Bachelor of Social Science with the degree of Bachelor of Laws
SOLA18V1
Faculty:
Faculty of Arts
Award:
Bachelor of Social Science with the degree of Bachelor of Laws (BSocScLLB)
English Language Proficiency:
IELTS of 7.0 overall with minimum 6.5 in each band, or equivalent
Study Mode:
Full-time, Part-time
Attendance Mode:
Internal
Candidature Length:
Full-time: 5 years
Commencement:
North Ryde — Session 1 (February)
North Ryde — Session 2 (July)
Volume of Learning:
Equivalent to 5 years
General requirements:
| Minimum number of credit points for the degree | 120 |
| Of your 120 credit points, complete a maximum of 42 credit points at 100 level | |
| Minimum number of credit points at 200 level or above | 78 |
| Minimum number of credit points at 300 level or above | 48 |
| Minimum number of credit points from units with a LAW, LAWS or EXLW prefix | 72 |
| Completion of a Qualifying Major for the Bachelor of Social Science | |
| Completion of a designated People unit | |
| Completion of a designated Planet unit | |
| Completion of a designated PACE unit with a LAWS prefix | |
| Completion of other specific minimum requirements as set out below |
Note:
Students must complete one designated People unit and one designated Planet unit. Those units must be taken in two different Faculties. Any unit which is listed below or as part of the student's qualifying major(s) will not satisfy the People unit requirement or Planet unit requirement.
In order to graduate students must ensure that they have satisfied all of the general requirements of the award.
Specific minimum requirements:
Credit points
100 level
200 level
300 level
Additional
Required
15cp from
LAW units at 200 level
LAWS units at 200 level
LAW units at 300 level
LAWS units at 300 level
LAW units at 400 level
LAWS units at 400 level
LAW units at 500 level
15
LAWS units at 500 level
Required
12cp from
LAW units at 300 level
LAWS units at 300 level
LAW units at 400 level
LAWS units at 400 level
LAW units at 500 level
12
LAWS units at 500 level
Note:
Completing students may be eligible for the award of Bachelor of Laws (Honours). For further details refer to law.mq.edu.au/current_students/llb_students.
The Bachelor of Laws is a professional program listed on Schedule 2 of the Academic Progression Policy. Students enrolled in this program are governed by both Academic Progression requirements and the General Coursework Rules. The General Coursework Rules may supersede the Academic Progression Policy.
General Coursework Rule 10(7) stipulates that if a student fails a required unit twice in an undergraduate professional program listed in Schedule 2, they may be permanently excluded from further enrolment in that program.
Students completing a double degree will be able to continue with their other degree program provided they meet the academic progression requirements of the Academic Progression Policy.
Students completing the single Law degree are advised to seek academic advice.
General Coursework Rule 10(7) stipulates that if a student fails a required unit twice in an undergraduate professional program listed in Schedule 2, they may be permanently excluded from further enrolment in that program.
Students completing a double degree will be able to continue with their other degree program provided they meet the academic progression requirements of the Academic Progression Policy.
Students completing the single Law degree are advised to seek academic advice.
Units marked with a P are PACE units.
Qualifying Majors for the Bachelor of Social Science
Code
Major
| AQF Level | Level 7 Bachelor Degree |
| CRICOS Code | 040598M |
| Overview and Aims of the Program | The Bachelor of Social Science is for those interested in the way our social worlds are constructed and want to make a difference in how society looks after itself and others. The social sciences recognise that our everyday experiences and interactions are contingent on complex interrelationships involving people, places and technologies. They provide us with a range of theoretical and practical tools to help us understand human society and contemporary social problems. In this degree, you will gain skills in social research and applied social science that help to make sense of culturally diverse social environments in a changing world. You will also be able to choose between more than 15 majors that are offered across the university, with plenty of room for electives or a minor. And, you will undertake a internship doing hands on social science work in a government, non-government or private sector organisation, giving graduates a head start in the job market. This degree will give students the skills for careers in a wide variety of jobs in government, the community sector, private consultancy, policy-related work, program evaluation, research of all kinds and advocacy. The Bachelor of Laws allows students to undertake the interdisciplinary study of law, which fosters a sound understanding of legal doctrine as well as an awareness of the role of law in society and a developed sense of social responsibility. |
| Graduate Capabilities | The Graduate Capabilities Framework articulates the fundamentals that underpin all of Macquarie’s academic programs. It expresses these as follows: Interpersonal or social capabilities |
| Program Learning Outcomes | By completing the Bachelor of Social Science portion of this program it is anticipated you should be able to: KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING 1. examine theoretical and methodological linkages between a chosen specialty and social science (K, T) 2. understand key social science concepts, methods and analysis, including those related to both qualitative and quantitative approaches (K, T) 3. incorporate knowledge of both a chosen specialty and multidisciplinary social science methodologies when designing and undertaking independent practical work (P, I) SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES 4. examine and critically analyse research questions and methodologies employed in the social sciences (K, T) 5. investigate the links between research design and results derived in social science research (P) 6. critically analyse both qualitative and quantitative data using software packages that are widely used in the social sciences (P) 7. develop social research questions and design appropriate methodologies to explore responses to them, including a justification for their selection (C, J) 8. explain key research problems, research methodologies and theoretical