Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Psychological Science
Course code/s: LWLPS Melbourne
Note – subject to university approval, some changes to this program are pending, including the removal of the subject LAW3PAL
Course Description
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 offers an innovative, high quality legal education with a strong global and social justice perspective and a real emphasis on hands-on experiences. It 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, many with a practical skills component, such as clinical legal education, communication and advocacy skills, and negotiation. It also includes a compulsory specialised law subject relevant to psychology 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 Business, Economics and Law section of this handbook. The Bachelor of Psychological Science degree provides students with broad knowledge and skills in psychology as well as biological and social aspects of behaviour 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 Psychology Board of Australia and also for membership of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). The course is also available at Bendigo campus, but students commencing their studies at Bendigo normally transfer to Melbourne after two full-time years of study where they complete the remainder of their course.
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 600 credit points (360 credit points in law, 225 credit points in psychology and 15 credit points in either psychology or other approved free elective counting towards psychology)
- complete a total of 24 subjects in law (20 compulsory subjects and 4 electives) and 16 psychology subjects
Course structure
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 | Experimental Foundations of Psychological Science | PSY1EFP |
| TE-SEM-1 | History, Philosophy and Methodology of Psychological Science | PSY1HPM |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Criminal Law | LAW1CRL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Public Law | LAW1PPL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Clinical Foundations of Psychological Science | PSY1CFP |
| TE-SEM-2 | Statistics for Psychology | STA1PSY |
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 | Psychological Research Methods | PSY2PRM |
| TE-SEM-1 | Cognitions | PSY2COG |
| TE-SEM-2 | Contract Law B | LAW2CTB |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Constitutional Law | LAW2CSL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Developmental Psychology | PSY2DEV |
| TE-SEM-2 | Abnormal, Clinical and Health Psychology | PSY2ACH |
Third Year
| Teaching period | Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Statutory Interpretation | LAW2STA |
| TE-SEM-1 | Foundations of Property Law | LAW2FPL |
| TE-SEM-1 | Mental Disorder and Criminal Responsibility | LAW3MDC |
| TE-SEM-1 | Psychological Assessment | PSY3PAS |
| TE-SEM-2 | Civil Procedure | LAW2CIV |
| TE-SEM-2 | Real Property Law | LAW3RPT |
| TE-SEM-2 | One law elective | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Social Psychology | PSY2SOC |
Fourth Year
| Teaching period | Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Evidence and Criminal Procedure | LAW2ECP |
| TE-SEM-1 | One law elective | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Research in Psychology A | PSY3RPA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Administrative Law | LAW3ADN |
| TE-SEM-2 | Psychology and the Criminal Law1 | LAW3PAL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Psychological Intervention | PSY3PIN |
| TE-SEM-2 | Research in Psychology B2 | PSY3RPB |
Fifth Year
| Teaching period | Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Company Law | LAW3CMP |
| TE-SEM-1 | Principles of Equity and Trusts | LAW3ETR |
| TE-SEM-1 | One Law Elective | |
| TE-SEM-1 | 3rd Year Psychology Elective | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Remedies | LAW3REM |
| TE-SEM-2 | Legal Practice and Conduct | LAW3LPC |
| TE-SEM-2 | One Law Elective | |
| TE-SEM-2 | 3rd Year Psychology Elective |
1. 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.
2. Students must complete this subject in the same year as Psychology Research Project A (PSY3RPA).
Compulsory and Elective Law Subjects
For lists of compulsory and elective law subjects, refer to lists under Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) (LVLGE).
Compulsory and Elective Psychology Subjects
For lists of compulsory and elective psychology subjects, refer to lists under Bachelor of Psychological Science (RBBS). Note that PSY3HAR, PSY3CNN, and PSY3ASD are offered as electives in odd-numbered years and PSY3RTP, PSY3NBC, and PSY3CSI are offered in even numbered years. Students will not be able to take PSY3NBC unless they have previously completed at least 1 biology or behavioural neuroscience subject.