Subjects overview
This program can be completed in 3 years 4 months (10 semesters)
This program can be completed in 3 years 4 months (10 semesters)
Students must complete three (3) subjects plus the Beyond Bond Program.
In this subject, students will be introduced to critical thinking and clear expression. They will evaluate arguments, identify assumptions, judge patterns of inference, and recognise and apply various methods of reasoning. Students will learn how to clarify and visually represent their thinking to make better decisions, evaluate and use evidence, and communicate more effectively in their writing and speaking. Using these skills, students will structure and write an academic essay and deliver an oral presentation.
Read moreIntegrity, and the courage and capability to act on one’s sense of responsibility, are key components of a thriving life. Responsibility, Integrity and Civic Discourse fosters students’ lifelong commitment to responsible discourse and action in all spheres of human interaction, recognising the global aspect to contemporary citizenship. Students explore the complex relationship between character, responsible action, and creative critical thinking, learning how to reflect on and articulate their unique sense of global citizenship and responsibility. By accentuating the importance of justification and articulation of the reasons for our actions, students exercise their critical, communicative, and cooperative capabilities so that they can thrive with integrity in the multiple contexts of action they will face as private, civic, professional, and global citizens.
Read moreIn today's work and study environments, individuals often encounter complex, open-ended problems that necessitate collaboration in both physical and virtual realms and across sectors and specialisations. In Collaboration for Global Change, students engage collaboratively to craft genuine solutions for global issues. In this context, students link their endeavours to specific sustainable development goals, thus positioning their actions as contributions to global citizenship. As they learn to defend their ideas and perspectives, students apply critical thinking, design thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills within a problem-based learning environment. This comprehensive approach equips them with the necessary skills and mindset to excel in future work, academic pursuits, and global initiatives.
Read moreTo keep up with the ever-changing work landscape, we aim to help our students future-proof their careers by developing broader employability skills that are actively sought out by employers. Unique to our University, Beyond Bond is a compulsory professional development program with a practical, activity-based approach that is integrated into all undergraduate degrees.
Students must complete the following two hundred and sixty credit points (260CP) of subjects.
In this subject, you will learn essential and foundational creative and technical skills necessary for successful careers in the creative and communications industries. You will learn the theoretical and practical fundamentals of visual, textual, and audio design and narrative across multiple digital and online platforms. Across the semester, you will build a portfolio of creative communication pieces. This multi-platform approach aligns with industry needs and expectations to equip you with foundational skills to carry you forward through your program and into the workplace.
Read moreThis foundational subject introduces the Communication discipline and establishes the importance of communication to our personal and professional lives. The subject focuses on the knowledge and understanding of communication needed to succeed in industry - and indeed - life. We apply key models, theories, and concepts to a wide range of communication issues and contexts, including close relationships, gender and diversity, social media, persuasion, and organisational culture.
Read moreWhether the goal is to convince one person through conversation, sway a small group of work colleagues, or win over the public, the act of persuasion lies at the heart of the human experience. This subject investigates how you can convince others to change their attitudes and behaviour to (ethically) accomplish your goals through public speaking and writing. Taking an audience-centred approach to communication, you will examine the broader societal issues that shape our understanding of audiences and their behaviours. The persuasive power of narratives and stories will also be examined, based on the idea that individuals can integrate information from stories into their real-world belief structures. This subject aims to equip you with the skills to be influential and discerning creators and consumers of persuasive messages within various contexts.
Read moreIn this subject, you will learn about significant issues, topics, theories, and practices in contemporary workplace communication from both an employee and a managerial perspective. The subject aims to help you understand how workplace communication functions to guide you in making your own strategic communication choices and make sense of others’ communication. You will learn about employee socialisation, managerial and leadership communication, workplaces as cultures, communication channels and structures, communication and decision-making, communication between employees, conflict communication, power and resistance, reactions to change, and communication during transitions. Throughout the subject, you will analyse various organisational communication issues and make recommendations for change. The subject considers many different workplace communication scenarios, and students will have ample opportunities to lead discussions.
Read moreThis subject provides you with theories and approaches to critically assess the relationship between mass and popular media and society. You will study and research how media represents our world, shapes our experiences, and exercises power in society. The subject gives special attention to how news is selected, produced, and disseminated. To develop your personal and professional understanding of mass and popular media, the subject considers many different examples and offers many opportunities to lead discussions with classmates. You will also produce a video essay based upon an interview and research.
Read moreInterpersonal Communication is the fundamental relational force that constructs our social world, enabling us to create, maintain, and (not occasionally) destroy our personal, social, and professional relationships. This subject introduces the specialist Communication sub-discipline of Interpersonal Communication. It focuses on understanding the Self in relation to Others as a means of enabling more competent and mindful communication. The subject explores a range of interpersonal topics, including perception, verbal and nonverbal communication, emotion, disclosure, and conflict communication through both theory and practice.
