Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws at Western Sydney University is a five-year double degree for students who want to study law alongside a humanities or social science discipline. You complete the law component, the units that lead to a legal qualification, together with an arts major of your choosing. The combination is common in Australia because law graduates rarely practise in a vacuum; they need to write clearly, argue well and understand how societies, governments and economies work.

How the degree is structured

Australian bachelor degrees are built on units of study, each carrying credit points. A double degree stacks two award requirements into one enrolment, which is why this takes five years rather than the three years of a single bachelor degree or the four to five years of a standalone law degree. You will typically study full-time across two semesters a year, with the option of a summer session at some institutions. The law units cover the core areas required for admission to legal practice in Australia, contract, torts, criminal law, constitutional law, property, equity, administrative law, evidence and procedure, plus electives and a capstone unit in your final year. Your arts major sits alongside, and you will usually take a mix of law and arts units each semester rather than finishing one degree before starting the other.

Practical legal training and work-integrated learning

Law is a field where work-integrated learning matters. Western Sydney University's law programmes include opportunities for clinical legal education, where students work under supervision in community legal centres or similar settings, and placements with law firms, government agencies or community organisations. These count towards your degree and give you something to talk about in interviews beyond your transcript. The arts side may include internships, fieldwork or research projects depending on your major. If you intend to practise as a solicitor or barrister, you will still need to complete practical legal training (PLT) or a supervised traineeship after graduation, then apply for admission in the state or territory where you want to work. The degree itself does not make you a lawyer; it gets you to the starting line.

Who this suits

This double degree suits school leavers and mature-age students who want a law qualification but are not ready to specialise only in law. If you are interested in criminal justice, human rights, policy, journalism, international relations, Indigenous studies or community advocacy, pairing law with an arts major gives you a second lens. It also suits students who want to work in regional or western Sydney communities, where legal need is high and generalist skills are valued. The workload is heavy, law units demand a lot of reading and written assessment, so it helps to be genuinely interested in both halves of the degree.

Studying in Australia

Western Sydney University is based in Sydney's western suburbs, with campuses at Parramatta, Campbelltown, Bankstown and others. The region is one of the fastest-growing parts of Australia and has a large legal services sector, from suburban firms to the courts and government departments in Parramatta. International students studying in Australia on a Student visa can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while their course is in session. After graduating, you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, which lets you stay and work in Australia for a period that depends on your qualification level and other factors. English requirements for law are higher than for many other fields, IELTS Academic 7.0–7.5 overall is the usual standard for law at Australian universities, though you should check the exact score Western Sydney University requires for this course. Tuition fees are published on the CRICOS register under course code 041113G. Check the official page for current details on majors, unit offerings, credit and admission.

Graduates work across legal and non-legal roles. The law degree is the first step towards admission as a solicitor or barrister in Australia, which requires further practical legal training and admission through the relevant state or territory body. Many graduates use the combined arts and law skills in policy, government, media and community organisations.

• Solicitor in private practice, community legal centres or government legal offices
• Barrister (after further training and admission)
• Policy officer in state or federal government departments
• Legal officer in a government agency, regulator or ombudsman's office
• In-house counsel or compliance officer in a company or not-for-profit
• Industrial relations or human resources adviser
• Journalist or communications specialist covering legal, political or social affairs
• Community advocate or caseworker in the community legal sector
• Researcher or analyst in law reform, criminology or social policy

Australian industries that hire these graduates include legal services, public administration, financial services, media and communications, community services, education and the not-for-profit sector.