Bachelor of Criminal and Community Justice / Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (Dual Degree)

at Western Sydney University - Parramatta South Campus Australia

Tailor your studies to your specific goals by combining our Bachelor of Arts degree with the Bachelor of Creative Industries degree.

When you graduate after four years, you have two degrees, and the unique skills relevant to the contemporary employment environment.

The Arts component combines academic knowledge with practical real life training. It is designed to equip you with a broad range of skills and knowledge in research and critical enquiry, and is sufficiently flexible to cater to a range of career aspirations and personal interests.

In the Creative Industries component you will combine a core of entrepreneurship with major studies including culture and society, creative writing, design, enterprise innovation, journalism, literature, media arts, music performance and photo media.

Media Arts Production

The major in Media Arts Production is designed to provide students with production skills, complete with practical hands-on experience together with a theoretical foundation in the moving, visual media. From 2017 this specialisation is available on Parramatta campus only.

This double degree allows you to tailor your studies to your speci?c goals by combining your Bachelor of Social Science with our accredited Bachelor of Laws degree. The Bachelor of Social Science will expand your knowledge through theory, research and practical application and offers you a deep understanding of our complex, culturally diverse and dynamic world. The social science degree is a broadly based, inter-disciplinary program that provides flexibility and choice within a range of social science subject offerings. The degree seeks to equip students with the interdisciplinary and specialist skills and knowledge that a new graduate would need on entering the workforce or on proceeding to advanced study.

The Bachelor of Laws program satisfies the academic degree requirements for admission to practice as an Australian lawyer. Students will engage in collaborative face-to-face problem and case-based learning, will be supported by online learning materials, and will participate in authentic assessment to develop knowledge and skills.

 Peace and Development Studies

The Peace and Development Studies major is concerned with methods for promoting peace, human rights and sustainability. It involves a critical analysis of inequalities of power and opportunity that lead to international and local conflict, social dislocation and environmental degradation.

Students will examine the structural causes of racist and gendered violence, environmental crises, forced migration, poverty, resource conflict, and inter-generational inequity. The inter-related network of solutions includes empowerment and self-determination, sustainable living, constructive development, peacemaking and peace building. These require understanding of the theories and method for identifying, measuring and resolving conflict and environmental degradation. The assumptions and failings of traditional development practice are critically assessed.

Students will engage social theory within an interdisciplinary and applied framework, at local, national and international levels. The major is comprised of three fields: 1) structural inequality, social justice & human rights; 2) development and sustainability; 3) peace and humanitarian responses/actions.

This double degree program is designed in recognition of the globalising nature of the information technology industry.

In the IT area, the program allows students to develop skills in application development, program design, systems analysis and design, networks, web-design, and the implementation of technology.

 Geography  and Urban Studies

Geography is the integrated study of people, places and environments. In this major, you will examine the geography of contemporary Australian cities and regions. The interests of today’s geographers include post-colonialism, the emergence of global information economies, indigenous issues, class and cultural disparities, population movement, sexuality and space, and the global diffusion of popular culture.

Urban Studies is a discipline focused on social justice within the city, through its critical assessments of people’s access to scarce urban resources, such as housing, transport, education and employment.

The political, economic and cultural forces that shape cities and urban policy are the key concerns of the Urban Studies curriculum. These applied interests in urban wellbeing and city structure are the intellectual basis for the urban planning profession.

Tailor your studies to your specific goals by combining our Bachelor of Communication degree with a Bachelor of Business degree. 

Through classwork, independent study and engagement with the multicultural nature of our communities, students develop an understanding of the local and international relevance of their chosen studies, with opportunities to develop and produce a range of media outcomes as applied research and professional projects throughout their studies.

Students complete a capstone subject in engaged learning that equips them as ‘business ready’ in terms of dealing with real world business issues and problems and generating real world business solutions.

 International Business

The global economy is becoming increasingly important for organisations seeking out new opportunities to expand their customer base and develop partnerships. Managers who are well versed in the needs of doing business internationally and who can exploit these opportunities will therefore play an integral role in any such corporation.

Building on a solid foundation in domestic business education, including global sustainability, international business strategy, managing in a global environment, and international marketing, this major equips graduates with the detailed knowledge of the international dimension of business and the necessary understanding of the workings of that market system.

This double degree is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Business.

Study in the Bachelor of Arts component is designed to develop communication and personal skills, creativity and a capacity for independent thought, adaptability to new situations and problem-solving skills, attributes increasingly demanded by employers.

 Islamic Studies

Students engage in interdisciplinary study essential to an understanding of Islam, past and present. The area of study balances historical and modern Islamic studies and research methods.

One of the keys to Islamic Studies is ‘relevance’ to contemporary Australian society but relevance can only come from a sound comprehension of past traditions in Islamic scholarship and their socio-historical contexts.

Preparation for graduate study is also a key objective of this program, with its focus on developing critical and interdisciplinary research skills through a combination of approaches. Students are encouraged to undertake a sub-major in Arabic to complement the Islamic Studies major.

This combined degree offers you a unique opportunity to gain the creative and business skills necessary to prosper in the contemporary innovation landscape.

Underpinned by a foundation of graphic design, the Bachelor of Design gives you fundamental skills and knowledge in the exciting and constantly changing area of visual communication.

The Creative Industries component combines a core of entrepreneurship with major studies including culture and society, creative writing, design, enterprise innovation, journalism, literature, media arts, music performance and photo media.

