Bachelor of Criminology, Bachelor of Laws (Honours)

This is a double degree that puts two things together: how crime works and how the law responds to it. You study criminology, why people offend, how policing and courts operate, what happens in prisons and youth justice, how data is used to measure crime, alongside a full law degree. The law side covers the subjects every Australian law graduate must complete: contract, torts, criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, property, equity, evidence, administrative law and legal ethics. The criminology side goes into the areas that overlap with legal practice: sentencing, bail and remand, family violence, organised crime, cybercrime, forensic evidence and the way the criminal justice system treats particular groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

How the degree is structured

Adelaide University runs most degrees on a semester model, with two main teaching periods a year and an optional summer session. You build the degree from units of study, each worth a set number of credit points, and you need a total number of points to graduate. The law component follows the sequence the profession expects, so you take the core law units in order before you get to electives. In the honours year you complete a research project or thesis in criminology or law, supervised by an academic, and that is what gives you the honours classification on the degree. Four and a half years is the standard full-time length for this combination, longer than a straight law degree because you are meeting the requirements of two awards.

Work experience and practical training

Law schools in Australia build practical experience into the degree because the profession requires it. You can expect clinical legal education, where you work on real files under supervision at a community legal centre or similar service, plus placements with law firms, the courts, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Legal Aid, correctional services or policy agencies. Criminology placements tend to sit in the same places: police, corrections, youth justice, victim support services and government departments. Mooting, negotiation and client interviewing are part of the skills training. If you intend to practise as a lawyer, you also need to complete the practical legal training or supervised workplace training that the admitting authority in your state requires after graduation, the degree itself does not make you a lawyer on its own.

Who it suits

This suits someone who wants to work in the criminal justice system but does not want to be limited to one side of it. If you are interested in prosecution, criminal defence, policy reform, corrections, policing or research into crime, the combination gives you the legal qualification and the social science training in one go. It is a demanding load, two disciplines, four and a half years, so it helps if you genuinely like reading, argument and evidence. International students should check the English requirement carefully: law sits in the higher band, and while the university publishes IELTS 6.0–6.5 as a common undergraduate standard, law typically requires 7.0–7.5. The Student visa has its own separate English threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs. Students on a student visa can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while studying, and graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. Tuition is listed on the CRICOS register under course code 119562M, and entry requirements, credit arrangements and unit details should be confirmed on the official Adelaide University page.

• Solicitor or barrister in criminal law, after completing the practical legal training your state or territory requires for admission
• Criminal defence lawyer with Legal Aid or a private firm
• Prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
• Police officer or police prosecutor, including roles in crime analysis and intelligence
• Corrections officer or case manager in state corrective services
• Youth justice worker or youth offending case manager
• Policy officer in state or federal justice, home affairs or attorney-general departments
• Crime analyst or intelligence analyst using crime data for policing or government
• Victim support or community legal centre advocate
• Researcher in criminology, criminal justice or law reform, usually after further postgraduate study

Employers include state and territory police services, corrective services, courts and tribunals, Legal Aid commissions, the DPP, community legal centres, law firms, government justice and policy departments, and universities and research institutes.