Melbourne Law School is an innovative and vibrant School that highly values the student experience. The academic staff at Melbourne Law School are recognised as leaders in their fields, both in Australia and around the world.
Why take Law as breadth?
Law breadth study gives you a variety of transferable skills that are valued by all employers. These include critical thinking, analytical and evaluative skills (students review legislation and case law to draw conclusions and make connections) and the ability to fuse and communicate complex ideas.
Students are free to select individual subjects or complete a breadth track to suit their own desired areas of study.
Many undergraduate students contemplating graduate legal study, and in particular those considering an application to the Juris Doctor degree, enrol in law breadth subjects. These subjects provide a useful introduction to the study of law. However, it is not a condition of entry to the JD to have studied law breadth subjects.
Find out more regarding entry into the Melbourne JD.
Breadth Experience - Arts
University of Melbourne Arts undergraduate and current JD student Henry Bantick talks about his experience studying Melbourne Law School breadth subjects. Henry describes the high calibre teaching staff, student cohort and how the subjects provided great exposure to Law specifically how it opens up more pathways for the future in combination with his Arts degree.
Breadth Experience - Commerce
University of Melbourne Commerce undergraduate and current JD student Natalie Ngo talks about her experience studying Melbourne Law School breadth subjects. Natalie talks about how the program helped complement her undergraduate studies, how it sparked her fascination with law and the desire to help people through the legal system.
Breadth Experience - Science
University of Melbourne Science undergraduate Luisa Borg talks about her experience studying a Melbourne Law School breadth subject – specifically the diversity of the breadth student cohort, how the subject challenged her perspective and how it provides the perfect pathway into the Melbourne JD program.
What subjects can students take as breadth in Law?
| Subject | Handbook details | Offered in 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | ||
| Comparative Legal Traditions | LAWS10006 | Semester 1 |
| Food Law and Policy | LAWS10005 | Semester 2 |
| Free Speech and Media Law | BLAW10002 | Semester 2 |
| Principles of Business Law | BLAW10001 | Semester 1, Semester 2 |
| Level 2 | ||
| Corporate Law | BLAW20001 | Semester 1 |
| Environmental Rights and Responsibilities | LAWS20009 | Semester 2 |
| Human Rights and Global Justice | UNIB20009 | Not offered |
| Legal Language | LAWS20008 | Semester 1 |
| Privacy Law and Social Networks | BLAW20002 | February |
| Level 3 | ||
| Competition and Consumer Law | BLAW30004 | Semester 2 |
| Employment Law | LAWS30029 | Semester 2 |
| Entertainment and Law in the Digital Age [New] | LAWS30031 | July |
| Owning Ideas: Creation, Innovation and Law | LAWS30017 | Semester 1 |
| Public Trials | LAWS30024 | Semester 2 |
| Taxation Law I | BLAW30002 | Semester 2 |
| Taxation Law II | BLAW30003 | Semester 1 |
BREADTH TRACKS
The University has developed clear breadth sequences, or 'tracks', that will help you identify coherent groups of breadth subjects and allow you to extract the maximum benefit from your breadth component.
What breadth tracks are available in Law?
Melbourne Law School currently has four Law breadth tracks. These breadth tracks are intended to provide a cogent and considered pathway through undergraduate study in law, though students planning to undertake single units of study should be advised to check the handbook to ensure that prerequisites are met.