Coursework
Juris Doctor
- CRICOS code: 073303C
Where will this take me?
Overview
Careers
The Melbourne JD leads to admission to the legal profession in all Australian jurisdictions and can be used as a basis for seeking admission in many overseas jurisdictions.
To practice as a lawyer in Victoria you will also need to complete Practical Legal Training (PLT) or supervised legal training, be admitted by the Supreme Court of Victoria and obtain a practising certificate. The Melbourne Law School offers JD students the opportunity to get a head start on satisfying the PLT requirements through legal internships and our clinic program. More information about Australian and international admission requirements can be found here.
The Melbourne JD is well-regarded by a wide-range of employers and can be used to pursue a variety of careers in different sectors.
The Melbourne JD graduates have strong employment outcomes with a 97% full-time employment rate*.
*Melbourne Law School class of 2019 graduate survey (conducted 18 months after completion of the degree, with a 90 per cent response rate)
Melbourne Law School graduates work as:
- Judges, judges’ associates and others in the judicial sector
- Barristers and public prosecutors
- Lawyers in law firms
- In-house and corporate lawyers
- Lawyers in the community sector (ie community legal centres)
- Lawyers in not-for-profit organisations (ie human rights NGOs)
- Government lawyers
- Policy analysts and advisers in government
- Management consultants
- Merchant bankers
- Entrepreneurs
- Parliamentarians
Careers support
As a JD student, you’ll have access to specialised career services, such as a mentoring program, workshops and mock interviews with dedicated advisors, to help you achieve your professional goals.
Nathan Grech
"The Melbourne JD challenges its students intellectually and opens up a plethora of extra-curricular opportunities catering to a wide range of interests. I have used a significant amount of case law knowledge, legal procedure and written skills learned at law school in my current role as a graduate lawyer. With hindsight, I am all the more grateful for the depth and rigour of the JD, as it has allowed me to embrace and tackle new challenges in my role within the broader legal industry."
– Nathan Grech (JD 2019), Law Graduate, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, Melbourne
Graduate pathways
Once you've completed your undergraduate degree, you can go on to gain employment or begin a graduate degree and work towards a professional qualification such as law, engineering or medicine. Or you could join our graduate research community and contribute to our world-changing research.
Your graduate degree will be internationally recognised, and set you apart from those who study a traditional Australian single or double degree.
Explore the graduate pathways available once you complete your undergraduate degree here.