Read moreThis subject examines changes to the global media environment to help you prepare to become a knowledge worker who will work in the rapidly changing professional employment market. Some of the most profound changes have occurred in global communication networks, digitalisation of media, mobile content creation and delivery, human-machine interaction, virtualisation, artificial intelligence, big data, and video, sound and text democratisation. These global media trends are examined in their social context drawing on interdisciplinary studies that include humanities, arts, social sciences, and business. You will learn about these and you will create professional public media content to demonstrate your digital knowledge and skills.
Read moreIdeas are the most valuable currency a communications or creative arts professional has. This subject is all about developing a sustained piece of creative practice or research, from idea to execution. It is an opportunity for you to attempt the kind of work you admire in industry, in the process creating a substantial communication portfolio piece that reflects the cumulative learning from your degree and mastery of your chosen discipline. You may work individually or in collaboration with a small team within the fields of advertising, communication, creative writing, journalism, media studies, social media, public relations, and film and television, or develop a hybrid project that falls within the spaces among these disciplines. You will first establish the scope, limitations and context of your work, situating it within its industry contexts/comparisons and identifying the market and audience for it. Classes will take the form of workshops, where you will have access to substantial peer and instructor feedback. The subject will also explore models of productivity and sustained creative practise, pitching, freelance and client work models, project management and the transformative power of communication, creative practice, and research.
Read moreThe ability to find, read, interpret and learn from data has become critical in determining the future of all human endeavours. This subject introduces you to principles and applications of research methodology. You will explore research purposes, methods and tools for data selection, interpretation and analysis. You will also learn how to present your findings and visualise data in ways that address the needs of diverse educational and industry contexts. This subject will equip you with lifelong skills to design, execute and present research of integrity in their current studies and future professions.
Read moreLegal Foundations A is an introductory compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject examines the nature and sources of law, with a primary focus on legal problem solving. Emphasis is placed on the development of the following skills: legal research and reasoning, and legal writing and drafting.
Read moreLegal Foundations B is an introductory compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject examines a broad range of foundational topics, including legal history, legal theory, legal practice and procedure, and legal careers. Emphasis is placed on the development of the following skills: oral communication and advocacy, dispute resolution and collaboration, and legal ethics and professionalism.
Read moreFoundations of Private Law is an introductory compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject introduces the structure and sources of private law and the process of private law reasoning. It also provides an overview of tort law, examines a range of specific torts including nuisance and trespass, and considers relevant remedies as well as vicarious liability. Emphasis is placed on the development of legal writing and drafting skills.
Read moreFoundations of Public and Criminal Law is an introductory compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject introduces the aims, doctrines and institutions of public law and criminal law and procedure. It considers the separation of powers and constraints on the exercise of power, as well as accountability institutions. It introduces students to Public International Law and Rights and specifically considers rights in the criminal law context as well as general doctrines of criminal law. Emphasis is placed on the development of legal research and reasoning skills.
Read moreContract Law A is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject examines the nature and preconditions of contractual liability. This includes study of the requirements for the formation of a contract, the law's approach to terms that comprise a contract, and the various ways in which a contract might be discharged. Emphasis is placed on the development of the following skills: dispute resolution and collaboration, and legal ethics and professionalism.
Read moreTort Law is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject focuses on the elements of liability in the tort of negligence, including duty of care, breach of duty, damages, and defences to liability. Attention is also paid to the general issue of the balance of risk and benefit in establishing liability and to particular problems associated with establishing a duty of care in negligence. Emphasis is placed on the development of legal research and reasoning skills.
Read moreCriminal Law is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject examines criminal offences (including fatal and non-fatal offences against the person, and offences against property), criminal defences (including accident, mistake, self-defence, provocation and insanity), and criminal procedure (including preliminary examination, indictments, pre-trial applications, trial, verdicts, sentencing and appeal). Emphasis is placed on the development of the following skills: oral communication and advocacy, and legal ethics and professionalism.
Read moreProperty Law A is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject introduces the general principles of the law relating to property (real and personal property). It covers a range of topics including the meaning, purposes and categories of property, the concepts of ownership and possession, the fragmentation of proprietary interests, personal property security interests, and the Torrens system of land title. Emphasis is placed on the development of legal writing and drafting skills.
Read moreConstitutional Law is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. This subject examines the fundamentals of Australian constitutional law, often in a comparative context. Topics considered include the rule of law, the separation of powers, principles of constitutional interpretation, the rules governing exercises of legislative, executive and judicial power, constitutional change, constitutional principles relating to individual rights and freedoms, the relationship between federal, state and territory governments, including inconsistency of laws, and fiscal federalism. Emphasis is placed on the development of legal research and reasoning skills.
