Associate Degree of Legal Studies

Associate Degree

The Associate Degree of Legal Studies is for anyone who is interested in broadening their understanding of the legal system without committing to a full law degree.

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Key details

Degree Type

Associate Degree

Duration

2 years full-time, 4 years part-time

Course Code

XLEST1

Study Mode

Online

About this course

The Associate Degree of Legal Studies is for anyone who is interested in broadening their understanding of the legal system without committing to a full law degree.

This course will give you a broad understanding of the law, legal processes and legal principles and introduce you to practical areas of the law such as torts, contracts, criminal law and transnational law.

It caters for two groups of students: those who have a general interest in legal issues without wishing to complete a full law degree, and those who wish to gauge their interest in legal studies and perhaps later seek to undertake a full law degree program.

Upon completion of the first year of the Associate Degree program, students may seek admission to the Bachelor of Laws degree and apply for credit transfer on the units completed under the Associate Degree program.

This course does not lead to professional accreditation, though students can transfer to the Bachelor of Laws degree, which is accredited with the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board of the Northern Territory, with up to 160 credit points of credit transfer depending on the units completed under the Associate Degree of Legal Studies.

Entry requirements

Admission requirements are met by one of the following:

Successful completion of the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training (or equivalent) and the awarding of an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) of at least 60*.
Successful completion of a national qualification at Certificate III level or higher.
Successful completion of at least 0.5 year of full-time study (or equivalent) of a higher education degree/diploma.
Overseas secondary or tertiary qualifications considered equivalent to the above Australian qualifications.
Attainment of a STAT Multiple Choice score of 140.
Successful completion of the Tertiary Enabling Program, the Preparation for Tertiary Success courses, or other recognised tertiary preparation course.
Submission of an acceptable personal competencies statement and/or employment experience.
Defence members with service of 1 year or more at the following ranks (or higher) meet the academic entry requirement for this course:
- Navy: Seaman, Able Seaman, Leading Seaman
- Air Force: Aircraftmen/Aircraftwoman, Leading Aircraftman/Aircraftwoman, Corporal
- Army: Private, Lance Corporal, Corporal

* After any applicable adjustment factors have been applied.

Study locations

Online

What you will learn

The course will introduce students to the fundamental concepts and processes of law including criminal law, torts, contracts and constitutional law. Specialist elective units provide students the opportunity to pursue further study into special interest topics such as transnational law, property law, human rights and criminology.

Career pathways

Completing the Associate Degree of Legal Studies may lead to career opportunities in administrative, secretarial or paralegal roles in government, corporate and private legal environment.

Graduate outcomes

Graduate satisfaction and employment outcomes for Law & Paralegal Studies courses at Charles Darwin University (CDU).

78.6%

Overall satisfaction

83.9%

Skill scale

57.1%

Teaching scale

83.3%

Employed full-time

$75k

Average salary

Data source