Juris Doctor / Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice

at University of Newcastle

The Juris Doctor (JD) / Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice comprises 280 units (i.e 28 x 10 unit courses), which includes 210 units of core courses including the Legal Practice courses, plus 70 units of directed courses chosen from a list of 40 courses (subject to availability).

Students can choose directed courses that they are interested in from a range of areas including (subject to availability):
 

• Advanced Criminal Law
• Commercial Law
• Commercial Dispute Resolution
• Competition Law and Policy
• Corporate Power and Corporate Accountability: Pathways to Socially Responsible Business
• Employment Law
• Environmental Law
• Equal Opportunity Law
• Family Law
• Indigenous Peoples, Issues and the Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• International Air and Space Law
• International Human Rights Law
• Internet Law
• Jurisprudence
• Law and Religion
• Law for Startups
• Mediation Skills and Theory
• Mining Law
• Taxation Law

Admission Requirements

Entry to the JD/GradDipLegPrac is available to students who have one of the following qualifications with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.0 or above:
 

• a Bachelor Degree
• a Bachelor Honours Degree
• a Master's Degree

Students who have gained one of the above qualifications from a University outside of Australia in the discipline of law with a GPA of 4.0 or above can be admitted.

Students with a Bachelor of Laws degree from an Australian University cannot be admitted.

Applicants with one of the above qualifications with a GPA of 3.5 may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Students with an overseas law degree qualification can apply for up to 80 units of specified or unspecified credit through recognition of prior learning.

Where a student seeks specified credit for one or more of the eleven courses normally required for admission to practice law in Australia (known as the Priestley 11), then this will be considered where applicants have satisfied the NSW Legal Profession Admissions Board (or the equivalent body in another Australian state) that courses completed at the relevant overseas institution are substantially equivalent to the courses for which they are seeking specified credit.

Compulsory Program Requirements
It is a requirement that students complete a total of 285 hours professional placement which includes at least 105 hours at the UoN Legal Centre.

Minimum English Language Proficiency Requirements
 

• All Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the University’s English proficiency requirement. 
• Applicants for this program must satisfy a minimum English Language Proficiency Standard equivalent to an IELTS overall minimum of 7.0 with no subtest result below 6.5.

Fees

AUD 34,210 (indicative annual fee)
Indicative annual fees are based on a full year full time load (80 units).

Law School staff also assist students to arrange external placements to make up the remaining 180 required professional training hours. The Law School arranges external practical legal training placements for all students who seek assistance in organising their placement during the final year of the program. Students are offered a variety of legal environments from small private firms to large government organisations. Some examples of placement locations include:
 

• Australian Taxation Office
• Legal Aid
• Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
• SWS Lawyers
• Sessions Legal
• Sparke Helmore Lawyers