Course details

Summary

Why study the Waikato LLB?

Assessed by Lawyers & Judges

Lawyers and judges will be involved in teaching and assessing your law assignments and will provide you with valuable feedback. This sort of contact with the profession will stand you in good stead when you come to apply for a full-time job.

Practical experience

At Waikato, you’ll get to practice skills you need to succeed in the profession – whether it’s interviewing a client, making a case in court, negotiating settlement for a client, or drafting a required contract to perfect a merger.

You’ll analyse how law operates in local, national and global contexts and learn to consider the business practices of financial markets, corporations, national and local government, trusts and iwi.

Internships

There are plenty of opportunities for you to apply your practical experience to real-life problems. From your second year onward in the law degree, you’ll have the opportunity to gain work experience at the Hamilton District Community Law Centre, Police Prosecution Office, Defence Office, several city and regional councils, law firms and other organisations. You’ll also be eligible for the National Summer Clerking Employment Programme.

Taught by New Zealand’s leading legal advisors

The Bachelor of Laws is taught by some of New Zealand’s leading scholars, who advise to governments, businesses and non-governmental organisations.

Practicing Law in New Zealand

The Waikato Bachelor of Laws degree is approved by the New Zealand Council of Legal Education (NZCLE). So, after graduating with your degree, you’ll be eligible to complete the Professional Legal Studies (PLS) course to be admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor to practice law in New Zealand. The Professional Legal Studies course can be completed at the Institute of Legal Studies (IPLS) or the College of Law New Zealand.

Personalize your law degree with a second major

The Bachelor of Laws degree requires you to choose law as a major subject. However, you can choose to take a second major in almost any other undergraduate subject offered at the University of Waikato, such as Computer Science or Human Resource Management. Talk to our friendly administration staff to tailor your law degree to your interests.

You can study a broad range of optional law papers including:

• Advocacy
• Competition law
• Corporate securities and finance
• Employment law
• Environmental law
• Family law
• Human rights
• Intellectual property
• International trade
• Law and information technology
• 毛利 land law
• Mediation
• Natural resources law
• Public international law
• The Treaty of Waitangi in contemporary Aotearoa / New Zealand

Career opportunities

• Solicitor
• Barrister
• Judge
• Policy Analyst & Advisor
• Board Member for Iwi or other organisations
• Legal scholar
• Politician
• Business owner
• Human Resource personnel
• Mediator and Negotiator

Graduate study options

• Master of Laws (LLM)
• Master of Laws in Maori/Pacific and Indigenous Peoples Law (LLM 毛利/Pacific & Indigenous Peoples')
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

If you have already gained a Bachelor degree in a subject other than law, you may be interested in our Graduate Diploma in Dispute Resolution (GradDipDr).

Higher legal research degrees

• Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)
• Doctor of Philosophy Law (PhD (Law))
• Doctor of Laws (LLD)

Entry criteria

If you have New Zealand National University Entrance, then you're eligible to apply for this degree.

University Entrance means: From 2015 - (i) NCEA Level 3, (ii) a minimum of 14 credits at Level 3 or higher on the National Qualifications Framework, in each of three approved subjects, and (iii) the numeracy requirements of a minimum of 10 credits at Level 1 or higher on the National Qualifications Framework, made up of achievement standards and/or unit standards specified by NZQA, and (iv) the literacy requirement of a minimum of 10 credits at Level 2 or higher on the National Qualifications Framework, made up of: (a) 5 credits in reading , and (b) 5 credits in writing from a list specified by NZQA.

English language requirements:

IELTS (Academic) - 6.5 overall (no band less than 6.0); iBT (internet based) TOEFL - 100 with a score of 22 in writing; Pearson PTE Academic - 64 with no less than 57 for each communicative skill; Waikato Pathways - Successful completion of Level 8 with a B grade average in the Certificate of Attainment in Academic English (CAAE) programme.