Global Utilities

La Trobe University
University Handbook 2010

Courses and programs offered

Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Finance (LZLF)

The Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Finance is a five-year combined degree providing an accredited professional qualification in law, as well as a degree in finance. The program includes all the compulsory law subjects required by the Council of Legal Education for admission to practice in Victoria and compulsory specialised subjects relevant to finance such as Banking and Finance Law, Competition Law and Policy or an approved subject from the Master of Laws in Global Business Law. For further information about core 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 finance course is a largely fixed-content program. Students are trained in four major areas of finance: corporate finance, international finance, investment and portfolio management and risk management.

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 and at least 20 in mathematics (any).

Degree requirements

Students must:

  • complete a total of at least five years full-time study or its equivalent
  • complete in sequence the compulsory law subjects
  • complete in sequence the compulsory finance subjects
  • complete a total of 645 credit points (360 credit points in law and 285 credit points in finance and other subjects from the School of Accounting, School of Economics and Finance, and School of Management including Banking and Finance Law)
  • complete a total of 21 subjects in law (16 compulsory subjects and 5 electives)
  • complete a total of 19 subjects in finance (16 compulsory subjects and 3 electives)
  • complete no more than 180 credit points at first year level 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
Either
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Introduction to Quantitative Analysis ECO2IQA 15
Or
TE-SEM-1 Calculus and Functions for Economics (teaching period 1)1 MAT1CFE 15
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Microeconomics ECO1IMI 15
TE-SEM-2 Criminal Law LAW2CRM 20
TE-SEM-2 Principles of Public Law LAW2PPL 15
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Accounting for Management Decisions ACC1AMD 15
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Introductory Statistics for Business ECO1ISB 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 Microeconomic Theory ECO2MIT 15
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Macroeconomics ECO1IMA 15
TE-SEM-2 Commercial and Consumer Contracts LAW2CCC 15
TE-SEM-2 Constitutional Law LAW2CNL 20
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Introductory Financial Accounting ACC1IFA 15
TE-SEM-2 Financial Instruments2 FIN2FII 15
Third year
Teaching
period
Subject title Subject code Credit points
TE-SEM-1 Criminal Procedure and Evidence LAW3CPE 20
TE-SEM-1 Intermediate Statistics for Business ECO2ISB 15
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Finance FIN2FIN 15
Either
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Foundations of Management3 MGT1FOM 15
Or
One first year or second year elective from School of Accounting, School of Economics and Finance, or School of Management 15
TE-SEM-2 Civil Procedure LAW3CIV 15
Either
TE-SEM-2 Competition Policy and Law4 LAW2CPL / LAW3CPL 15
Or
TE-SEM-2 One subject from Master of Laws in Global Business Law with permission of Director of Undergraduate Studies 15
TE-SEM-2 Property Law LAW3PRP 20
TE-SEM-2 Macroeconomic Theory ECO2MAT 15
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 Corporate Finance FIN3CFI 15
Either
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
Foundations of Marketing3 (required for FINSIA membership) MKT1FMK 15
or
TE-SEM-1 or
TE-SEM-2
One second year elective from School of Accounting, School of Economics and Finance, or School of Management 15
TE-SEM-2 Administrative Law LAW3ADM 20
TE-SEM-2 One law elective 15
TE-SEM-2 Banking and Finance Law [this counts as 3rd year finance subject] LAW2BFL/ LAW3BFL 15
TE-SEM-2 Financial Risk Management FIN3FRM 15
Fifth year
Teaching
period
Subject title Subject code Credit points
TE-SEM-1 Corporations Law LAW4COR 20
TE-SEM-1 One law elective 15
TE-SEM-1 International Financial Management FIN3IFM 15
TE-SEM-1 One third year finance elective 15
TE-SEM-2 Legal Practice and Conduct LAW4LPC 15
TE-SEM-2 Two law electives5 30
TE-SEM-2 Investment and Portfolio Management FIN3IPM 15

Key: 1 Students with a strong background in mathematics, including VCE Mathematical Methods or Specialist Mathematics, are urged to consider taking MAT1CFE instead of ECO2IQA.

2 Students must have completed ECO1IMA prior to enrolling in this subject.

3 Foundations of Management (MGT1FOM) and Foundations of Marketing (MGT1FMK) must be taken if students wish to satisfy the educational requirements of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA). Students seeking employment in the finance industry or in a position which requires them to provide advice to retail clients about financial planning or financial products must complete an Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC PS146) compliant course of study. This includes ECO1IMA, FIN2FII, FIN2FPL and FIN3CFP. [NB: FIN3REP is a co-requisite for FIN3CFP].

Finance electives

Financial Planning
Subject code Subject name Semester
FIN2FPL Financial Planning 1
ACC3TAX Taxation 1,2
FIN3REP Retirement and Estate Planning 2
FIN3CFP Case Studies in Financial Planning 2
Corporate Finance
Subject code Subject name Semester
FIN3DER Commodity Derivatives 1
FIN3MAQ Mergers and Acquisitions ???
FIN3SEV Security Valuation 1
FIN3CSF Case Studies in Finance 2
Other
Subject code Subject name Semester
FIN3FIM Financial Institutions Management 1
ECO2EME Econometric Methods 1
ECO3MIA Microeconomic Analysis 1
FIN3CLF Computational Finance 2
ECO3ITE Introduction to Time-series Econometrics 2
ECO3MAA Macroeconomic Analysis 2
FIN3FSA Financial Statement Analysis 1,2
FIN3EPP Ethics and Professional Practice 1

Compulsory and Elective Law Subjects

For lists of compulsory and elective law subjects, refer to lists under Bachelor of Laws Graduate Entry (LBLG).