Read moreContract Law B is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject builds on the content of Contract Law A to examine the impact on contractual obligations of common law doctrines, equitable principles and statutory initiatives. This includes consideration of misleading conduct, unconscionable and illegal contracts, consumer contracts, and remedies for breach of contract. Emphasis is placed on the development of oral communication and advocacy skills.
Read moreProperty Law B is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject builds upon the real property concepts covered in Property Law A to examine topics relevant to real property transactions including co-ownership, mortgages, easements, licences and leasehold estates, covenants and boundaries, strata title and native title. Emphasis is placed on the development of the following skills: dispute resolution and collaboration, and legal ethics and professionalism.
Read moreCorporate Law is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject examines the law relating to registered companies, focusing on the formation, management, governance, financing, and dissolution of corporate entities, often drawing on comparative and transnational examples and themes. Specific topics include the incorporation process and the concept of corporate personality, the corporate constitution and replaceable rules, share capital and dividends, directors’ duties and defences, shareholders’ rights and remedies, and winding up of companies. Emphasis is placed on the development of the following skills: oral communication and advocacy, and legal ethics and professionalism.
Read moreEquity is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject builds on concepts encountered in other private law subjects to explore the principles of equity and the law of trusts. It considers the origins and history of the equitable jurisdiction; the relationship between equity and common law; and essential concepts and doctrines of equity, including fiduciary duties and equitable remedies. The subject also provides an introduction to the law of trusts, focusing on types of trusts, their creation, and the rights and obligations that follow from trusteeship. Emphasis is placed on the development of legal research and reasoning.
Read moreAdministrative Law is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject examines the nature and scope of judicial and administrative review of government decisions and actions, at both the federal and state level. Topics include access to government information (freedom of information and access to reasons), ombudsman, merits review tribunals and judicial review under the Constitution/common law and statute. Emphasis is placed on the development of legal writing and drafting skills.
Read moreEvidence is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject examines the law and practice relating to evidence in civil and criminal proceedings, focusing on substantive admissibility and procedural rules. Topics covered include basic principles and categories of evidence, competence, compellability and examination of witnesses, privilege, the hearsay rule and its exceptions, admissions and confessions, and illegally obtained evidence. Emphasis is placed on the demonstration of the following skills: legal research and reasoning, and oral communication and advocacy.
Read moreCivil Dispute Resolution is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject examines the procedures involved in initiating, conducting, resolving, enforcing, or appealing the outcome of civil proceedings in state and federal courts. Specific attention is paid to jurisdiction, commencing proceedings, joinder of claims and parties, pleadings and amendment of pleadings, disclosure, interlocutory applications, settlement, costs, and execution of judgments and appeals. The subject also considers alternative methods of dispute resolution, in particular, negotiation, mediation and arbitration. Emphasis is placed on the demonstration of the following skills: legal writing and drafting, and dispute resolution and collaboration.
Read moreLegal Profession is a compulsory subject in the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the Faculty of Law. The subject focuses on the regulation of the legal profession and the scope of lawyers’ professional responsibilities, including operation of trust accounts. Emphasis is placed on the demonstration of legal ethics and professionalism skills.
Read moreStudents must complete one (1) of the following Minors (40CP).
Advertising is not only one of the most dynamic and fastest growing areas of the creative industries – it is also one of the most diverse and innovative. Once upon a time advertising was mainly about TV, print and radio. Nowadays it is also about social media, viral and experiential marketing, service design and product innovation, wearables and artificial intelligence … and whatever new media channels and technologies will become available in coming years. This minor introduces you to the sophisticated and cross-disciplinary world of advertising by focusing on these creative dynamics and opportunities. It also puts a strong emphasis on the potential for advertising to work as a driver and catalyst of social innovation, enabling you to approach a broad range of communication, business and societal challenges with creative confidence and a solution mindset.
Corporate Storytelling explores how to create and share organisational stories to connect with audiences in a meaningful way. This minor investigates how cohesive narratives can become an effective means of bringing an organisation’s brand identity and values to life, stimulating a connection and engagement with their wider public. Students will apply persuasive and strategic communication theories to find and develop compelling and ethical narratives across multiple platforms. Students will develop flexibility in applying strong written, oral, and visual storytelling skills to diverse situations, technologies, and audiences. This creativity is critical in diverse professional roles including public relations, journalism, advertising and social media.
