Juris Doctor

Course structure

The Juris Doctor (JD) course comprises 24 subjects, including 16 compulsory subjects, and upon successful completion leads to admission to legal practice within Australia.

You can pursue particular areas of interest through your elective subject selection. Melbourne Law School’s elective offerings are extensive and continually evolving to reflect current developments in law and legal practice. Examples of electives include commercial law, international human rights law, environmental law, intellectual property law and new technology law. You also have the opportunity to undertake two subjects from the Melbourne Law Masters program as electives.

Melbourne Law School offers a variety of course structures to provide you with the flexibility to tailor your studies. The full-time course is three years in duration.  If you study part time, you can complete the degree in four to six years. You can also accelerate to two and a half years, subject to approval. Each year, all study commences with a February intensive subject, Legal Method and Reasoning.

Time commitment

Most JD subjects are taught during either Semester 1 or Semester 2 of the academic year. Some classes are taught on a more intensive basis during the summer or winter non-teaching period. The total time commitment listed in the Handbook for each subject includes classes, pre-reading, asynchronous learning activities and assessment tasks.

For compulsory subjects, the total time commitment is 144 hours per subject, including between 36 and 48 hours of class time. Classes for the compulsory subjects taught across the semester are typically timetabled throughout the day, including later in the day. This means that whether you choose to study full time or part time, you have flexibility to build a schedule for your studies.

In elective subjects, the standard time commitment is 144 hours per subject, including 36 hours of class time (with some variations). The timetable for electives will vary depending on each subject, but there will be a selection of subjects timetabled later in the day to suit students who require additional flexibility. Students can also take electives as intensives in summer and winter.

Single subjects for overseas practitioners

A limited number of subjects are available as single subjects for overseas qualified applicants from a recognised institution who hold a professional entry academic qualification in law. Single subjects are not available to students with an Australian qualification. Learn more