

Internal course transfers

UTS students who transfer into the Bachelor of Laws from an incomplete UTS combined law degree may receive exemptions on a pro-rata basis, to a maximum of 48 credit points, from non-law subject options for subjects which have been completed as part of their previous UTS studies.

Honours

It is possible for students to gain an award with honours in the Bachelor of Laws degree or the law component of combined degrees.

Students who meet the criteria for honours are eligible for transfer into the appropriate undergraduate honours exit course on completion of all coursework. This transfer into an honours exit course is managed by the Student Centre and occurs just prior to graduation.

An additional year of study is not required. To qualify for honours, a student must complete subjects 76090 Research Methodology and 76040 Research Thesis, as option subjects within the degree. These subjects form part of the credit points required for degree completion. 76090 Research Methodology and 76040 Research Thesis have requirements that students must comply with in addition to the following Honours Regulations:

1. Awards

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

1. degree (with first class honours), and
2. degree (with second class honours).

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 76090 Research Methodology and 76040 Research Thesis
2. subject to requirements below, obtain an honours mark, calculated in accordance with the formula 'sum of all' (UTS law subject credit points multiplied by mark) divisible by the 'sum of all law subject credit points' such that:
   1. for first class honours: no less than 75.00
   2. for second class honours: in the range of 70.00 and 74.99 (note that in calculating the honours mark, rounding occurs to two decimal places)
3. not fail any law subject after the first session of study
4. successfully complete not less than 96 credit points of law subjects within UTS: Law
5. for the purpose of the calculation in 2.1(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 76040 Research Thesis and 76090 Research Methodology notwithstanding that such a mark might be one of their worst subjects.

2.2 In exceptional circumstances the director (students) may modify or dispense with the requirements of regulation 2.1, subject to appeal to the Faculty Board in Law.

Further details are available in the online subject descriptions.

To be eligible for a University medal, an undergraduate student must have achieved the highest first class honours mark in the graduating cohort.

International exchange program

UTS: Law participates in the international student exchange program administered by UTS: International. Through the program, it is possible to undertake the following study options at overseas exchange partner universities:

• three or four law or non-law subject options from CBK90300 Electives (Law), or
• three law subjects from CBK90390 Options, or
• four law subjects from CBK90922 Options (Law UG) (if not using PLT as part of their degree).

To be eligible for the program, students should have a credit average or better and have completed 68 credit points of core subjects including 70517 Equity and Trusts before going overseas. The number of places is strictly limited.

Results achieved in study overseas are recorded as a pass or fail grade without a mark. It should be noted that the pass/fail results for exchange subjects are excluded from the calculation of a GPA and in the calculation for honours.

Information and application packs are available from UTS: International.