Bachelor of International Studies/Bachelor of Laws

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

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

There’s some freedom of choice in what to study in the first three years of a Bachelor of International Studies and Bachelor of Laws degree, but there are a few requirements that you will have to follow. These requirements are listed here and explained in detail below.

Let's go through what each of these requirements involves in turn.

What are credit points?

• Students doing an International Studies/ Laws degree are able to choose to study in a wide range of subject areas – for International Politics, International Political Economy, Japanese Studies, Government and International Relations 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. All units of study are worth 6 credit points each.

How do I get 144 credit points?

• Most people studying full time take three years to complete the Bachelor of International Studies component of the Bachelor of International Studies and Bachelor of Laws degree.
• Full-time students usually earn their 144 credit points by taking units of study worth a total of at least 48 credit points per year 24 credit points per semester) over these 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. Junior units of study are worth 3 or 6 junior credit points each.
• Junior units are sometimes called 1000 level units because their unit of study codes all have the form 1XXX, e.g. ECOP1001, GOVT1105, SCLG1001, etc.

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

Most full-time students take units of study worth a total of 48 junior credit points in their first year (generally a total of 24 credit points in each semester). It is important to remember that 48 credit points is also the maximum number allowed in first year.

To make up 48 credit points in your first year, most students take four 6 credit point junior units in each semester. You will need to make sure to include:

• any junior prerequisites you may need for your senior requirements (see below).

Check the Faculty of Arts Handbook, the online Table of Units of Study or the Unit of Study Database to find out if there are any prerequisites for senior units in the subjects you plan to study.

• the CORE junior Law units of study (see Requirement 6 below).

There are two core Law units (both worth 6 credit points) that contribute to the first year 48 credit point load. These are:
Foundations of Law (LAWS 1006) and
Torts (LAWS 1012).

• A third Law subject called Legal Research 1(LAWS 1013). This unit of study is compulsory, but is unusual in that it has NO credit point value. You must enrol in Legal Research 1 in first semester of first year.

If you’re studying part-time, it is usually recommended that you do a minimum of 18 junior credit points in your first year of enrolment, so that you are eligible to meet progression requirements to be able to continue on to second year.

Table 1 – Core units of study

• ECOP1001 Economics as a Social Science
• ECOP1003 International Economy and Finance
• GOVT1105 Geopolitics
• GOVT1202 World Politics
• GOVT2801 Applied International Politics (to be completed in Year 2)
• GOVT2802 International Studies Practicum (to be completed in Year 3 Semester 2)

Here is an example of how you might put together 48 junior credit points in your first year:

For the list of available units in Table 4 see the Course Rules for the Bachelor of International Studies in the Faculty of Arts Handbook.

But that's only 36 junior credit points of non Arts units!

• That’s right! You can’t do all of the possible 48 junior credit points from the Arts table of units of study in your first year, because you also have to fit in the core junior Law units, and you’re not allowed to do more than 48 credit points in total in your first year.
• You can take the remaining 12 junior credit points in later years if you want to. But, it is okay if you choose to stay with just the 36 junior credit points, and add some extra ‘senior’ credit points later instead.

Why can I do no more than 48 junior Arts credit points?

• While junior units give you an excellent introduction to a subject, and function as a foundation for further study, they aren’t, in themselves, sufficient to provide you with substantial expertise in a subject area. Junior units of study are necessary, but not sufficient, for a Bachelor’s degree!

Table 2A consists of the following compulsory units in the International Politics stream:

• GOVT2116 Australian Foreign and Defence Policy
• GOVT2221 Politics of International Economic Relations
• GOVT2225 International Security for the 21st Century
• GOVT2226 International Organisations
• GOVT2440 Globalisation and National Governance

Table 2B consists of compulsory units in the International Political Economy stream as follows:

• ECOP2012 Social Foundations of Modern Capitalism
• ECOP3011 Economic Conflicts and the State
• ECOP3012 Global Political Economy
• ECOP3014 International Trade and Development
• ECOP3015 Political Economy of the Environment
• ECOP3016 Women in the Global Economy
• ECOP3017 Political Economy of Human Rights

• The International Studies Table in the Faculty of Arts Handbook lists the units you have to choose from that satisfy this requirement for your degree in second and third year.
• As mentioned above, senior units require you to have pre-requisites in a certain subject area. You will need to have a look at the International Studies Table to see which subjects are available to you in second and third years. This will help you decide which junior subjects you take in first year.

This is to ensure that you do not do too many units that are not applicable to International Studies.

What are the core units of Law and when do I do them?

• We’ve already discussed the junior core Law units (see above under Requirement 2).
• In second year, you should do the following core units:
  ‘Processes of Justice (LAWS 1014) and
  ‘Contracts’ (LAWS 1015) and
  ‘Criminal Law’ (LAWS1016)
• In third year, you should do the following core units:
  ‘Torts and Contracts II (LAWS 1017) and
  ‘International Law’ (LAWS 1018) and
  ‘Public Law’ (LAWS1021)
  ‘Legal Research II (LAWS1019)

Do I have to complete a major in my Bachelor of International Studies degree?

• Although it is not a requirement of the Bachelor of International Studies, students may decide to undertake a major from any of the subject areas listed in the International Studies Table in the Faculty of Arts Handbook.

What is a major?

• A major is a minimum of 36 credit points (6 senior units) in that discipline.

• You must complete GOV2801 Applied International Studies in Second Year before you complete GOVT2802 international Studies Practicum in Year 3 Semester 2.
• Although not compulsory, you are encouraged to study abroad in your third year. While abroad you will enrol in the senior core unit GOVT2802 International Studies Practicum which is studied online. As this unit of study is offered in Semester 2, it is only possible to go on exchange in Semester 2 of third year. If you do not study abroad you will complete GOVT2802 International Studies Practicum as an intern in a government or non-government organisation in Sydney, working on an internationally focussed project.
• Most full-time students will get the required senior credit points over their second and third years by choosing subjects that add up to 24 credit points in each semester. (24 credit points x 4 semesters = 96 credit points).

Here is an example of how you might put together your senior credit points over your second and third years:

• 48 senior credit points in Year 2 and 48 in Year 3 adds up to 96 senior credit points, which is equal to the required 48 Arts +48 Law = 96 senior credit points.
• When you sum the credit points earned in Years 1, 2 and 3, you can see they add up to 144 credit points … you’ve satisfied the requirements for the Bachelor of International Studies component of your Bachelor of International Studies and Bachelor of Laws degree!!!

What's the maximum number of credit points I can take per semester?

• You might want to take more than the usual number of 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 are permitted to do up to (but no more than) 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!)

So..what happens after the first three years?

By the time you get to Years 4 and 5 of your degree you will have completed the Bachelor of International Studies component, and will focus only on the remaining Law components of your degree. You’ll take Law units of study worth 48 credit points per year.

At this time, the supervision of your candidature will be transferred from the Faculty of Arts to the Faculty of Law.