What's Better?

[Kudos]

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Which would be better?

A bachelors Law Degree combined with something else.. e.g arts/commerce.. etc / duration 5 years.

OR
A single bachelors degree that has nothing to do with law + Master of Juris Doctor / duration 5-6 years.

Just curious to know.
Thanks

[chewy123]

I never knew you can do Master in that degree without a bachelor of law.

Anyway, the same old story -depends what you wanna do, if you don't want to be a lawyer and are not interested in law, why do law at all?
If you haven't done law as an undergraduate presumably you will find it extremely hard doing a master in law starting from scratch...something you should think about.

[Frigid]

Originally Posted by Kudos

A single bachelors degree that has nothing to do with law + Master of Juris Doctor / duration 5-6 years.

to clarify, a Juris Doctor (JD) is not a masters degree. It is a first degree in law, the equivalent of a graduate LLB.

[Kudos]

Ohh right.. my bad. so I guess those two courses are of the same level. nothings better than the other.

[Atlas]

Doing the combined degree option has the benefit of mixing your law and non-law units which can be good for balance and lowers your chance of getting bored of either.

[wrong_turn]

it is a masters degree but acts like an undergrad law degree. however entry into a juris doc law program is after graduating from an undergraduate degree. thus, it is a grad-entry only program.

you could describe masters programs as an intensive undergrad program in a chosen major, where you dont have to do the core units. (e.g. B Commerce not having to do the random geneds or core units in first year).

[Strawbaby]

Originally Posted by Atlas

Doing the combined degree option has the benefit of mixing your law and non-law units which can be good for balance and lowers your chance of getting bored of either.

This

Especially in the early stages, before you get into the swing of it, hitting law full-time can be difficult.

[Frigid]

Originally Posted by slively03

Master of Laws (Juris Doctor), Monash University

Fail.

Notice the masters units electives.

lol. but can you find an equivalent in every other Go8 university?

the first sentence on that page states, "The Monash Juris Doctor (JD) is an intensive, graduate entry law degree."

when most people think of master degrees, they think of postgrad programs, not grad programs dressed up as master degrees. sure, you'll graduate as a LLM (JD) (leaving most employers wondering, WTF?), but i don't think the Monash program can be said to be the equivalent of a JD/LLB + a LLM.

[Kudos]

okay so i just want to confirm this:

the level of qualifications you get from a JD is the same as what you'd get from a normal Bachelors of Laws.

Are they both favoured the same by employers?

Im just curious to know because I doubt I will get a 99.5 UAI (or ATAR equivalent) to gain entry into a combined law program at UNSW..
(Or combined law at Sydney or UTS)
I really do not want to go to UWS for law even though the ATAR requirement there is 90.8 and we can get 100000000 bonus points for it.

I was thinking of doing another bachelor degree first then going to JD at UNSW or UTS as they does not require a high ATAR, it only looks at how well you perform in your first degree.

Thanks.

[dste6]

Frigid is correct, it is not strictly accurate to call the Monash 'LLM(JD)' an LLM, as traditionally an LLM requires completion of an entry law degree. LLM by definition is a 2nd law degree.

The monash degree should be considered a JD that allows you to do a wider range of electives. The fact that they are masters electives is not significant. It does not make them more difficult or 'higher' than any other law electives, it just gives a great deal of variety.

You will not be any more qualified simply by completing a Monash LLM(JD) rather than any other JD or LLB/(grad). Rather, including 8 masters level electives makes for a very rewarding program; its simply a nice feature.

Yes, i agree that the WAY they market it is unfortunate/tacky. Then again Monash, although a very good university, has never been that great at marketing itself...unlike some other universities starting with M...

long story, short: LLM(JD) = JD = graduate law degree.

[flamearrows]

Originally Posted by Kudos

okay so i just want to confirm this:

the level of qualifications you get from a JD is the same as what you'd get from a normal Bachelors of Laws.

Are they both favoured the same by employers?

Im just curious to know because I doubt I will get a 99.5 UAI (or ATAR equivalent) to gain entry into a combined law program at UNSW..
(Or combined law at Sydney or UTS)
I really do not want to go to UWS for law even though the ATAR requirement there is 90.8 and we can get 100000000 bonus points for it.

I was thinking of doing another bachelor degree first then going to JD at UNSW or UTS as they does not require a high ATAR, it only looks at how well you perform in your first degree.

Thanks.

I think the difference between the species of graduate law degrees has been definitively answered.

I'd add that you should pick the first degree you do based on what you think you'll actually enjoy studying/which area you'd like to work in. Three years is a long time to be grinding out a degree in the hope you'll get a WAM that'll open the gateway to UNSW/USyd law.

Particularly, you might find you've had enough after three or four years. Six years at a minimum is a very long time to spend at University.

[Frigid]

Originally Posted by dste6

Yes, i agree that the WAY they market it is unfortunate/tacky. Then again Monash, although a very good university, has never been that great at marketing itself...unlike some other universities starting with M...

yeah, the other M university's ubiquitous advertisements ("Australia's First, Australia's Global") is tempting me pretty bad...

LLM here we come

[melsc]

Originally Posted by atlas

doing the combined degree option has the benefit of mixing your law and non-law units which can be good for balance and lowers your chance of getting bored of either.

Originally Posted by strawbaby

this

especially in the early stages, before you get into the swing of it, hitting law full-time can be difficult.

+ 1

[Frigid]

Originally Posted by slively03

It's significant if you're calling it a Masters. I don't know of any other undergraduate degrees that allow you to do postgrad level units. Most people would agree masters units are hard. This reflects the more mature, intelligent and experienced cohort. This is what will make the JD cohort more competitive. Again, I disagree It's not a SJD but it's definitely not an LLB or aimed at undergraduates.

actually, when i was doing my LLB at UNSW, they allowed undergraduates to enrol in certain postgrad courses (for example, international commercial arbitration). see this page for timetables titled "PG Courses Open to UG". i couldn't find this current semester's example of PG courses open to UG, but i suspect the policy has not changed.

i'm sure UNSW is not unique in this respect. if an undergrad is capable, there's no reason to deny him/her enrolment in a postgrad course (to the law school, they cost exactly the same amount of money to run anyway).

[flamearrows]

Originally Posted by slively03

99% of LLB graduates wouldn't bother doing masters units.

It's entirely different to making everyone choose only masters electives.

Yeah - it devalues the Masters units.