The Bachelor of Laws degree may be combined with a Bachelor of Economics specialising in Econometrics, Economics or Financial Economics.

Duration/Award:

The program is a five year full-time combined program leading to the award of the two degrees of Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws (BEc/LLB).

Distinction:

The BEc degree may be awarded with Distinction where a student has achieved a weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 75% in the UNSW courses completed as part of that degree.

Transferring Majors (Plans):

Students must nominate a major (plan code) at enrolment. Subsequent transfers to another major may be possible subject to the approval of both Faculties.

Graduation:

Candidates enrolled in the combined degree program BEc/LLB may be awarded the degree of BEc after the completion of specified requirements. Full details are given in the 'Rules Relating to the Award of Degrees'.

Commerce & Economics courses:

Apart from service courses for other faculties, and unless specified as from which discipline they must be chosen, Commerce and Economics options may be chosen from any taught by the Faculty of Business except for those offered by the School of Business Law and Taxation (LEGT). No course can be counted both as an option and as a prescribed course.

This program provides an opportunity to obtain two degrees of professional importance to business, administration and commercial law practice. At the completion of this program students will have obtained a sound knowledge base in the disciplines of both Economics and Law.

The single major requirement for the BEc is 60 UOC. Students enrolling in the BEc/LLB complete 60 UOC towards a major and 24 UOC of other approved commerce/economics courses including the compulsory first year core courses.

Approved Sequence of Study

Students must study commerce and economics courses in a sequence approved by the School of Economics and law courses in a sequence approved by the School of Law. Specifically, all or the majority of law core courses must be completed prior to enrolling in law electives. Approved sequences for each combined program are given below; other sequences may be approved under special circumstances.

Plan LAWSA14744 provides a standard outline of the sequence of law courses in Years 1-5 of the combined Economics/Law program.

Plan for Economics/Law 4744

Please refer to the relevant plan entry for Bachelor of Economics (BEc) major requirements:

ECONE14744 Econometrics
ECONA14744 Economics
ECOND14744 Economics/Econometrics
ECONJ14744 Financial Economics

Honours in Economics
Students undertaking the combined Bachelor of Economics at Honours level/Bachelor of Laws program may be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Economics at Honours level once they have completed the Honours year and the requirements of the first three years of the combined Bachelor of Economics at Honours Level/Bachelor of Laws program.

Candidates for Honours in the Economics degree course must complete one year additional to the minimum of five years required for the Economics/Law program at Pass level.

The requirements relating to Honours in the BEc degree courses are noted at the end of the program for each specialisation. Students ordinarily will interpolate an Honours year between Years 3 and 4 of the combined course

Students interested in studying at Honours Level should refer to the relevant Honours plan record for entry requirements.

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.

For Academic Rules relating to the Bachelor of Laws component of this combined degree program, please see program 4790. A direct link is given below:

Bachelor of Laws 4790

Rules Relating To The Bachelor of Economics

Candidates for the combined Economics/Law degree program may be awarded the degree of BEc either when they have successfully completed the entire combined program or, for students enrolling from 1996, when they have completed the requirements for the award of the first three years of the combined Bachelor of Economics/Bachelor of Laws program - as set out in the program outline - and subject to completion of 12UOC of General Education requirements.

Concessions apply in deciding when students enrolled prior to 1995 who have not completed the requirements of the combined degree have nevertheless completed the requirements of the BEc. Please consult earlier faculty handbooks for the appropriate 'Rules relating to the award of the degree of Bachelor of Economics prior to the completion of the Combined Degree'.

Economics Options: Options must be chosen from an approved list as stated by the School of Economics. Prerequisites apply. No course can be counted both as an option and as a prescribed course.

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