approaches using a range of written formats that are typically directed at different audiences (C, I) APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS 9. develop appropriate research questions and methodologies for both evaluation research and applied social research (J) 10. evaluate the myriad of ethical issues that can arise in social science research and understand strategies that might reduce the risks for research participants, researchers and organisations (E) 11. analyse complex information about social problems, methodologies and social theory in applied settings, such as program evaluation (P, T, J) 12. practice ethical social research and engage in ethical workplace conduct during the research internship (J, E, A) 13. approach social science reflexively, incorporating learnings from personal and professional experiences into the practice of social research (L, E, J, T). By completing the Bachelor of Laws portion of this program, it is anticipated that you will be able to: 14. explain fundamental areas of legal knowledge prescribed for accreditation as a legal practitioner in australia (K) 15. apply and integrate fundamental areas of legal knowledge and skills to analyse and evaluate socio-legal problems and policy challenges in diverse contexts, including from broader international, comparative and interdisciplinary contexts within which socio-legal issues arise (T) 16. identify, research, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues to solve legal problems, and apply reasoning and research skills to generate appropriate responses (P) 17. advocate alternative strategies and approaches to solving problems, resolving disputes and pursuing remedies that are responsive to the interdisciplinary and global realities of professional life (I) 18. communicate in oral and written form in ways that are professional, effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences (C) 19. recognise, reflect upon and apply approaches to ethical decision-making to addressing issues of disadvantage and social justice, and the impact of globalisation on legal and professional practice in Australia (E) 20. collaborate and reflect upon their professional responsibilities in service to the community and in promoting a just and a sustainable global society through participation in advocacy, social innovation and socio-legal reform (A) 21. exercise sound judgement and to respond proactively to challenges they will face in professional and personal life (J) 22. reflect on and assess their capabilities and performance and work independently to support ongoing personal and professional development (L). |
| Learning and Teaching Methods | BACHELOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE You will have opportunities during this Bachelor program to acquire and apply social science knowledge and practical skills through a series of activities. You will be encouraged to build on and integrate your understandings of social science concepts, methods and research methodologies. You will be required to communicate and apply this knowledge in a range of written formats relevant to research and vocational practice, as well as in discussions with your fellow students and university teachers (see Assessments for more information). The program is designed to promote continuous independent learning, with tasks building successively on your knowledge and skills. Tasks undertaken for this program will require you to critically engage with information in a variety of forms from multiple sources. You will acquire skills in collating and reflecting on information sourced from at least some of the following: course readings; academic journal articles; books; social research; online databases; research reports; online sources; policy documents; media articles; and, the world wide web. You will also engage with research design, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches to social research. And, you will be encouraged to reflect critically on ethical practices in both academic research and program evaluation through each stage of a project, from developing a research question to constructing an appropriate methodology to analysing data to publishing results. Class sessions for this program typically include lectures, seminars, tutorials, and workshops. These sessions will offer you the opportunity to engage with academic experts from multiple social science disciplines, visiting experts and research partners, as well as your peers. You will be expected to communicate both your understanding of program materials and their potential applications in each session. Where relevant, you are also expected to prepare for each session by undertaking set readings and practical activities. Notably, the internship organised by the university presents an important opportunity for you to gain valuable on-the-job experience before graduation. Organised via Macquarie University's Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) initiative, this internship presents you with an opportunity to work on an independent or team-based research project in the field. It may entail a placement with research organisations, including government agencies, non-government organisations, research centres, and universities. As well as helping you to prepare for the world of work, this internship presents you with a chance to critically reflect on and apply both knowledge and skills acquired over the program. LLB Successful completion of the LLB degree enables a student to progress towards admission as a lawyer in New South Wales. Being a qualification accredited as meeting the academic requirements of admission, the degree's program is built around a series of compulsory units which together cover the substantial body of doctrinal content prescribed by the profession. In addition to these core units, all students must complete one of seven qualifying majors, each of which examines law in the context of various policy challenges. Students also choose from a selection of elective units, enabling them to pursue their particular interests. Besides equipping students with the doctrinal knowledge needed to practise law, the LLB seeks to develop skills and personal attributes required to succeed not only in legal practice but in other areas of professional life, as well as further academic study. These include communication and problem-solving skills, as well as analytical and critical thinking, plus qualities such as empathy and integrity. Macquarie Law School