Courses and programs offered
Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Psychological Science (LZLBS)
The Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Psychological Science is a five-year combined degree providing an accredited professional qualification in law as well as a degree in psychology. The program includes all the compulsory law subjects required by the Council of Legal Education for admission to practice in Victoria and a wide range of law electives, including compulsory law and legal studies subjects related to psychology such as Psychology and Criminal Law, and Mental Disorder and Criminal Responsibility. For further information about core law subjects and electives, please refer to the entry for the Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) in the Faculty of Law and Management section of this handbook. The Bachelor of Psychological Science degree provides students with broad knowledge and skills in behavioural science in addition to a specialisation in psychology, but does not qualify a graduate to work as a psychologist. Further education, training and supervised experience is required for registration as a professional psychologist with the Psychologists’ Registration Board of Victoria and also for membership of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
Admission requirements
Admission requirements are VCE units 3 and 4, and a study score of at least 35 in English (ESL) or 30 in any other English.
Degree requirements
Students must:
- complete a total of at least five years of full-time study or its equivalent
- complete in sequence the compulsory law subjects
- complete in sequence the compulsory psychology subjects
- complete a total of 640 – 645 credit points (375 credit points in law, 235 credit points in psychology and 30-35 credit points in specified law and / or legal studies electives)
- complete a total of 22 subjects in law (16 compulsory subjects and 6 elective subjects), 13 psychology subjects as well as LAW3MDC plus one subject from LST3CAP, LAW3RPS or LAW3DRL
- complete no more than 180 credit points at first year overall.
Course structure
First year
| Teaching period |
Subject title | Subject code | Credit points |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Dispute Resolution | LAW1DR | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Legal Institutions and Methods | LAW1LIM | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Intro to Behavioural Neuroscience A | PSY1BNA | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Psychology 1A | PSY1PYA | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Criminal Law | LAW2CRM | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Public Law | LAW2PPL | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Psychology 1B | PSY1PYB | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Statistics for Psychology | STA1PSY | 15 |
Second year
| Teaching period |
Subject title | Subject code | Credit points |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Law of Contracts | LAW2CNT | 20 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Law of Torts | LAW2TOR | 20 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Psychology 2A | PSY2PYA | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Commercial and Consumer Contracts | LAW2CCC | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Constitutional Law | LAW2CNL | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Psychology 2B | PSY2PYB | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Introduction to Behavioural Neuroscience B | PSY1BNB | 15 |
Third year
| Teaching period |
Subject title | Subject code | Credit points |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Criminal Procedure and Evidence | LAW3CPE | 20 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Mental Disorder and Criminal Responsibility | LAW3MDC | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | One Law elective1 | 15 | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Psychology 3A | PSY3PYA | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Civil Procedure | LAW3CIV | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Property Law | LAW3PRP | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | One law elective1 | 15 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Psychology 3B | PSY3PYB | 20 |
Fourth year
| Teaching period |
Subject title | Subject code | Credit points |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Law of Equity and Trusts | LAW3EQT | 20 |
| TE-SEM-1 | One law elective | 15 | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Psychology Research Project A | PSY3RSA | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Administrative Law | LAW3ADM | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | One law elective1 | 15 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Psychology Research Project B3 | PSY3RSB | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Psychology and the Criminal Law2 | LAW3PAL | 15 |
Fifth year
| Teaching period |
Subject title | Subject code | Credit points |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Corporations Law | LAW4COR | 20 |
| TE-SEM-1 | One law elective4 | 15 | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Counselling and Family Psychology A | PSU3CFA | 20 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Legal Practice and Conduct | LAW4LPC | 15 |
| either | |||
| TE-SEM-2 | Crime and Psychology (teaching period 2) | LST3CAP | 20 |
| or | |||
| TE-SEM-2 | Legal Rights, Poverty and Legal Services (teaching period 2) | LAW3RPS | 15 |
| or | |||
| TE-SEM-1 | Disability Rights and the Law (teaching period 1) | LAW3DRL | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | One law elective | 15 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Social and Community Psychology B | PSY3CSB | 20 |
Key: 1 Students are encouraged to take this elective in summer or winter school to spread work load.
2 LAW3PAL is a summer school subject which counts towards the credit points in teaching period 2 of fourth year. It can however be taken at any time after first year.
3 Students must complete this subject in the same year as Psychology Research Project A (PSY3RSA).
4 Students who choose LAW3RPS or LAW3DRL in teaching period 1 in fourth year will have to take this elective in teaching period 2 unless doing Honours.
5 This subject alternates every other year with Applied Neuroscience A (PSYANA).
6 This subject alternates every other year with Cognitive and Developmental Developmental Psychology B (PY3CDB).
Compulsory and Elective Law Subjects
For lists of compulsory and elective law subjects, refer to lists under Bachelor of Laws Graduate Entry (LBLG).