Combined Law (1 Viewer)

[angelano33]

Hi everyone,

I'm considering putting combined law as one of my preferences, however, I'm not sure whether I should do com/law or international studies/law. I've had a look at the courses on detail and found that both courses are quite interesting.

I'd like to work for the UN in the future (I know it's really difficult but just a goal to work towards), if not, maybe become a legal adviser for companies/banks. So just wondering, which one would serve me better in the legal field?

In comparison, is UNSW better or Usyd? For either international studies or commerce with combined law

Lastly, which of the two offers better exchange opportunities? As I'm aware that international studies at unsw requires a year of overseas program, so the length is 6 years in comparison to Usyd's 5 years. Is it worth it to go on exchange and will I be able to continue my law courses overseas?

Thanks a lot!

 

[seventhroot]

Hi everyone,

I'm considering putting combined law as one of my preferences, however, I'm not sure whether I should do com/law or international studies/law. I've had a look at the courses on detail and found that both courses are quite interesting.

I'd like to work for the UN in the future (I know it's really difficult but just a goal to work towards), if not, maybe become a legal adviser for companies/banks. So just wondering, which one would serve me better in the legal field?

In comparison, is UNSW better or Usyd? For either international studies or commerce with combined law

Lastly, which of the two offers better exchange opportunities? As I'm aware that international studies at unsw requires a year of overseas program, so the length is 6 years in comparison to Usyd's 5 years. Is it worth it to go on exchange and will I be able to continue my law courses overseas?

Thanks a lot!

asian -> comm/law
else -> whateves


yes you can continue studying overseas but it depends on how the course is structured you'll probs go on exchange when you are only doing int subjects which will count as course credit in most cases.

UNSW > USYD [same degree really, just a matter of preference]

legal field -> com/law. UN Stuff -> law/int

 

[obliviousninja]

UNSW commerce is better + party life

 

[wannaspoon]

legal field -> com/law. UN Stuff -> law/int

If you think you are going to work for the UN with a law degree, you're going to have a bad time...

DFAT, maybe... need years and years of experience in the field to work for the plebs in the UN... and you need to know French, English (another few other languages would also come in handy)...

 

[angelano33]

DFAT, maybe... need years and years of experience in the field to work for the plebs in the UN... and you need to know French, English (another few other languages would also come in handy)...

Yeah which is why I was thinking doing international studies with a major in French studies might help? Since I've done four years of French already. Also I'm Chinese so I can speak fluent Chinese as well.

But I don't want to get a government job if I fail to get into the UN. So in regards to working as a legal adviser, will commerce be more useful?

 

[strawberrye]

Yeah which is why I was thinking doing international studies with a major in French studies might help? Since I've done four years of French already. Also I'm Chinese so I can speak fluent Chinese as well.

But I don't want to get a government job if I fail to get into the UN. So in regards to working as a legal adviser, will commerce be more useful?

To be honest, if you wish to work in the legal field, it doesn't really matter what degree you combine law with, many people with a combined degree of law and arts works in the commerce field, and indeed, excel in it. Also consider what type of a learner you are, in UNSW-law is taught in small classes, there are no big lecture halls, and class participation accounts for 20% of your marks for first year law courses, so if you enjoy discussions, then UNSW is ideal, but if you would prefer to learn the law as a part of a big lecture group-then USYD might be the better option. I think the UNSW open day is coming up soon, you might want to attend and ask the relevant career advisers to make an informed decision

 

[seventhroot]

Yeah which is why I was thinking doing international studies with a major in French studies might help? Since I've done four years of French already. Also I'm Chinese so I can speak fluent Chinese as well.

But I don't want to get a government job if I fail to get into the UN. So in regards to working as a legal adviser, will commerce be more useful?

become a supa spy

If you think you are going to work for the UN with a law degree, you're going to have a bad time...

DFAT, maybe... need years and years of experience in the field to work for the plebs in the UN... and you need to know French, English (another few other languages would also come in handy)...

Well techncally I wouldn't think they would need only lawyers wannaspoon, they would probably also need accountants, analysis and probably even engineers

 

[RishBonjour99]

Hi everyone,

I'm considering putting combined law as one of my preferences, however, I'm not sure whether I should do com/law or international studies/law. I've had a look at the courses on detail and found that both courses are quite interesting.