approaches the study of law as more than mere vocational training, viewing it as a rigorous intellectual endeavour in its own right. Hallmarks of the Macquarie LLB include its interdisciplinary nature and global focus, thus enabling students to appraise law and seek out innovative solutions in the broadest possible contexts. Most units are taught by a combination of live or recorded lectures, set readings and various assessments designed to test and advance your learning. Increasingly, teaching is supported by innovative online technologies which deliver not only lecture content but an array of material, activities and potentials for interaction intended to develop your skills and understanding. While online learning permits students some flexibility in relation to when they study, internal students are generally expected to also attend a weekly tutorial for each unit, while external students normally come to the campus for a compulsory two-day intensive session, usually held during the mid-session break. Classroom-based activities provide you with the opportunity to consolidate your learning through interaction with teaching staff and fellow students. In designing the program care has been taken to ensure that each stage of the student's learning is adequately supported by what the student has already covered. As you advance through your degree you will be expected to become increasingly self-reliant in your studies. In order to succeed you will need to look far beyond lectures and set readings. You should be proactive in developing your own pathways to learning, suitably supported by the research skills you will be taught. Besides independent study you will at times be required to work collaboratively with other students, engaging in such activities as group discussions, projects and presentations. The emphasis is on learning through doing, as opposed to passively absorbing material. An important feature of the program is the PACE (Professional and Community Engagement), during which students learn through a combination of practical experience and personal reflection. |
| Assessment | BACHELOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Assessment in this Bachelor program takes the form of coursework that will allow you to acquire skills, methods and knowledge of relevance to the social sciences. This coursework will involve the content and assessment tasks set in core social science units, the units comprising qualifying majors, and elective units. Unit guides for each coursework unit contain a clear outline of assessment standards and criteria, including what is to be assessed and how this will be done. In this program, your assessments will take a variety of forms, typically including: academic essays; planning tools; critical reflections; literature reviews; research proposals; and/or research reports. Coursework is designed to build on your communicative, personal and professional capabilities. The core social science units will give you the opportunity to consider applications of a wide range of methods and analytic tools that are used to collect, assess and communicate information from multiple sources. You will also be encouraged to engage with qualitative and quantitative approaches relevant to disciplinary and cross-disciplinary research in the social sciences. This program culminates in a professional internship, in which you will apply social science skills during on-the-job practical experience. Internships are organised with a wide range of research organisations, such as government agencies, non-government organisations, research centres, and universities. The program will offer you formative and summative feedback. Formative feedback is provided to students as an assessment is being undertaken, while summative feedback is provided after completion of an assessment. These kinds of feedback both aim to assist you in developing key capabilities relevant to social science practice. Feedback provided may involve written commentary from, or oral discussions with, teaching staff, internship supervisors, and peers. Feedback from internship supervisors will focus on vocational skills, including self-management, communication skills, and organisational skills. The program generally involves a series of major assessments along the way to assist you in developing your skills, methods and knowledge. Early on, you will develop a degree plan encourages to organise your study by selecting one of the qualifying majors and reflecting on how it relates to social science. As you progress through the program, two assessments will require you to exhibit your knowledge and skills of social research practice and data analysis. One assessment is a research proposal, which gives you the opportunity to engage with the principles of research design. The second assessment is a research report, which provides an opportunity to engage with data analysis procedures. And, typically toward the end of the program, you will participate in a professional internship that will provide practical experience and feedback from one of our research partners. LLB Each student graduating with the degree will receive a Grade Point Average calculated on the basis of that student's performance across all core units, as well as those other units undertaken by the student to meet the program requirements. A student's success in an individual unit is measured on the basis of at least three assessment tasks undertaken during the course of the academic session. Assessment tasks are designed to test students' acquirement of skills, attributes and knowledge, as well as to support and promote their ongoing learning and development. Generally, assessment is on the basis of how well a student has completed a piece of written work. These may form part of a timed take-home examination, although some units require students to attend a formal sit-down exam. Written assignments can take many different forms, ranging from an essay, a research paper, an advice to an imaginary client in relation to a hypothetical problem, a reflective journal, a contribution to a discussion blog and so on. Through a combination of collective and individual feedback, as well as the mark awarded to the student's work, these assignments enable students to gauge their academic progress in individual units and in the degree program as a whole. At times students will be marked on how well they are proceeding with a piece of work, thus enabling them to complete it to a higher standard. In some units a student's