Bachelor of International and Global Studies/Bachelor of Laws*

*Subject to final approval

New in 2009

Most people who do a Bachelor of International and Global Studies and Bachelor of Laws degree will take five years to complete it, full-time.

In the first three years of candidature, you study both International and Global Studies components and Law components and, in this way, meet the requirements for the Bachelor of International and Global Studies degree. This leaves you the final two years to complete the remaining Law components, and to graduate with a Bachelor of International and Global Studies and Bachelor of Laws degree.

Please note that the requirements given below refer in detail only to Years 1, 2 and 3 of the degree program. You can consult the Faculty of Law Handbook, in print or online, to find out more about the requirements for Years 4 and 5.

Requirements for years 1 - 3

There’s an amount of freedom of choice in what to study in a Bachelor of International and Global Studies degree, but there are a few requirements that you will have to follow. These requirements are listed here and explained in detail below.

What are credit points?

• Students doing an International and Global Studies/Law degree are able to choose to study in a wide range of subject areas - for example, Anthropology, Sociology, Government etc. and, of course, Law. A semester-length component in a particular subject area is called a 'unit of study'. Each unit of study is worth a certain number of 'credit points', depending on the level at which it is taught and the amount of work required.

How do I get 144 credit points?

• Most people studying full-time will take three years to complete a Bachelor of International and Global Studies component of the combined degree. Full-time students usually earn their 144 credit points by taking units of study worth a total of 48 credit points per year (usually 24 credit points per semester) over the three years of their degree, that is: 48 credit points x 3 years = 144 credit points!

What are junior credit points?

• You start your degree by taking 'junior' units of study. They form a foundation for more advanced 'senior' units of study. Junior units of study are worth 6 junior credit points each. They are sometimes called 1000 level units because their unit of study codes all have the form 1XXX, eg. CHNS1101, LNGS1005 etc

How many junior credit points should I do in my first year?

• Most full-time students take units of study worth 48 junior credit points in their first year (generally 24 credit points in each semester). It is important to remember that 24 credit points is also the maximum number allowed per semester in the first year.
• To make up 48 credit points in first year, you would need to take four 6 credit point junior units in each semester.
• Within the 48 junior credit points for your degree, you will need to complete 12 junior credit points in specialised International and Global Studies (INGS) units (see Requirement 4 below) that are only available to students in the Bachelor of International and Global Studies.
• When choosing your junior units you will need to consider what BIGS/Law Core Major you want to do (see Requirement 5 below), as you will need to make sure that you satisfy the junior pre-requisites for your chosen BIGS/Law major.
• In addition to these, you must also accommodate the junior compulsory LAWS units. These are:

• LAWS1006 Foundations of Laws
• LAWS1012 Torts
• LAWS1013 Legal Research I

It is also a good idea to include two junior units from a foreign language as this will complement your core units in International and Global Studies.

What are 'senior' credit points

• 'Senior' units of study build on the foundation of learning established by junior units. Senior units in Arts are sometimes called 2000 or 3000 level units because their study codes all have the form 2XXX or 3XXX, e.g. SPAN2601, JCTC2606.

How would I get 96 senior credit points?

• You can't start taking senior units of study until you have the appropriate foundation of junior units in place. In many (but not all) cases this means that you have to take junior units in the same subject area, as prerequisites for your senior units. You'll need to check the Faculty of Arts Handbook in print or online.
• So usually this means that you will be taking senior units in your second and third years to the value of 96 credit points. Within those 96 credit points, you will need to complete the requirements for your Bachelor of International and Global Studies/Law (BIGS/Law) Core Major (ie minimum of 36 senior credit points), your 12 senior credit points of INGS units, your compulsory 2nd and 3rd Year LAWS units and some elective units from Table A or B of the Arts Handbook.

What is a major in the Faculty of Arts?

• To earn a major in a subject area in the Faculty of Arts, students will normally complete 36 credit points in THAT subject area. Of course, you may need to have appropriate junior (1XXX) prerequisites in place before you can do these senior units of study.
• Students in the Bachelor of International and Global Studies/Law degree must complete their major in a discipline included in the BIGS/Law Core Majors list below (see Requirement 5).

Could I do more than 24 credit points per semester?

• You might want to take more than 24 credit points in one semester - perhaps to make up for a unit of study that you have failed or to try to get through your degree more quickly.
• You will be permitted to do up to 30 credit points per semester in your second and third years. However, be aware that 30 credit points in a single semester is a very heavy load. It's unlikely that you'll be able to do your best in each unit you take (and very unlikely that you'll have a life while you do it!!)

• You will do two compulsory junior units in First Year – INGS1001 Power and Money in Global Society and INGS1002 Global Culture and Society.
• In Second Year you will do INGS2601 Perspectives on the Global and in Third Year you will do INGS3601 Current Global Issues.

You will need to complete at least one major from the list of BIGS/Law Core Majors below:

• American Studies
• Anthropology
• Arab World, Islam and the Middle East
• Asian Studies
• Australian Studies
• European Studies
• Government and International Relations
• Political Economy
• Sociology

What are the compulsory Law units and when do I do them?

We’ve already discussed the junior core Law units (see Requirement 3).

In second year you will complete these Law units:

• LAWS1016 Criminal Law
• LAWS1015 Contracts
• LAWS1014 Processes of Justice

And in third year you will complete the following Law units:

• LAWS1018 International Law
• LAWS1021 Public Law
• LAWS1017 Torts and Contracts II
• LAWS1019 Legal Research II

It is possible that the number of compulsory Law units will change.

• In second and third year you can also take some elective units to make up your degree from either Table A or B of the Table of Units of Study in the Faculty of Arts Handbook.
• It is a good idea to include some study of a language other than English to compliment your studies in international and global studies. Languages are listed in Table A of the Faculty of Arts Handbook.

What is Part 'A'

• ‘Part A’ refers to the units of study that are listed in the Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Handbook, ‘Table of Units of Study: Part A’.
• All Part A units come from subject areas taught within the Faculty of Arts.

What is 'Part B'?

• ‘Part B’ refers to the units of study that are listed in the Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Handbook, Section 5 ‘Table of Units of Study: Part B’.
• Part B units come subject areas taught in the Faculties of Science, Economics & Business, and Education & Social Work. Detailed information on Part B units of study can be found in the relevant faculty handbook, or in the online handbooks.

Here is an example of how you might put all of this together:

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