In a world where people increasingly have a number of career shifts in their lifetime, humanities and social science graduates possess a unique combination of intellectual and analytical skills which can be readily transferred from one occupation to another. Someone planning a career in policy making, diplomacy, international relations or legal practice will find the BA/LLB an excellent preparation.

Students must study Arts courses in a sequence approved by the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences and Law courses in a sequence approved by the School of Law.

The core courses are taken in a specified sequence during Years 1 to 4. An approved sequence can be found here:

Plan for Arts/Law 4760

Other sequences may be approved under special circumstances.

After completing the majority of the core courses students are eligible to enrol in electives in Years 4 and 5.

Students must complete a total of 84 units of credit of approved Arts & Social Sciences based courses from at least three specialisations or programs. No more than 36UOC of Level 1 Arts courses can be counted towards the Arts component. The 84 UOC must include:

Students should select their electives from the list of majors above.

Students who find they are unable to complete the combined degree may apply to transfer to the single BA program with credit for all courses completed.

Students enrolled in combined law degrees (with exception to Jurisprudence/Law) are not required to complete general education courses.

Honours in the BA Program

Eligible students may take the Bachelor of Arts Honours requiring an extra year of study.

The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) will 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 Law 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 LAWS2423 Research Thesis (8 uoc) or (16 uoc); or LAWS3423 Research Thesis (6 uoc) or (12 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 refer to progam 4790. Although 4790 program is no longer on offer, all combined law students enrolled in the LLB will need to comply with the rules stated here. A direct link is given below:

Bachelor of Laws 4790

For students transferring from another University or another program from UNSW, a maximum of 36 Level 1 units of credit in completed Arts courses will be awarded for the Arts Program.

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