Bachelor of Laws

Summary

Get professional skills and knowledge in public law, commercial law, international law, common law and statute law.

Study our legal system in depth while you learn new skills and ways of thinking. The Bachelor of Laws prepares you to thrive in a legal career or in any other career you choose—in New Zealand or abroad.

Study the foundations of law

Law is one of the forces that keeps society functioning. Culture, economy, family ties, and international relationships all exist within a legal framework.

A law degree sets you up to practise law in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as overseas in places like Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

If you’re interested in how laws govern society and how laws are made—and you love communicating ideas and solving problems—the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) is right for you.

Get a taste for university

Watch this short taster lecture to help you decide which degree is right for you. If you're curious to explore more, check out our full library of taster lectures.

Scholarships for international students

We are currently offering a NZ$15,000 VUW Undergraduate International Scholarship to all eligible international students enrolling in a Bachelor’s degree. Your scholarship will be processed automatically when your programme application is accepted, and the amount will be deducted from your tuition fees.

Study with the Wellington Faculty of Law

Where you choose to study Law matters. A qualification from the Faculty of Law at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington is highly regarded both in New Zealand and internationally.

You’ll be supported on your study journey, and develop your thinking and skills along the way—rather than focusing solely on the outcome of getting your qualification.

Why Wellington

The Pipitea Campus in Wellington is right at the centre of legal and political action in Aotearoa—with Parliament, the Supreme Court, the High Court, and law firms nearby. Learn from award-winning, world-leading scholars—including practising lawyers—who care about teaching you.

Globally ranked

This programme is ranked in the top 100 worldwide in the QS World University Rankings 2026.

The QS World University Rankings is an annual global publication that gives overall rankings and subject rankings for more than 1,500 universities worldwide.

What you’ll learn

Study legal analysis techniques and understand how laws are made, applied, and enforced. You’ll explore both New Zealand law and international law.

Learn the fundamentals

Learn skills in communication, problem-solving, research, and independent thinking. Through the LLB, you’ll gain a solid grounding in different aspects of law, including:

• public law—how we control our government
• commercial law—law that supports business and negotiations
• international law—how law supports international relations
• common law—a methodology and way of doing law used in courts in many places around the world
• statute law—how to read and write the law made by an Act of Parliament.

Tikanga Māori as a part of your study

In your Bachelor of Laws, you’ll learn about the development of the two legal systems in Aotearoa New Zealand—tikanga Māori and the general legal system. You’ll learn about how they relate to and influence each other.

You’ll also study Te Tiriti o Waitangi—The Treaty of Waitangi as documents that reflect concepts important to both ways of doing law.

The first year of your legal study will teach you about integrating tikanga Māori and applying it in legal arguments.

Law as a driver for change

Studying Law makes you think critically about the world and gives you the tools to make a change. You’ll look at:

• big problems at a collective level, like climate change, human rights, and the constitution
• problems at an individual level, like property, employment, and family issues
• legal conflicts that come out of differences in areas such as ethnicity, gender, and ecology.

The LLB can prepare you to work in advocacy roles in the community. For example, you might work supporting the rights of Māori to land or the rights of disabled people. You might challenge the climate crisis or breaches in human rights, both at the national and international level.

Pathway to becoming a lawyer

The LLB (with or without Honours) is the first step to becoming a professional lawyer. After getting your law degree, you’ll need to:

• complete a course in practical professional legal studies, often called ‘profs’
• be admitted to the High Court of New Zealand
• get a practising certificate from a district law society.

The New Zealand Law Society website has more information about becoming a lawyer.

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