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University of South Australia (UNISA)

Adelaide , South Australia ,Australia

Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Bachelor of Arts (History and Global Politics)

Gain a competitive edge by combining law with history and global politics, and graduate with two degrees in five years.

A double degree expands your knowledge and opens doors to a broad range of career opportunities.

You will graduate with professional honours, an advanced understanding of legal principles of Australian law and the latest legal concepts in history and global politics. This legal expertise, combined with the knowledge and skills you’ll gain from your specialisation, will set you on track for a rewarding career.

In your law studies you’ll gain practical real-world experience by undertaking an industry or clinic placement, a law reform project or high-level research in your final year. You’ll be involved in mock-trials in our moot court, learning what it’s like to be act as an advocate and argue a case before a judge. You can also gain valuable experience at our Legal Advice Clinic, solving legal problems of clients under the guidance of a managing solicitor.

In your arts studies you will explore the global contexts of politics and history which includes Australia’s role domestically, and within the broader currents, of regional and global politics. The expertise you gain in your arts major, in addition to your law studies, will further improve your employment prospects. Our lecturers are world-class researchers1 and under their guidance you will also develop strong skills in analysis, advanced writing, communication, and research and problem solving.

If you wish to practise law, you should also familiarise yourself with the requirements for admission as a legal practitioner in South Australia. 

This degree is made up of 40 courses. You will do 24 courses in law and 16 courses in arts.

Laws (Honours)
From your first few weeks as a law student you'll do practical courses and see what it's like to argue a case and provide legal advice. You’ll gain valuable skills that you can apply in reasoning, reporting, analysis, negotiation, communication and advocacy to resolve complex legal problems.

Throughout your degree you will study core courses that teach you the fundamental legal concepts that underpin the Australian legal system. Courses such as torts, contracts, criminal law and constitutional law will give you a good understanding of basic legal principles.

Through practical learning experiences including mooting, negotiation and witness examination, you will be prepared for legal practice upon graduation.

You'll also be able to choose from an industry or clinic placement, a law reform project or high-level research in your final year.

Arts (History and Global Politics)
The History and Global Politics major will illuminate the patterns and processes that have shaped our societies over time and help you analyse and predict events in our contemporary world. You will study areas such as:

  • framing international politics through film and documentaries
  • global aid and development
  • the politics of environmental change in Australia and Asia
  • world history trends and transformations
  • Australia in the Asian Century
  • marginalisation in world affairs
  • power and resistance
  • the US in world affairs

Campus Information

Adelaide- City West

On the edge of Adelaide’s central business district, City West houses studies in business, law, art, architecture, design, Indigenous cultures and Australian society.

Intakes

  • Feb
  • Aug

Application Processing Time in Days: 14

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description IELTS (1.0 -9.0) TOEFL IBT (0-120) TOEFL CBT (0-300) PTE (10-90)
Expert 9 120 297-300 86-90
Very Good 8.5 115-119 280-293 83-86
Very Good 8 110-114 270-280 79-83
Good 7.5 102-109 253-267 73-79
Good 7 94-101 240-253 65-73
Competent 6.5 79-93 213-233 58-65
Competent 6 60-78 170-210 50-58
Modest 5.5 46-59 133-210 43-50
Modest 5 35-45 107-133 36-43
Limited 4 32-34 97-103 30-36
Extremely Limited < 4 < 31 < 93 < 30

Job Opportunity Potential

Teaching and Research

UniSA has an excellent reputation in teaching and learning and an enviable record of achievement in graduate employability. Our teaching focuses around preparing students to be work-ready through relevant and industry-informed curricula. UniSA ensures its teachers motivate, challenge and stimulate students’ learning, with our research activity informing our teaching across our broad discipline profile.

Teaching and learning excellence are at the centre point of our promotion criteria, performance management practices, and approaches to rewards and recognition for our academic staff.

Research at UniSA is inspired by challenges and opportunities, partnered with industry and communities, and underpinned by excellence. Our academics engage in interdisciplinary teams to translate their research into meaningful outcomes. Contributing to a research environment that is vibrant, responsive and outward-facing are the University’s research themes. The themes link our research strengths and address local and global socio-economic needs:

  • An age friendly world
  • Transforming industries
  • Scarce resources
  • Cancer
  • Healthy futures
  • Transforming societies

Our flagship institutes and strategic alliances include the Future Industries Institute, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Sansom Institute for Health Research and the Centre for Cancer Biology. Further information about our enterprising research and research centres and concentrations can be found at our Research page.

Industry Connections

Real solutions don’t happen without great partnerships. We have partnered with local icons and international heavyweights to drive the advancements behind a better society. Across the University, we seek to match our research capability and strengths with the opportunities, challenges and needs of our partners, and maximise the mutual benefits of engagement.

With a growing presence on Adelaide’s cultural calendar and as a partner across arts, culture and sporting events, we’re acting on a social mission to enrich our society. Our campus spaces stimulate and foster creativity and innovation, support new models of learning, support our enterprise researchers and connect with the community.

Professional staff

As a professional staff member you get exposure to the research and teaching at UniSA, and work closely with leading academics who through research and teaching, are shaping the professionals of the future.

Professional staff support both staff and students, and this ranges from career advice services to students, finance, HR, marketing, facilities and management, research support – all of these areas are critical to supporting the day-to-day operations of departments and the university as a whole. There are numerous benefits and opportunities for personal development at UniSA.

Careers in law, along with jobs in social welfare, are predicted to increase 12.9% by 20221.

Our quality teaching, focus on developing your practical skills and opportunities to connect with industry beyond the classroom will ensure you graduate career-ready.

You will hold a desired skillset for a diverse range of careers including:

Diplomat: an official appointed by a country to conduct diplomacy with one or more other countries or international organisations
Foreign correspondent: gathering and analysing events of international importance, and preparing reports for public release
Foreign policy adviser: researching issues such as trade, energy and human rights, and providing the government with findings to inform decision-making
International relations specialist: providing high level policy advice on current legislation and coordinating policy projects of national and international scale
Solicitor: commercial solicitor: focusing on business-specific legal practice such as: corporate, contract, competition, communications, commercial property, finance, employment, intellectual property, transport, sports and media law
personal solicitor: focusing on areas such as personal injury, family and tort law, criminal litigation, succession and inheritance, residential property, taxation and trusts

PSW Opportunity

Bachelor Degree or Masters by Coursework Degree - 2 years - 3 years (Adelaide)

Masters by Research - 3 years - 4 years (Adelaide)

PhD qualification - 4 years - 5 years (Adelaide)

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

Recent secondary education
Meet any prerequisite requirements with a minimum grade of C- or equivalent
AND

  • Qualify for the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE), and achieved a competitive Selection Rank (ATAR), or
  • Complete secondary qualifications equivalent to SACE, or
  • Complete the International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum score of 24 points

Applicants who have not achieved the Selection Rank required for automatic selection may be selected for any remaining places based on the grades of their year 12 subjects.

OR
Higher education study

  • Complete or partly complete a recognised higher education program at a recognised higher education institution, or
  • Complete at least four Open Universities Australia (OUA) courses at undergraduate level or above

OR
Vocational Education and Training (VET)

  • Complete an award from a registered training organisation at Diploma or above

OR
Work and life experience

  • Qualify for Special Entry, or
  • Complete a 12-month UniSA Foundation Studies program or equivalent, or
  • Hold completed secondary qualifications equivalent to SACE obtained more than 2 years in the past.