Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Bachelor of Economics

This is a five-year double degree. You come out with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Economics. Two qualifications, one enrolment. The law side is the academic qualification you need before you can do practical legal training and apply for admission as a lawyer in Australia. The economics side gives you the analytical tools to understand markets, regulation, public policy and the way money moves through an economy.

How the degree is put together

Like most Australian double degrees, it runs on semesters. You take units of study from both disciplines, each worth a set number of credit points, and you need to accumulate the total the university sets for the combined award. The law component covers the subjects the profession requires: contracts, torts, criminal law and procedure, property, equity, constitutional law, administrative law, evidence and civil procedure. The economics component covers microeconomics, macroeconomics, statistics and econometrics, and then lets you specialise in areas such as public policy, international trade or financial economics.

The honours part is built into the law degree rather than tacked on as a separate year. That usually means a research component in the later years, where you work on a substantial legal research project under supervision. Some students pair that research with their economics interests, which is where the double degree earns its keep.

Skills and work experience

You learn to read a case closely, argue from statute and precedent, draft documents that hold up, and advise a client who does not want a lecture. From economics you pick up quantitative analysis, cost-benefit thinking and the ability to read data rather than guess at it. Law schools in Australia typically offer clinical legal education, moot courts and placements with community legal centres, law firms or government agencies. Check the official page for which of these are available and whether any are compulsory.

Who it suits

This degree suits someone who wants to practise law but does not want to be limited to it. Competition and consumer law, tax, corporate advisory, regulation of utilities and financial services all sit at the junction of the two fields, and employers in those areas hire people who can do both. It also works for students aiming at public policy, treasury-type roles or economic consulting. Be realistic about the workload. Five years is a long commitment, and law and economics are both demanding in their own right.

English proficiency matters here. Law sits in the higher band, so expect IELTS Academic around 7.0 to 7.5 overall rather than the 6.0 to 6.5 that applies to many other undergraduate courses. TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced are accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets its own English threshold for the Student visa, which is separate from the university's requirement. During study, a student visa generally allows 48 hours of work per fortnight. After graduating, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream lets eligible graduates stay and work in Australia. Confirm the current rules with the department, and confirm fees, intake dates and course structure on the official page and the CRICOS register.

• Solicitor or barrister, after completing practical legal training and admission in an Australian state or territory
• Graduate lawyer in private practice, in areas such as corporate, commercial, competition or tax law
• Legal officer in a government department or statutory authority
• Policy analyst or adviser in treasury, regulatory bodies or central agencies
• Economist or analyst in banking, consulting or economic research
• Compliance, risk and regulatory affairs roles in financial services
• In-house counsel or contracts adviser in a corporation
• Researcher or analyst in a think tank, industry body or university