Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Biomedical Science

Advances in biomedical science can have a major impact on the wellbeing of society, but the transition from laboratory to the people it will benefit is a complex journey; this double degree course gives you the tools to do this.

You will gain a solid foundation in the concepts, procedures and reasoning underpinning the Australian legal system and the research, analytical and communication skills of the legal profession. Combine this with an understanding of anatomy, epidemiology and preventative medicine, genetics, immunology, microbiology and pharmacology and you will have the grounding to use your law skills to help solve challenging medical problems.

Double degree courses include the features of the component degree courses, except that electives may be reduced.

Law

L3001 Bachelor of Laws (Honours) course is a specialist course that develops through themes: legal methodology and legal practice; public law; and private law. The specialised knowledge and advanced skills are imparted in later year elective units, including a final year project involving intensive research and writing.

Part A. Legal methodology and legal practice

This theme includes the nature of law, and particularly statute law enacted by Parliaments and common law developed by courts. It also includes the key concepts, principles and methods of research and reasoning that enable lawyers to identify and interpret law and apply it to relevant facts in order to provide legal advice. It covers the law of procedure and evidence that governs judicial proceedings, alternative methods of resolving legal disputes, and the code of ethics that regulates the professional conduct of legal practitioners.

Part B. Public law

Public law includes constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law. It concerns the powers and procedures of the legislative, executive and judicial organs of government, and how they are regulated and controlled by 'the rule of law'. It also concerns the legal relationship between government and individuals, including the protection of the individual rights.

Part C. Private law

Private law deals with legal relationships between legal persons, including corporations as well as individuals. It includes the study of property rights, contractual rights and obligations, wrongs (called 'torts') such as trespass and the negligent infliction of injury, and the law of equity and trusts.

Part D. Extending specialized knowledge and advanced skills: Law electives

In later years of the course, you will be able to choose from a broad range of elective law units. High achieving students may also include one or two Master's units in their final year of study. Elective law units enable you to develop specialised knowledge and advanced skills in areas of law that suit your own interests, skills and career goals. In addition to public and private law, these include international law, commercial law and human rights law. You will have opportunities to study overseas, and to undertake work-based learning, for example, in our legal clinical program and in local and international internships.

Biomedical science

M2003 Bachelor of Biomedical Science course is a specialist course that provides an interdisciplinary approach to study of biomedical science, with five central themes: molecular and cellular biology, body systems, infection and immunity, disease and society, and diagnostic and research tools. These themes are interwoven in units throughout the course.

Part A. Molecular and cellular biology

Through these studies you will learn how the cell functions and replicates itself in health and disease, particularly considering the structure of the cell and its evolution, the function of cells, DNA, genes and proteins, and the regulation of metabolism.

Part B. Body systems

This theme addresses the principles of major body systems. You will learn how cells come together to form tissues and organs and how they work together in the body to provide it with its metabolic needs and remove waste products. You will study how structure follows function; homeostasis; the nutritional and GI system; the neural system and senses; endocrine, reproductive and renal systems; and cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Part C. Infection and Immunity

The focus of these studies is the functional immune system of multicellular organisms and the disease states that result from pathogen infection and from autoimmunity. You will learn about molecular genetics and recombinant DNA (both important tools for the study of microbial disease and immunity), inflammation and disease, and infection and infection control.

Part D. Disease and society

In these studies you will learn about disease states that result from abnormal function in various body systems, including the cellular, genetic and molecular causes of the disease, with a focus on mechanisms of disease and patterns of disease and treatment. In studying the basis for human disease, you will also consider the societal and personal impacts of past, present and future diseases and the social, economic and environmental factors that are determinants of health.

Part E. Diagnostic and research tools

These studies address both the molecular and cellular tools, including specialist imaging techniques, that can be used to study and diagnose diseases.

Students must complete 252 points, of which 156 points are from the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (including all of the requirements in Part A, B, C and D for the single degree) and 96 points from the Bachelor of Biomedical Science (including all of the requirements in Part A, B, C, D and E for the single degree).

The course progression mapcourse progression map (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2016handbooks/maps/map-l3004.pdf) will assist you to plan to meet the course requirements, and guidance on unit enrolment for each semester of study.

Units are six credit points unless otherwise stated.

Students may be eligible to exit the double degree program and graduate with either a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) or a Bachelor of Biomedical Science after 4 or 3 years respectively, depending on the units studied.

Students who wish to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) prior to the completion of the double degree must have completed at least 204 points of studies, including all of the requirements in Part A, B, C and D for the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree. Students who wish to graduate with a Bachelor of Biomedical Science prior to the completion of the double degree must have completed at least 144 points of studies, including all of the Science requirements in Part A, B, C, D and E for the Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree.