Students undertaking this combined degree program complete the core requirements of both the Bachelor of Art Theory and the Bachelor of Laws. The combined degree allows students to undertake a focused study in the visual arts and culture.

Students completing the BArtTh LLB are likely to gain employment in Arts or Law, but broader opportunities exist for careers in arts management and policy. The professional contexts courses of the BArtTh will enable students to develop career-related skills and experiences and the theoretical/historical contexts courses will provide depth of knowledge about the arts.

Students must satisfy the normal assumed knowledge requirements for entry to the Faculty of the College of Fine Arts (COFA) and to individual courses in that Faculty.

At the completion of this program, students will have obtained a sound knowledge base in the fields of both Art Theory and Law.

Approved Sequence of Study

An approved sequence can be found here:

Plan for Art Theory/Law 4703

For details on available Art Theory and Contextual Studies courses available please consult Program 4803, the Bachelor of Art Theory in the College of Fine Arts Section.

Students enrolled in combined law degrees are not required to complete general education courses.

Honours in Art Theory

Students who wish to take the BArtTh degree program at Honours level must consult with the Head of School of Art Theory at the end of Year 1.

The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) may be awarded with the following levels of Honours:

Honours Class 1
Honours Class 2, Division 1
Honours Class 2, Division 2

The award of Honours in the LLB program is based on two requirements:

1) the Weighted Average Mark (WAM); and
2) satisfactory performance in written research.

1) Weighted average mark

In general terms, students who score a WAM in the top 10% of the graduating cohort in each semester will be eligible for the award of Honours Class 1; students with a WAM in the next 10% will be eligible for the award of Honours Class 2, Division 1; and students with a WAM in the next 10% will be eligible for the award of Honours Class 2, Division 2.
All courses taken towards the Law degree will be taken into account for written research requirements, but only those taken at UNSW Law School will count towards the WAM.

2) Satisfactory performance in written research

To demonstrate “satisfactory performance in written research” a student must complete one long substantial piece or three shorter substantial pieces of research writing in their program. In particular, a student must attain at least a credit grade either in LAWS 2423 Research Thesis (8 uoc); or (16 uoc); or in each of three (3) research papers of at least 3000 words each, taken in any three (3) courses in the LLB program.
At the time of enrolment in courses in their final semester, students who have demonstrated satisfactory performance in written research must submit an approved Honours Nomination Form to the Honours Committee detailing the basis upon which the research requirement has been met, and the course or courses in which the requisite grades were attained. If a student has not met the Honours research requirement before the end of their penultimate semester, he or she must notify the Honours committee of the LLB courses in which they propose to meet the requirement before the census date in their last semester.

Failures and Academic Misconduct

In no circumstances will a student be eligible for the award of Honours if he or she has

(a) failed more than one course in the LLB program;
(b) been found guilty of plagiarism or serious misconduct on more than one occasion.

See Program 4790 for Rules Relating to the Bachelor of Laws Program. A direct link is given below:

Bachelor of Laws 4790

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html