Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Criminology

The Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Criminology affords a wide array of career opportunities in the justice sector.

CQUniversity's Bachelor of Laws course covers all the areas of law required to satisfy professional accreditation through the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board. The course enables graduates to proceed to practice as a legal practitioner after completing the required professional training. During your studies you will learn about legal procedures and key legislation, and be given the opportunity to develop skills necessary to identify, analyse and evaluate facts in relation to legal frameworks. The core areas of law covered in the course match those required for admission to the legal profession (Priestley 11) and other requirements of the Law Admissions Consultative Committee including statutory interpretation, criminal law and procedure, contracts, torts, federal and state constitutional law, equity (including trusts), administrative law, property, company law, evidence, ethics and professional responsibility and civil dispute resolution. The course also offers elective choices from a diverse range of electives including alternative dispute resolution, legal drafting, legal advocacy, commercial law, family law, succession, revenue law, theories of law and justice, Australian employment law, environmental law, international and human rights law. The Bachelor of Laws prepares graduates for a career as a legal professional. Aside from the traditional roles as a solicitor, barrister or in-house counsel, a law degree is useful for careers in academia, business, the public service and politics.

CQUniversity's Bachelor of Criminology provides you with a multidisciplinary education in the field of criminology. Through this course, you will integrate insights from sociology, philosophy, social theory, politics, psychology and other relevant disciplines to solve problems of crime, violence and conflict in society. You will learn from expert lecturers who have extensive experience in the field of criminology and be supported by a dedicated criminology coach, who will provide you with advice, support, guidance and mentorship throughout your studies. You will graduate with the skills and knowledge needed for a career as a criminologist along with the ability to provide objective research and advice at all levels of policy-making from an evaluation of extensive government crime control initiatives through to proposals for local community anti-violence programs. As a graduate of the Bachelor of Criminology, you will enjoy a wide variety of challenging career options in criminal justice, police, customs, correction services and other law enforcement and regulatory agencies. This course is relevant to a broad array of government departments such as prisons, probation and parole centres, and positions such as court clerk, investigator as well as public and private security and investigation. It is also relevant to careers in public policy and corporate risk analysis and those that require a sound understanding of human behaviours such as human resource management, rehabilitation, business management, teaching, school guidance counselling, scientific research, public health, defence, and special education.

This double degree puts the law into context and is particularly valuable for those graduates who intend to practise in criminal law. Criminology gives you a solid understanding of Australia's criminal justice system and what motivates criminal behaviour. The law degree will develop skills in legal research, preparing advice and presenting arguments. The criminology degree develops complementary skills in social science research with a focus on crime-related issues, problem-solving skills and specialist skills in areas such as criminal profiling and case management.

The Bachelor of Laws course will satisfy the academic requirement for admission as a legal practitioner. Law graduates are required to undergo a period of practical legal training before admission as a legal practitioner and can practice law in Australia.

A law degree will provide you with the qualifications to pursue a number of careers in the field of law, including solicitor, barrister, government legal officer, judicial officer, law academic, company director, in-house counsel, diplomat and politician. Our Bachelor of Laws course may also be undertaken by industry professionals looking to increase their knowledge of law within their own profession. Many law graduates work in areas not directly related to the law but are working in occupations and industries where the knowledge and skills of a law degree are highly sought after and valued.