I'd like to work for the UN in the future (I know it's really difficult but just a goal to work towards), if not, maybe become a legal adviser for companies/banks. So just wondering, which one would serve me better in the legal field?

In comparison, is UNSW better or Usyd? For either international studies or commerce with combined law

Lastly, which of the two offers better exchange opportunities? As I'm aware that international studies at unsw requires a year of overseas program, so the length is 6 years in comparison to Usyd's 5 years. Is it worth it to go on exchange and will I be able to continue my law courses overseas?

Thanks a lot!

If you scroll through some of the recent threads, you will find a few unsw law students trying to get into usyd law. That may indicate something. The type of work you are trying to get into, usyd would probably help you get there better in terms of the opportunities available. If you do comm, you can to work in washinton dc or study ucla/ucdc in your first or second year. There is also Paris exchange and a couple of others. These are just some specific programs - a lot more universities and countries are available for the business school and university wide.

For law, with regards to the classes again. Usyd has both lectures and tutorials. Tutorials are small (15 ish students) and that is where you are assessed on your discussion. You also get to consolidate and clarify anything you do not understand. I can't imagine my current guest lecturer having to repeat the lecture to 20 classes - it is just impractical to do so physically.

Also if you want to get into law, they couldn't care less about your secondary degree. A friend of mine with a wam in the 60s in arts and D in law made into a big 6 clerkship. They seem to ignore it for most divisions.

Go to the open days and see which you like more. It doesn't matter too much. Make a choice and stick to it (I was tossing up between unsw and usyd law too - turned out greaat)

 

[sweetalmond]

I writing this from a friends account:
Being a magna cum laude graduate from the University of Sydney, and having completed a doctorate in Law. Let me provide some insights as I was once in your opinion, I have experienced the years of law school and have known several people who chose the law track:
- Don't study law unless you PLAN to be a lawyer. It's a trade school for lawyers. If you are 100% sure of being a lawyer, go for it. But make sure you are absolutely sure of the reasons why. Lawyers lead extremely stressful lives, their work is very time-consuming. Law school is also quite expensive.
- Law school is stressful. There is a lot a lot a lot of reading. Be prepared to study hard. For Law, especially, You need to have a very HIGH level of english, so take the highest level you can for your HSC. That's what most universities would recommend English (advanced) and even better english extension 1. You will be thankful, having this on your side. also some universities like University of sydney require that you do the highest unit of english you can manage.
For law:
lots of people say it prepares you for other kinds of work, and trains your brain to do marvelous things. But if that’s all you want out of it, go take some continuing ed courses in History, Philosophy and Economics. A rigorous study of History will give you the same issue-spotting, researching and detail-checking that you’d get from law school — probably better. Philosophy will certainly give you a better grounding in logic, analysis, and reasoned argument. And Economics, along with the other two, will give you enough grounding in how people actually work, and why they do what they do.
- you said you wanted to work for the UN, well so says so many other law students, art students, political studies students...
Also if you plan to study international studies, then you will probably be given the opportunity to go overseas. It's a great experience and there are so many benefits. However, I would recommend a foreign-language country. Also if you plan to work for the UN or some large international organisations, NGOS you'll be required to know at least three to four languages. French is great, but if you were to work in Europe they don't care whether you know French. English is the language requirement nowadays and now that we are living in the "Asian century", having knowledge of at least 2 asian languages is important.
Finally, you don't know where you'll be in five years or ten years time. Going through law school isn't all fun and games, don't aim to high (personal experience), a lot of law students i know wanted to work for the UN, be a human rights lawyer, become a legal advisor or manager. But these kinds of jobs happen after years of experience unless your brilliant like lawyer Jennifer Robinson. I had the pleasure of meeting her, look her up on google. She did a law/ asian studies degree and she works for Julian Assange. But she was also exceptional in Uni, she was a rhodes scholar.

So MAKE SURE law is for you. I know so many miserable law students who have chosen law because they didn't want to waste their ATAR or they thought it was the "only" worthy Arts degree, it was and sounded prestigious. law is extremely competitive, so even if you get in, it'll be a battle and struggle as everyone aims to usurp each other.
With that in mind. Com/ Law. Not necessary. If you want to work in banks etc. you can just do commerce. Good luck choosing!

