UNE Law (1 Viewer)

[g_dob]

Can anyone please tell what what its like to study law at UNE compared with year 12? Also, is the only reason UNE LAw UAI is low because of the university's location?

 

[lawgrad1]

Well, I completed my Arts/Law (Hons) degree at UNE last year so I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about studying law.

Firstly, depending on what degree you choose, you may find that you don't actually start your "first year" law subjects until your second year.

Basically, regardless of what degree you choose, you'll find that your "first year" law subjects include Introduction to Legal Systems and Methods, Criminal Law and Torts. Introduction to Legal Systems and Methods is the subject most similar to Year 12 Legal Studies. In it, you will learn about the legal system, how to structure legal essays and how to undertake legal research. Criminal Law and Torts are more advanced, but the lecturers will know that most of the class have just finished high school (or are starting out in their law degree), so they are more than willing to assist students. Most people will never have studied the individual subjects before, so you will all be considered as "begineers" and the lecturers will essentially "start of from scratch" with most subjects.

Throughout your degree, you'll find that you have to undertake a number of compulsory units. These include: Contracts, Corporate Law and Jurisprudence. You'll also have the chance to study some electives. I also recommend studying for your honours degree if you have the chance.

Subjects are structured around lectures and tutorials. Lectures are the more formal part of the subject. Unlike many city unis, you can be guaranteed a seat in the class. Tutorials are where you break up into smaller groups and discuss/analyse what was said during the lectures.

Essentially, if you enjoyed Year 12 Legal Studies, you should have no problem adapting to Law School.

I believe that UNE's UAI cut-offs are low because more people don't want to go to a country/regional town. However, I can honestly say that studying at UNE was great. As the uni is small, you get to know your fellow uni students really well. Regardless of whether you stay at college (which I did for my entire degree) or in town, you'll make friends that will last a lifetime. Plus, the lecturers are always willing to have a chat with you after class to help you with any questions you have. There's heaps of activities around the place (especially sporting and cultural activities) so that'll keep you occupied outside of studying. I have heard stories from students at other unis that they often didn't have much contact with other uni students or the wider uni community. All I can say is that I did not experience that at UNE.

Feel free to ask any other questions you have. Hope this helps.

 

[g_dob]

thanks, 1 more q. how many subjects do u do in arts? and what did u do (how did u find them)?

 

[elissa]

I am starting an Arts/Law degree on Monday - thats when my lectures start anyway. If you are doing an arts/law degree in the first year they suggest that you do 2 law units and 6 non-law units for your beginning year. So basically 8 units for the year - 4 units each semester. Does that make sense?

See, for the year my subjects are History, Psychology, Political Science and Law. All introductory courses.

Semester 1:
1 x History (non law)
1 x Psychology (non law)
1 x Political Science (non law)
1 x Law

Semester 2:
1 x History (non law)
1 x Psychology (non law)
1 x Political Science (non law)
1 x Law

Total: 8 units = 6 non-law + 2 law

In arts you can study things like:
Ancient history - greek and roman i think - egypt comes later
ancient literature in translation - looking at ancient literature texts
Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology
Asian Societies - basically u study asia
Asian Studies - same as above
Chinese - u learn putonghua - the official chinese language
Classical Languages - greek and latin
Communication Studies - includes film studies, media studies, professional writing and popular culture etc
English - literature from a number of different historical periods, critical theory and research etc
French - u learn french
Geography and Planning - includes urban and regional planning, emphasis on applied geography
History - choose from european (medieval and early modern), australian (i'm doing this) or asian history
Indonesian - u learn indonesian
International Relations - u learn how the world works politically and why it is the way it is
Italian - u learn italian
Japanese -u learn japanese
Linguistics - learn about language
Music - composition, ethnomusicology, musicianship, musicology
Philosophy - search for wisdom - basically WHY? about everything
Political Science - study of government and politics
Psychology - aspects of human behaviour, personal and interpersonal characteristics
Religion - apparently its best if you study this when u have no particular religious background - looks at how relgions began, key elements in religious groups etc
Sociology - study of society
Theatre Studies - the practice, theory and history of theatre

Try to work hard this year so you don't have to rely on Armidale to accept you through SRAS. And have as many option as you can.

Personally I dont like it here, I came here as it was my only option, and want to transfer out ASAP.

I'm not trying to scare you - just think about what you want out of your future

UNE is good for primary teaching, nursing,urban and regional planning, and maybe archaeology/palaeoanthropology (apparently sum people from here discovered the 'hobbit') but i dont know how good it is for everything else

 

[g_dob]

ok, thanks 4 the help

 

[lawgrad1]

i see elissa's already answered your question, but i thought i would just tell you what i studied in my first year.

in my arts degree, i majored in political science and history. in my first year, i did not take any law units. as such, i completed 8 units in history (australian), political science, international relations and asian societies. it allowed me to finish my arts degree early and focus on my law degree solely in my final year.

as elissa said, its good if u can go to une on its open day because staying and studying there isn't for everyone. its good to have quite a few uni options available to u because its hard to predict exactly what the uai cut-offs are going to be each year.

i found the une law school very good. sure, it's not as big as the major sydney/melbourne ones, but the teaching quality is of a high standard. plus, i really liked the fact that i could have a chat with my lecturers at any time.

 

[Wolfowitz]

What job did you end up getting?
I heard UNE law has a 70% employment rate...but they never say what jobs the grads get. Waiters or busboys? They never say

 

[xeuyrawp]

What job did you end up getting?
I heard UNE law has a 70% employment rate...but they never say what jobs the grads get. Waiters or busboys? They never say

Considering that it's the best uni for hundreds of kms, the area's got it's a few court circuits, and that there're a lot of different towns with solicitor's firms, I'd say that employment is mainly in the legal sector.

 

[lawgrad1]

Well, I got a job as a lawyer for a government department (which allowed me to utilise my politics degree as well). I was given 3 job offers in my final year. In fact, everyone I know from my course got a job in either the public or private sector.

 

[Wolfowitz]

Interesting.
V. interesting.

All the best with your life.
<3 Wolfowitz.

 

[machine169]

I'm in my 4th year doing Commerce/law. I don't know how many hours people put into other degrees but as you get along in a combined law degree you will do pretty good if you treat it as a job e.g. 40 hours week of work. I found legal systems and mthods, criminal law, torts 1 , contracts 1 and property 1 to be the easiest. The trickier ones are equity and trusts, administrative law and jurisprudence maybe consti. The advanced units also go into more depth. I saw the UAI for law was about 83. I think it is lower because of demand. The teacher quality is as good as anywhere. Many Law lecturers are from other institutions e.g. in Sydney. Some are on the bar etc. The class sizes are excellent. The teachers are always easy to talk to out of class. They are also generally easy to understand in lectures. If you are new to law or thinking of law, many lectures are being podcated in various subjects. This means you can access video and audio of the lecture being presented by the lecturer. I would still suggest you go to lectures though. By the of next year the Law department will have set up an Austrlalian Law Postgraduates Network where you can go to the UNE law section of the main web site and be able to access specialists from law departments around Australia to help with your postgraduate studies. UNE Law is an innovator in technology for student benefit. Tim