The program is designed for those who wish to pursue a creative practice while gaining the business and legal acumen to become a successful part of the creative economy on their own terms.

Law and the Creative Industries

The Law and the Creative Industries major equips you with specialised legal skills and knowledge to support your career in the creative industries in Australia.

In this major you will develop tailored, strategic knowledge to enable you to effectively contribute to business decision making and to appreciate the legal and regulatory challenges within the context of creative and innovative enterprises.

The units in this major focus on the fundamentals of Australian law, critique and analysis of law, contracts, torts, alternative dispute resolution and media law, with the option to also incorporate studies in competition and consumer law, intellectual property and law within the employment context. The legal and regulatory focus of this major will provide you with specialised knowledge and skills designed to enhance your access to a range of careers within the creative industries sector. Students are advised that this specialisation does not qualify students for admission to legal practice in NSW. Students wishing to pursue a career in legal practice should apply for one of the relevant Bachelor of Laws courses. For further information, please contact the Academic Course Advisor for the Bachelor of Laws as noted below.

This double degree offers a highly valued career path in criminology and law. The Bachelor of Criminology degree offers students the opportunity to study crime and criminal justice in both a conceptual and an applied way that particularly stresses social and cultural definitions of criminality and the reactions to it.

The Bachelor of Laws program satisfies the academic degree requirements for admission to practice as an Australian lawyer. Students will engage in collaborative face-to-face problem and case-based learning, will be supported by online learning materials, and will participate in authentic assessment to develop knowledge and skills.

Areas of focus in the Bachelor of Criminology include criminal justice institutions and practices, the development of criminology as a discipline and its various strands, forms and patterns of victimisation, crime prevention strategies and debates, aspects of juvenile justice, the evolution of prisons and different forms of punishment, law enforcement and surveillance, violence, gender and crime, and cultural depictions of crime and contemporary debates in criminology. The degree addresses the criminalisation of disadvantage through race, class, disability and gender, with a focus on the nexus between social and criminal justice. This will equip students with the specialist skills and knowledge that a new graduate would need on entering the workforce or on proceeding to advanced study.

The Bachelor of Laws provides students with a broad progressive legal education with a strong practical orientation to the law. Students develop skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, research, communication, collaboration, self-management, and ethical and professional awareness and judgement. Students will also develop skills in legal advocacy, negotiation, and legal technology and extend their professional and learning experiences through work integrated learning, clinical placement and international exchange engagements.

This double degree allows you to tailor your studies to your speci?c goals by combining your Bachelor of Social Science with our accredited Bachelor of Laws degree. The Bachelor of Social Science will expand your knowledge through theory, research and practical application and offers you a deep understanding of our complex, culturally diverse and dynamic world. The social science degree is a broadly based, inter-disciplinary program that provides flexibility and choice within a range of social science subject offerings. The degree seeks to equip students with the interdisciplinary and specialist skills and knowledge that a new graduate would need on entering the workforce or on proceeding to advanced study.

The Bachelor of Laws program satisfies the academic degree requirements for admission to practice as an Australian lawyer. Students will engage in collaborative face-to-face problem and case-based learning, will be supported by online learning materials, and will participate in authentic assessment to develop knowledge and skills.

Child and Community

The Child and Community major provides a comprehensive introduction to a range of social sciences related areas and a strong grounding in contemporary issues facing children and their families from a critical perspective. This major provides a good foundation for people interested in a career in the human services with a particular interest in children.

The major seeks to equip students with multi-cultural knowledge as well as to provide a thorough grounding in research methods and ethics with utility in a variety of professional and academic contexts.

The Bachelor of Laws (Non-Graduate Entry) program satisfies the academic degree requirements for admission to practice as an Australian lawyer. Students will engage in collaborative face-to-face problem and case-based learning, will be supported by online learning materials, and will participate in authentic assessment to develop knowledge and skills.

The Bachelor of Laws (Non-Graduate Entry) provides students with a broad progressive legal education with a strong practical orientation to the law. Students develop skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, research, communication, collaboration, self-management, and ethical and professional awareness and judgement. Students will also develop skills in legal advocacy, negotiation, and legal technology and extend their professional and learning experiences through work integrated learning, clinical placement and international exchange engagements. Students are further supported to broaden their academic interest and to extend their career options by undertaking an additional year of non-law study in an academic area or areas of their own choice.

This program is designed to equip you with the required knowledge and skills for legal practice. You will graduate with the ability to analyse legal material and understand fundamental legal principles. You will also gain an understanding of the relationship between law and society and undertake specialised study into the Australian legal system.

Even if you are not seeking to practise as a lawyer, your learning will be enriched by exposure to the ethos and practice of law.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Social Sciences.

It will give you the skills and versatility to work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives and communication skills.

You need to include a Social Science Major, so you can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Social Science program structure.

Peace and Development Studies

The Peace and Development Studies major is concerned with inequalities of power and opportunity that lead to international and local conflict, uneven development, social dislocation and environmental degradation. This major examines the structural causes of racist and gendered violence, environmental crises, forced migration, poverty, resource conflict, and inter-generational inequity.

You will be introduced to theories and methods for identifying, measuring and resolving conflict and environmental degradation. Constructive solutions include empowerment and self-determination, sustainable living, peace building and conflict resolution strategies.

The major is organised around three fields of inquiry: structural inequality, social justice and human rights; development and sustainability; and peace and humanitarian responses/ actions.

During your studies, you will engage with social theory within an interdisciplinary and applied framework of important civic and global issues.