 

[sweetalmond]

also i've noticed you're doing a lot of maths. I'm not saying you can't do maths but i would think that taking some modern history and taking a few more languages would be helpful along with maths. if you're good at maths have you considered Actuarial Studies or engineering. You can still work for the UN as they also require engineers, scientists etc.

 

[Iwillget9995]

I writing this from a friends account:
Being a magna cum laude graduate from the University of Sydney, and having completed a doctorate in Law. Let me provide some insights as I was once in your opinion, I have experienced the years of law school and have known several people who chose the law track:
- Don't study law unless you PLAN to be a lawyer. It's a trade school for lawyers. If you are 100% sure of being a lawyer, go for it. But make sure you are absolutely sure of the reasons why. Lawyers lead extremely stressful lives, their work is very time-consuming. Law school is also quite expensive.
- Law school is stressful. There is a lot a lot a lot of reading. Be prepared to study hard. For Law, especially, You need to have a very HIGH level of english, so take the highest level you can for your HSC. That's what most universities would recommend English (advanced) and even better english extension 1. You will be thankful, having this on your side. also some universities like University of sydney require that you do the highest unit of english you can manage.
For law:
lots of people say it prepares you for other kinds of work, and trains your brain to do marvelous things. But if that’s all you want out of it, go take some continuing ed courses in History, Philosophy and Economics. A rigorous study of History will give you the same issue-spotting, researching and detail-checking that you’d get from law school — probably better. Philosophy will certainly give you a better grounding in logic, analysis, and reasoned argument. And Economics, along with the other two, will give you enough grounding in how people actually work, and why they do what they do.
- you said you wanted to work for the UN, well so says so many other law students, art students, political studies students...
Also if you plan to study international studies, then you will probably be given the opportunity to go overseas. It's a great experience and there are so many benefits. However, I would recommend a foreign-language country. Also if you plan to work for the UN or some large international organisations, NGOS you'll be required to know at least three to four languages. French is great, but if you were to work in Europe they don't care whether you know French. English is the language requirement nowadays and now that we are living in the "Asian century", having knowledge of at least 2 asian languages is important.
Finally, you don't know where you'll be in five years or ten years time. Going through law school isn't all fun and games, don't aim to high (personal experience), a lot of law students i know wanted to work for the UN, be a human rights lawyer, become a legal advisor or manager. But these kinds of jobs happen after years of experience unless your brilliant like lawyer Jennifer Robinson. I had the pleasure of meeting her, look her up on google. She did a law/ asian studies degree and she works for Julian Assange. But she was also exceptional in Uni, she was a rhodes scholar.

So MAKE SURE law is for you. I know so many miserable law students who have chosen law because they didn't want to waste their ATAR or they thought it was the "only" worthy Arts degree, it was and sounded prestigious. law is extremely competitive, so even if you get in, it'll be a battle and struggle as everyone aims to usurp each other.
With that in mind. Com/ Law. Not necessary. If you want to work in banks etc. you can just do commerce. Good luck choosing!

This guy is complete shit. First, basically no one does a doctorate of law. If they did, I highly doubt they'd be posting on a website for high school students. Second, while people tend to treat Law as a generalist degree, that's actually not too bad - it's great as a degree that teaches you how to think, and is a powerful signal to potential employers. Also, doing Extension 1 English is not going to improve anyone's English skills. Ever. Learning how to analyse a text at it's minutiae is not going to improve your capacity to parse complex legal language - you'll either be able to, or you won't. But apart from that, I reckon go for it1

 

[Futuremedstudent]

also i've noticed you're doing a lot of maths. I'm not saying you can't do maths but i would think that taking some modern history and taking a few more languages would be helpful along with maths. if you're good at maths have you considered Actuarial Studies or engineering. You can still work for the UN as they also require engineers, scientists etc.

nah, people get into law with subjects like 4unit maths, adv english and the sciences. Also OP is in year 12, so changing subjects at this stage is impossible.

 

[sweetalmond]

My friend is actually doing a doctor of philosophy in Law at the University of Sydney. He does research. I happened to be on the law forum when he saw this thread.

 

[angelano33]

thanks everyone for the reply! I've decided to do law at UNSW, because there's a new degree offered next year - music/law. This has made my decision much easier as music has always been my passion and this combination was only offered at Monash and ANU previously.