Please note: Information on this page relates to the 2012 academic year unless otherwise specified.

The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) at Victoria University is a carefully constructed degree that you must take if you want to practise law in New Zealand.

In your first year of an LLB you essentially complete the first year of a second degree as well. Therefore, most Victoria law students combine their LLB with a second degree, which takes a minimum of five years. Popular combinations are an LLB with a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce and Administration or a Bachelor of Science.

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Overview

First-year Law students take three law courses and at least 70 non-law points (five 15-point courses or four 20-point courses). A pass in LAWS 121 in the first trimester is a prerequisite for both LAWS 122 and 123 courses held in the second trimester.

Two streams of LAWS 121, 122 and 123 are held in the Kelburn Campus and a third stream in each is held at Pipitea Campus. You can select your streams according to your timetable. However, if your stream is full you will be assigned to another stream.

A B+ average over the three first-year law courses (plus passes in the non-law courses) is generally required for selection into second-year law. Most undergraduate law courses consist of three hours of lectures per week. There is also a tutorial programme for all 100- and 200-level law courses.

To read more about the structure and rules of the LLB look at the current Faculty of Law Undergraduate Prospectus.

All PDF documents require Acrobat Reader.

Document	File size	File type
Faculty of Law Undergraduate Prospectus	710 KB	PDF

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Features of the LLB

• Four years of full time study, that includes the following:
  LLB First Year
  LLB Second Year
  LLB Third and Fourth Years
• 480 points
• Open entry into first year, subject to University Entrance and Victoria Entrance Criteria
• Selection into second year is based on academic performance in the three first-year law courses. See Selection Criteria for more information.
• If you perform well in the second year of the LLB you will be invited to join the LLB Honours programme. The Honours degree, while sharing many common components with the LLB, is a separate undergraduate degree.

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Workload

Most undergraduate law courses consist of three hours of lectures per week. There is also a tutorial programme for the compulsory 100-level and 200-level law courses. You can expect to spend 9-10 hours of study time per week per course, including lectures and tutorials.

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Postgraduate Opportunities

For information about postgraduate study in Law, please see the Faculty of Law's postgraduate study pages.

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How To Find Out More

To find out more please contact:

• Victoria's Student Recruitment, Admission and Orientation Office; or
• the Law Faculty's Undergraduate Administrator, tel +64 4463 6433, email: address.

To find out about other subjects and first-year courses at Victoria University please go to the Subjects Offered page.

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Degree Example

Year 1	Points
LAWS 121 Introduction to New Zealand Legal System	20
LAWS 122 Introduction to Case Law	15
LAWS 123 Introduction to Statute Law	15
non-law by 10 December*	70
Points	120

Year 2
LAWS 211 The Law of Contract	30
LAWS 212 The Law of Torts	30
LAWS 213 Public Law	30
LAWS 297 Legal Research, Writing and Mooting	10
Non-law - remaining course from first year*	20
Points	120

Year 3
LAWS 214 Criminal Law	30
LAWS 301 Property Law	30
LAWS 312 Equity, Trusts and Succession	15
LAWS 300 Three 300-level electives (15 points each)	45
Points	120

Year 4
LAWS 300 Remaining eight 300-level electives** (15 points each)	120
Points	120
Total Points	480
*You must take 90 non-law points of your choice during your degree, including at least 70 non-law points in your first year to be eligible to apply for second-year law. This means four 20-point courses or five 15-point courses, with the remaining course taken in another year. **If you completed LAWS 301 in 2010 or earlier you need 12 electives.

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