#1 Melbourne university for law course satisfaction
Choose from 600+ employers for arts internships
Work on real client cases
Why choose arts / laws at Deakin
Set yourself up for a career without limitations by graduating with two of Deakin’s most versatile degrees. Combine thought-provoking investigative learning in arts with an industry-leading legal education at a top 3 law school in the state of Victoria. Study all areas of law required for legal practice in Victoria, while exploring your arts major chosen from study areas including criminology, history, sociology, politics and policy studies and more.
Prepare yourself for roles across a wide range of fields with practical experiences in both law and arts degrees. Work on cases for real clients with 150 hours at the Deakin Law Clinic and develop industry-relevant skills on work-integrated learning projects with opportunities for a study abroad experience. Develop a powerful combination of legal reasoning, exceptional communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and leadership skills, to pursue careers in law, government, not for profit organisations and more.
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Proven employability
Build a strong resume of experiences including internships, client casework in the Deakin Law Clinic, volunteering, study tours, mooting competitions and industry projects.
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See the big picture
Combine disciplines to increase your professional impact. Get a comprehensive insight into how the law influences culture, institutions and public life.
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Gain international experience
Global opportunities include exchanges, international internships, study tours, language programs and international mooting and legal competitions.
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Career outcomes that stand out
Out-earn other arts graduates in Victoria, with 1 in 10 Deakin arts graduates becoming chief executives or managing directors.
Connected to industry
Deakin’s strong industry connections help shape your learning. Build practical experience in real workplace contexts through work-integrated learning, mentoring and networking opportunities. Industry advisory boards also help shape our degrees, which means what you study is current, relevant and aligned to what your future employers need.
Deakin puts employability first
Career outcomes
Combine legal expertise with specialised arts knowledge for careers in legal practice, policy, government, communications, consulting, criminal justice and community organisations.
Lawyer
Advise clients on legal rights, prepare legal documents, negotiate settlements and represent clients in court. Research legislation and provide practical solutions across a range of legal matters.
- $105k
Typical Australian annual salary
- 11.7%
Projected job growth in 5 years
- 3.6/5
Job satisfaction
Policy officer
Research social, political and legal issues, analyse evidence and consult stakeholders. Prepare advice, reports and recommendations that help governments and organisations develop and review policy.
- $113k
Typical Australian annual salary
- 16%
Projected job growth in 5 years
- 4/5
Job satisfaction
Other jobs
- Management consultant
- Communications professional
- Journalist
- Criminal justice professional
- Human rights advocate
- Researcher
FAQs
Deakin's campuses in Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool are set in vibrant, multicultural communities where it is easy to connect and feel at home. As the #1 university in Australia for international student happiness and student satisfaction, you will be supported at every step of your journey. You can join clubs and societies through the Deakin University Student Association (DUSA), attend social events, go on trips and live on campus to meet people from around the world. Each campus has fitness centres, cafes and 24-hour security, as well as prayer rooms and multifaith chaplains.
Deakin offers a range of merit-based scholarships that can reduce your tuition fees by 20%, 25%, 50% or 100% for the duration of your degree. Eligibility varies by scholarship and the degree you choose, but you will automatically be considered for most scholarships when you apply to Deakin. Use the Find a scholarship tool and filter by 'citizenship' to see what is available to you, or explore Australia Awards scholarships if you are from an eligible country.
As an international student at Deakin, you can work part time according to the conditions of your visa. On a Student Visa (Subclass 500), you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight during trimesters. When you are on a trimester break you can work as much as you want. Compulsory work experience that forms part of your degree does not count toward this limit. Find part-time roles and internships through DeakinTALENT and learn more about working in Australia.
Most students studying full time at Deakin need a Student Visa (Subclass 500). You can apply for this visa after you accept your offer and receive your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE). To apply, you will need a valid passport, your CoE, proof of Overseas Student Health Cover and any other documents required by the Department of Home Affairs. Apply as early as possible, but do not book travel until your visa has been granted. Find out more about student visas.
Australia is widely regarded as one of the safest and most welcoming countries in the world for students, with strong legal protections, reliable public services and a multicultural community. In fact, Melbourne is ranked the #4 student city in the world! At Deakin, you will be part of a supportive community, with 24/7 help, dedicated campus security and practical tools to help you feel safe, confident and connected. Deakin’s SafeZone app also connects you directly to campus security and support services if you ever need help. Find out more about studying in Australia.
Deakin offers a wide range of support to help you settle in and succeed throughout your studies – we are ranked the #1 university in Melbourne for student support. You can access 1:1 study support, English language support, career planning help, disability services and free counselling, as well as financial assistance if you need it. On campus, the SafeZone app and 24/7 security services mean help is always within reach. You can explore the full range of support services for international students or start an online chat with a student ambassador before you arrive.