A good story engages our emotions, empathy and curiosity; stories can also be powerful catalysts for change, persuasive motivators and the key entrepreneurial success. Within this minor, you will explore how to tell original and compelling stories across a range of formats, genres and platforms. You will study how to develop theme, character, dialogue, plot/structure, voice, style, imagery and how to use a range of literary devices. You will also learn how to critique, pitch and market your stories and how to navigate publishing and self-publishing landscapes. Not only will these skills serve you well as a writer, you’ll also be encouraged to apply your narrative skills and techniques to other fields: from entrepreneurial storytelling to health narratives, professional narratives, social media narratives and much in between.
The minor in Communication & Society provides you with deeper knowledge and skills in the theory and practice of Persuasion, which underpins all fields of Communication, and in Gender and Intercultural Communication. The minor also provides you with a thorough introduction to one professional area of Communication – choice of either Advertising, Public Relations, or an in-depth study of how to use Social Media to influence others. This selection of subjects is designed to help you deepen your understanding of Communication theory and practice in both public and private life. Understanding Gender Communication is especially important as it pervades all aspects of our lives and can help each of us work towards improving our relationships with differing others. So, too, a deeper understanding of Intercultural Communication will help us build better relationships with those who are linguistically and ethnically diverse and provides important learning for those who desire careers in international and multicultural environments.
The Digital Media minor equips learners with a holistic approach to critically reflect and analyse new innovations and solutions as they relate to emerging digital media design methods and the changing job market due to disruptive technological change. Students will accumulate a diverse and coherent body of knowledge focused on the understanding and application of digital design methods, standards and industry best practices to develop a collaborative problem-solving strategy. Using an integrated approach (combining theory with workplace practice), students will be enabled to skilfully communicate design solutions outcomes to complex problems; through effective oral, written and visual communication techniques.
From listicles through to longform investigative reporting and web documentaries, true stories have the potential to hold power to account, right unfair structures, document social, historical and environmental issues, entertain audiences and reflect and define culture. Journalism has expanded beyond legacy media (print and broadcast) to embrace digital transformation and journalistic skills are now being sought and applied across industries. This discipline is grounded in core journalistic traditions and values of truth, fairness and accuracy but with a digital-first ethos. In this minor, you will explore how to harness and exploit established and emerging technologies to create career opportunities and new pathways. You will develop a portfolio of original content across a range of platforms and are encouraged to explore established and emerging digital storytelling technologies and techniques.
The Media Studies minor provides you with a foundation for studying the media by engaging you in theoretical and practical aspects of media representations, media channels, audiences, news production, digitalisation of media, the media industry, and global media trends. It also allows you to immerse yourself in the field through selective study in digital advertising, media and crime, screen style and storytelling, the video game industry, international relations, the future of media in journalism, or media strategies in public relations.
The public relations minor comprehensively prepares you for a career in strategic communications and public relations. You are introduced to public relations from a management perspective as a critical function in all industries across corporate, government and not-for-profit organisations. The minor delivers a wide-ranging conceptual, theoretical, and practical framework demonstrating how public relations managers develop communication processes and manage relationships with organisational publics and stakeholders. You will evaluate the profession’s current structure and future directions, learn concepts of public relations management, discuss ethical practices, and learn public relations strategies and techniques. You will develop flexibility in applying strategic written, oral, visual, social media, issues management, and crisis communication skills in diverse situations, technologies, and audiences. You will apply this knowledge to engage with real clients, primarily from the not-for-profit sector, to creating and pitching authentic public relations campaigns.
Digital and social media literacy is critical if you are seeking a career in marketing and communications industries. In this minor, you will gain a sophisticated understanding of the role of digital and social media in everyday and corporate life in a local and global context. You will learn via a hands-on, practical approach underpinned with applied theoretical knowledge. The minor provides you with the skills and experience in the development of innovative analytical solutions to real world communication challenges, in digital content analysis and creation and in creative entrepreneurship, all informed by industry best practice. You will use persuasive and strategic communication strategies, and advanced design skills, to develop compelling and ethical narratives and campaigns across multiple platforms. Crucially, you will learn how to stay up to date, and innovate, in this ever-changing field. These skills are critical in diverse professional roles including public relations, journalism, advertising, web design, social media, and marketing.
Students must choose seventy credit points (70CP) of subjects from the following electives.
Any Law undergraduate subject that has a code beginning with LAWS13 or LAWS17.
Students are encouraged to undertake an optional Major. This will replace sixty credit points (60CP) of elective subjects.
Students are encouraged to tailor their study with an optional Specialisation. This will replace forty credit points (40CP) of elective subjects.
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Take the guess work out of planning your study schedule. Your program's study plan has been carefully curated to provide a clear guide on the sequential subjects to be studied in each semester of your program. Your study plan is designed around connected subject themes to equip you with the fundamental knowledge required as you progress through your course.