grade will partly reflect that student's participation in classroom discussions or the quality of an oral presentation. Students are assessed in relation to a unit on the basis of how well they meet its learning outcomes, which are set out in the unit guide at the beginning of each academic session. Rubrics are also provided to students in order to indicate what level of performance is needed in order to achieve each grade band. Students do not compete with each other for good marks. Indeed, marks may be awarded on the basis of group work. Mostly, however, a student's grade will be determined on the basis of that student's individual work or individual contribution to a collaborative project. While it is vital that all students graduating with an LLB degree demonstrate a broad and coherent knowledge of legal doctrine as required by the profession, the units of study that they undertake will cumulatively assess the student's performance in relation to the entire range of skills and attributes referred to in the program's learning outcomes. For instance, in the early years of the program emphasis is placed on basic skills such as finding relevant sources of knowledge, while in later years the focus shifts more to the student's competence in evaluating those sources and employing them to generate appropriate responses to real-world problems. |
| Recognition of Prior Learning | Macquarie University may recognise prior formal, informal and non-formal learning for the purpose of granting credit towards, or admission into, a program. The recognition of these forms of learning is enabled by the University’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Policy (see www.mq.edu.au/policy) and its associated Procedures and Guidelines. The RPL pages contain information on how to apply, links to registers, and the approval processes for recognising prior learning for entry or credit. Domestic Students International Students |
| Support for Learning | Macquarie University aspires to be an inclusive and supportive community of learners where all students are given the opportunity to meet their academic and personal goals. The University offers a comprehensive range of free and accessible student support services which include academic advice, counselling and psychological services, advocacy services and welfare advice, careers and employment, disability services and academic skills workshops amongst others. There is also a bulk billing medical service located on campus. |
| Program Standards and Quality | The program is subject to an ongoing comprehensive process of quality review in accordance with a pre-determined schedule that complies with the Higher Education Standards Framework. The review is overseen by Macquarie University's peak academic governance body, the Academic Senate and takes into account feedback received from students, staff and external stakeholders. |
| Graduate Destinations and Employability | This Bachelor of Social Science degree will give students the skills for careers in a wide variety of jobs in government, the community sector, private consultancy, policy-related work, program evaluation, research of all kinds and advocacy. After completing the Bachelor of Laws, many graduates will pursue careers as either barristers or solicitors. However, a broad range of rewarding careers are open to Macquarie Law School graduates. Employment can be found in a wide variety of organisations, including: o community legal centres o diplomatic service o education o financial institutions o health services o in-house counsel o legal practice o media organisations o NGO advocacy bodies o public service o trade unions. |
| Assessment Regulations | This program is subject to Macquarie University regulations, including but not limited to those specified in the Assessment Policy, Academic Honesty Policy, the Final Examination Policy and relevant University Rules. For all approved University policies, procedures, guidelines and schedules visit www.mq.edu.au/policy. |
| Accreditation | This is an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) accredited qualification. The Law component of this award is accredited by the LPAB (Legal Practice Admission Board) of NSW. The Macquarie Bachelor of Laws is accredited with professional bodies regulating the admission of law graduates to legal practice and provides appropriate qualification for admission to practice as a lawyer throughout Australia. In addition to completing a law program at an accredited institution, the profession requires all law graduates to complete a period of practical legal training including further study,continuing professional development units and supervised experience in a legal practice, before being admitted to practice as a barrister or solicitor. To be qualified as an Australian Legal Practitioner in New South Wales, a solicitor or barrister also requires a Practising Certificate issued by the Councils of the Law Society of New South Wales or the New South Wales Bar Association respectively. |
Inherent requirements are the essential components of a course or program necessary for a student to successfully achieve the core learning outcomes of a course or program. Students must meet the inherent requirements to complete their Macquarie University course or program.
Inherent requirements for Macquarie University programs fall under the following categories:
Physical: The physical inherent requirement is to have the physical capabilities to safely and effectively perform the activities necessary to undertake the learning activities and achieve the learning outcomes of an award.
Cognition: The inherent requirement for cognition is possessing the intellectual, conceptual, integrative and quantitative capabilities to undertake the learning activities and achieve the learning outcomes of an award.
Communication: The inherent requirement for communication is the capacity to communicate information, thoughts and ideas through a variety of mediums and with a range of audiences.
Behavioural: The behavioural inherent requirement is the capacity to sustain appropriate behaviour over the duration of units of study to engage in activities necessary to undertake the learning activities and achieve the learning outcomes of an award.
For more information see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/inherent-requirements
2018 Unit Information
When offered:
S1 Day
Prerequisites:
Permission of Executive Dean of Faculty
Corequisites:
None
NCCWs:
HSC Chinese, CHN113, CHN148