To enrol in an undergraduate degree at Deakin, many degrees require a minimum IELTS score of 6.0 (or equivalent). Some degrees require higher scores so check the entry requirements tab on the degree page for details. You may also meet the requirement through recent secondary or university study completed in English, or by demonstrating five or more years of living and working in an English-speaking country. Eligibility is assessed on a case-by-case basis. If you do not yet meet the requirement, the Deakin University English Language Institute (DUELI) offers pathway programs to help develop your English reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Completion of DUELI’s English for Academic Purposes can give you the minimum English language requirements for most Deakin degrees.
Deakin is the #1 university in Melbourne for international student graduate employment. Our degrees are developed with industry insight, so you will gain career-ready skills from the beginning. Each Deakin student can access work-integrated learning through opportunities including placements, internships and projects with well-known industry partners. Our dedicated international student career support program helps you learn about the Australian workforce, make connections and build your network through placements. You will get support with your resume, help looking for an internship or a job after graduation and even advice about your career options overseas.
There is more than one way to study at Deakin. If you do not meet the academic requirements, Deakin College offers a guaranteed pathway to Deakin with small, supportive classes on campus. If you meet the academic requirements but not the English requirements, you can enrol in a Deakin University English Language Institute (DUELI) English pathway program and progress to your chosen Deakin degree upon successful completion. Deakin also has formal pathway agreements with partner institutions in countries like China, India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the United States, so you can start your studies locally before transferring to Australia to complete your degree.
*Deakin references data from a range of government, higher education and reputable media sources. Learn more about our achievements on our University rankings page, or explore our sources page for supporting references.
What will I study in the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws?
Over five years, you will progress from legal foundations and introductory studies in your arts major, towards advanced, specialist law and arts units. Apply your knowledge through international experiences and work-integrated learning opportunities and see how the two domains interact to shape our world.
Foundations across law and the arts
Learn legal reasoning fundamentals
Develop the ability to interpret legislation, analyse cases and construct persuasive legal arguments.
Discover arts disciplines
Choose a major and a minor to explore areas such as politics, history, languages, media or international studies and find the subjects and issues that interest you most.
Build academic communication skills
Strengthen research, writing and analytical thinking that support both legal and humanities study.
Develop disciplinary direction
Advance legal knowledge
Study key areas of law while building stronger research and advocacy capabilities.
Progress your arts specialisation
Develop deeper understanding of your chosen arts specialisations and start growing your expertise.
Apply interdisciplinary insight
Use your arts learning to situate legal problems within social, cultural and political contexts
Extend your legal and arts studies
Strengthen legal analysis
Tackle more complex legal issues and deepen your understanding of legal systems and institutions.
Deepen disciplinary expertise
Continue advanced arts study through higher-level units that expand your critical thinking and cultural awareness.
Integrate perspectives across fields
Connect insights from humanities and social sciences with legal principles and public policy.
Advanced law and applied learning
Study advanced legal subjects
Examine significant legal frameworks that influence governance, rights and regulatory systems.
Complete your arts studies
Conclude your major sequence and arts electives with advanced units.
Engage in practical legal experiences
Participate in work-integrated learning or experiential opportunities that build professional confidence.
Consolidation and career preparation
Complete your legal studies
Finalise advanced legal subjects while refining research and advocacy skills.
Develop professional legal skills
Learn approaches to legal problem solving and persuasion.
Graduate career-ready
Finish with strong analytical, communication and critical-thinking capabilities suited to diverse legal and professional pathways.
Course structure
To complete the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws, you must pass 40 credit points.
Most units are equal to one credit point. As a full-time student you will study four credit points per trimester and usually undertake two trimesters per year.
Are you a current student? For course information that applies to the year you started your degree, visit the handbook.
All students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements
Units
*Previously coded MLL110
Note: MLP code denotes Priestley units, which teach the academic areas of knowledge prescribed for admission to legal practice.
To be completed in the first trimester of study:-
Students must complete one of the following experiential/practice units as one of their Law Elective units:
Further details can be found at WIL Opportunities for law students
Students must complete 1 Bachelor of Arts major sequence chosen from the below list.
