Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Business
Course code/s: LWLBUSB Bendigo
Note – subject to university approval, some changes to this program are pending, particularly to first year business subjects
Course Description
The Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Business is a five year combined degree providing an accredited professional qualification in law as well as a degree in business. The program offers an innovative, high quality legal education with a strong global and social justice perspective and a real emphasis on hands-on experiences. Students undertake their first two years of study at Bendigo campus and then normally transfer into the equivalent combined degree program at Melbourne campus, where they complete the remainder of their course. However, students who wish to remain in Bendigo are offered the ability to complete their later year core subjects and some electives through e-learning and/or intensive courses. Students can complete a business major in business economics, financial management, financial planning, human resource management, macroeconomics, management information systems, international management, management or marketing. Whilst at Bendigo, students complete eight core law subjects and eight core business subjects. Students will receive full advanced standing for these subjects at Melbourne provided they remain in the same degree.
At the Melbourne campus, students complete the remainder of the Council of Legal Education core law subjects and undertake law electives as well as completing their business major. Most students will transfer into the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Business (LWLBUS), but it is also possible to transfer into other double degree programs including the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Accounting, the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Economics and the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Finance. Students wanting to major in international business will have to transfer into the Bachelor of Laws and the Bachelor of International Business concurrently. For further information about core law subjects and electives, please refer to the Melbourne chapter for the Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) in this Handbook. For further general information about the business component of this degree, please consult the information for the Bendigo Bachelor of Business (RBB) in this Handbook, but note that the specific degree requirements for this combined degree are more restrictive. For further information about years 3-5, please refer to the entry for the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Business (LWLBUS) in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law section of this handbook.
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 equivalent;
- complete in sequence the compulsory law subjects;
- complete in sequence the compulsory business subjects;
- complete a total of 600 credit points (360 credit points in law and 240 credit points in accounting, business, economics, finance, management and marketing)
- complete a major from a business discipline
Note - a major consists of 8 (120 credit points) prescribed subjects and will include no more than 30 credit points at first-year level, 30 or more credit points at second-year level, and 45 or more credit points at third-year level. For more information on subjects that are part of business majors link to Business Majors .
Course approval
All Bendigo students must have their enrolments, including subject variations, approved by a course adviser in order to ensure that they receive full advanced standing for their studies following transfer to Melbourne.
Course structure
Most students will complete eight core law subjects and eight core business subjects at Bendigo, then complete the remainder of their program at Melbourne from years 3-5 of the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Business (LWLBUS). Prior to transfer, students can also enrol in law electives at the Melbourne Campus in summer and winter school and may be able to complete one law clinic placement subject at Bendigo, Rural and Regional Issues in Justice (LAW2RRJ).
First year
| Teaching period | Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Dispute Resolution | LAW1DR |
| TE-SEM-1 | Legal Institutions and Methods | LAW1LIM |
| TE-SEM-1 | Accounting for Management Decisions | ACC1AMD |
| TE-SEM-1 | Macroeconomics | ECO1IMA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Marketing: Defined, Planned and Delivered | MKT1MDP |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Criminal Law | LAW1CRL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Public Law | LAW1PPL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Microeconomics | ECO1IMI |
Second year
| Teaching period | Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Contract Law A | LAW2CTA |
| TE-SEM-1 | Principles of Tort Law | LAW2TOT |
| TE-SEM-1 | Management Information Systems | BUS1MIS |
| TE-SEM-1 | Foundations of Management | MGT1FOM |
| TE-SEM-2 | Climate, Sustainability and Society | ENV1CSS |
| TE-SEM-2 | Contract Law B | LAW2CTB |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Constitutional Law | LAW2CSL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Critical Thinking in Statistics | STA1CTS |
Third to fifth years
Please consult the Melbourne chapter for the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Business (LWLBUS) in this Handbook. For general information about business majors, please consult the Melbourne chapter for the Bachelor of Business (LBB) degree in this Handbook.
Students wishing to major in international business will enrol in the undergraduate Bachelor of Laws (LVLUE) and Bachelor of International Business (LBIB) concurrently, but will be granted a reduction in the overall credit points for these two degrees to bring them into line with the credit points in a five year combined degree. For further information, please consult the Bachelor of International Business (LBIB) entry and the Bachelor of Laws (LVLUE) entry in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law section in this Handbook. For further information on the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Accounting (LWLAC), the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Economics (LWLEC) or the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Finance (LWLFI), please consult the relevant entries in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law section in this Handbook.
Compulsory and Elective Law Subjects
For lists of compulsory and elective law subjects, refer to lists under Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) (LVLGE) in the Melbourne Chapter of this handbook. Note that Bendigo students can, if they wish, apply to undertake a placement at the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre or another legal organisation for academic credit by enrolling into an elective subject called Rural and Regional Issues in Justice (LAW2RRJ).
Legal studies in Bachelor of Business
Students are not permitted to take legal studies or business law subjects as business electives within this degree, unless they have the prior permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, School of Law, Melbourne on (03) 9479 1524 .
Honours
Students may be permitted to undertake Honours in the law program in the final year of their law studies. Normally an average grade of B+ over two full-time years of law study is required. Honours comprises a research component and a compulsory research seminar. Students must complete a 10 000-word thesis (which takes the place of two law electives) on a topic to be approved by the Honours Research and Graduate Studies Committee. The compulsory research seminar is conducted throughout the year. Students must attend ten sessions and are required to present a paper on their individual research project.
Students invited to enrol in Honours in business or international business must complete a further full-time year of study. For further information, please consult the relevant entries for the Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of International Business in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law section of this Handbook.
Professional recognition
The law degree includes those subjects approved by the Victorian Council of Legal Education, which must be successfully completed as a prerequisite for entry into legal practice. See the Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) (LVLGE) at Melbourne for specific subjects and further information.
For information on professional recognition for business subjects completed within this combined degree, please consult the relevant entries for the Bachelor of Business (LBB) in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law section in this Handbook.