R
Refer to the details of each major sequence for availability
- animation (Minor)
- anthropology (Major and Minor)
- arabic (Minor)
- chinese ( Minor)
- criminology (Major and Minor)
- design thinking (Minor)
- education (Major and Minor)
- english - children's literature (Major and Minor)
- english - creative writing (Major and Minor)
- english - literature (Major and Minor)
- film and television studies (Major and Minor)
- gender and sexuality studies (Major and Minor)
- history (Major and Minor)
- indigenous studies (Major and Minor)
- indonesian (Minor)
- international relations (Major and Minor)
- media and communication (Major and Minor)
- media studies (Major and Minor)
- middle east studies (Major and Minor)
- performing arts (Major and Minor)
- philosophy (Major and Minor)
- politics and policy studies (Major and Minor)
- public relations studies (Major and Minor)
- religious studies (Major and Minor)
- social media (Major and Minor)
- sociology (Major and Minor)
- spanish (Minor)
- sport and society (Minor)
- sport journalism (Major and Minor)
- strategic advertising (Major and Minor)
- UX design (Minor) *
- visual arts and photography (Major and Minor)
- visual communication design (Major and Minor)
- web design (Minor)
* UX refers to User Experience
Students must complete 5 Law electives from the following list
*MLI code denotes optional residential version of the unit.
^MLT324 does not count as one of the WIL/Practical course elective units (listed above) required for the Bachelor of Laws.
Note:
Not all units will be offered every year.
The Law School might from time to time develop new units to strengthen the law elective list.
Professional recognition
Deakin's Bachelor of Laws is designed to satisfy the academic qualifications necessary for admission to the legal profession. In Victoria these have been set by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board (VLAB). In addition to satisfying the academic qualifications, a person seeking admission to the legal profession in Victoria is required to have satisfactorily completed certain practical legal training requirements and must be considered a fit and proper person to be admitted to the legal profession.
Requirements for admission in jurisdictions outside Australia vary. Please check the relevant jurisdiction’s legal admissions authority to confirm the required academic qualifications criteria, including any restrictions on online study or distance education.
What to expect while studying
You may be able to study available units in the optional third trimester to fast-track your degree, however your course duration may be extended if there are delays in meeting course requirements, such as completing a placement.
Units which contain work integrated learning, a community placement or interaction with the community may require a police check, working with children check or other check. These requirements will be detailed in unit guides upon enrolment.
You can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include lectures, seminars, online interactions, or professional experiences for Work Integrated Learning (WIL) units. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.
Units in this course may have participation requirements that include compulsory placements, work-based training, community-based learning or collaborative research training arrangements.
This course provides students the opportunity to complete one or more work integrated learning units.
Explore Business and Law WIL opportunities.
International Students:
This course includes Work Integrated Learning (WIL) formally registered as part of the course on the CRICOS register. The total work integrated learning hours will differ depending on the WIL unit you choose. For more information about WIL hours, please check the unit information in the handbook or the unit guide.
For information about how WIL units may impact student visa holder work rights, please visit Home Affairs. See 8105 Work limitation.
At Deakin, we're committed to ensuring an inclusive environment that supports all students to belong, thrive and succeed. We work closely with students, where needed, to identify potential barriers to participation and where possible, provide tailored support so students can engage with learning and assessment activities.
If you are neurodivergent, have a disability, health condition or mental health condition that may impact your study or participation in university life, and want to know how Deakin could support you, contact our Domestic students (opens in a new window) or International students (opens in a new window) or Disability Resource Centre (opens email client) teams for a collaborative and confidential discussion. This discussion is to support you to make plans for your studies and future career and will not have any bearing on your application to the course.
When can I start?
When you study depends on your course, location and available intakes. Check the table to see when you can start and how study is offered throughout the year.
Students and Applicants to Geelong Waterfront Campus
Travel between campuses will be required to complete this combined degree. The Bachelor of Laws degree will be taught at Waterfront campus and the Bachelor of Arts degree will be taught at the Waurn Ponds Campus.
Your course learning outcomes describe the knowledge, skills and capabilities you’ll develop and be able to demonstrate by the time you graduate. Built into your course through your units and assessments, they provide a clear picture of what you’ll be equipped to know, understand and do – preparing you to apply your learning with confidence beyond university.
| Course Learning Outcomes Bachelor of Arts (A310) | Course Learning Outcomes Bachelor of Laws (M312) |
|---|---|
| Critically analyse and synthesise a broad and coherent body of knowledge in one or more Arts disciplines, and apply specialised conceptual understanding to professional practice and/or scholarship. | Demonstrate an understanding of the Australian legal system and the fundamental areas of knowledge required for legal practice as situated within international contexts and the broader contexts within which legal issues arise. |
| Articulate complex ideas using oral, written and digital communication skills and create professional and/or scholarly materials that effectively impart knowledge and research findings to diverse audiences. | Communicate legal knowledge effectively to legal and non-legal audiences, both verbally and in writing. |
| Critically evaluate the effectiveness and ethical implications of digital technologies and apply them responsibly in the creation of research and analysis that is both authentic and accountable. | Use a range of digitally-based technologies to locate, evaluate and disseminate information. |
| Analyse, synthesise and evaluate, complex and wide-ranging knowledge and information to create logical judgements and informed perspectives in a range of professional and academic contexts. | Exercise critical thinking, judgment and intellectual independence to evaluate, consolidate and synthesise knowledge relevant to legal doctrine and legal practice. |
| Integrate cognitive, methodological, and creative skills to generate and communicate innovative approaches to unpredictable and complex problems. | Apply legal reasoning and critical analysis to generate and articulate accurate and relevant responses to legal issues. |
| Plan and execute actions with a high level of responsibility, accountability, and independence, while maintaining a consistent commitment to continuous learning in professional and scholarly contexts. | Exercise responsibility and accountability for own learning, and possess abilities to reflect on own capabilities, performance and feedback to support personal and professional development. |
| Collaborate effectively and contribute constructively to team objectives with colleagues, other professionals, and members of the wider community in diverse professional and scholarly contexts. | Collaborate effectively in a team environment demonstrating constructive engagement and contribution to the team and the ability to draw on strengths of others. |
| Apply culturally responsive, critically reflective and embodied self-knowledge in decolonial practice and diversity principles, to engage ethically with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples as well as diverse communities and cultures, within professional and/or scholarly contexts. | Reflect on the ethical and professional behaviours and responsibilities of legal professionals and demonstrate an understanding of the impact that different social, ethical, global or environmental perspectives have on exercising legal practice in the community. |
- Award granted
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws
- Year
2027 course information
- VTAC code
- 1400514013 - Burwood (Melbourne), International full-fee paying place
- Deakin code
- D312
- CRICOS code?Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students
- 015206G Burwood (Melbourne), Waterfront (Geelong)
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition
The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 7
Fees
Estimated tuition fee
$47,000
for 1 yr full-time AUD
The estimated tuition fee above is based on a typical first-year full-time enrolment of 8 credit points and is provided as a guide only. Your tuition fees are determined by your course and unit enrolment. Your tuition fees will vary depending on your study load, the course duration, and any approved recognition of prior learning.
Scholarships
Deakin scholarships recognise your hard work and achievements. Our support can ease the financial pressure of studying in Australia so you stay focused on your success. Numbers are limited, so apply early for the best chance.
Apply now
Apply directly to Deakin
Applications can be made directly to the University through StudyLink Connect - Deakin University's International Student Application Service.
We recommend engaging with a Deakin Authorised Agent who can assist you with the process and submit the application.
Apply through VTAC
If you are an international student completing an Australian Year 12 in Australia or overseas, you must submit an application through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC). In addition, you may also apply directly to Deakin through StudyLink Connect - Deakin University's international student application service.
Readmission into law courses
All students seeking readmission into law courses must be readmitted into the latest version of a course. To satisfy admission requirements to the legal profession, you may need to pick up additional units or repeat units where prior studies at Deakin were undertaken more than 5 years ago; or where units were undertaken in a previous course version.
Recognition of prior learning
We value your previous study and experience. Recognition of prior learning enables you to get credit for what you've already achieved. When you apply, we'll consider your previous study and experience for recognition of prior learning.
If you have completed previous studies which you believe may reduce the number of units you have to complete at Deakin, indicate in the appropriate section on your application that you wish to be considered for Recognition of prior learning. You will need to provide a certified copy of your previous course details so your credit can be determined. If you are eligible, your offer letter will then contain information about your Recognition of prior learning.
Your Recognition of prior learning is formally approved prior to your enrolment at Deakin during the Enrolment and Orientation Program. You must bring original documents relating to your previous study so that this approval can occur.
The University aims to provide students with as much credit as possible for approved prior study or informal learning which exceeds the normal entrance requirements for the course and is within the constraints of the course regulations. Students are required to complete a minimum of one-third of the course at Deakin University, or four credit points, whichever is the greater. In the case of certificates, including graduate certificates, a minimum of two credit points within the course must be completed at Deakin.
- For accreditation purposes, the University normally only considers RPL for core Deakin Bachelor of Laws units, or core Juris Doctor units, on the basis of previous law study that has taken place within five years of the anticipated commencement [Note 1] of the degree at Deakin. Please note that RPL requests for any law unit core to the degree undertaken more than 5 years ago is assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Deakin Law School.
- RPL for any non-core (elective) units will be determined via normal RPL policy rules; however, if the unit would be more than 5 years old at the student's anticipated course commencement date, then the decision needs to be made within the Law School (in order to ensure the currency of the learning that is being recognised).
Note: that the date taken is commencement of studies at Deakin, not the date of the RPL Application.
You can also refer to the recognition of prior learning (RPL) system which outlines the credit that may be granted towards a Deakin University degree and how to apply for credit.
Alternate exits
- Associate Degree of Arts (A250)
- Bachelor of Arts (A310)
- Bachelor of Laws (M312)
- Diploma of Arts (A215)