Faculty of Law
General Education
General Education courses are a distinctive feature of University of Auckland undergraduate study, taught by some of the University’s top lecturers and researchers.
The aim of General Education is to give you a well-rounded undergraduate education, and broaden the scope of your career options.
The central General Education website enables students to view the courses available to them and provides the information needed for course selection.
In 2006 The University of Auckland introduced a General Education component into its undergraduate degrees. General Education is aimed at producing graduates with flexibility, critical thinking skills and an appreciation and understanding of fields outside their usual area of study. The General Education programme consists of high quality, intellectually challenging courses taught by some of the University’s best teachers and researchers. Students are able to choose from a diverse range of subjects, including a number of new interdisciplinary courses.
The requirement for General Education applies to students who begin their first undergraduate degree at The University of Auckland in 2006 or later, or who transfer to Auckland from another institution and enrol in an undergraduate degree which is different from the one in which they were previously enrolled. Students who transfer to The University of Auckland to continue in an undergraduate degree the same as the one in which they were previously enrolled may be required to take one or two General Education courses. Students enrolled prior to 2006 at The University of Auckland are not required to include General Education as part of their degree. Most students will be required to pass two courses (30 points) from the General Education Schedule. Students enrolling for conjoint degrees will be required to pass two General Education courses (30 points) for the conjoint degrees combination.
LLB students enrol for LAW 121G Law and Society and this counts as one of the two General Education courses, meaning that only one other General Education course must be taken. The only LLB students who should enrol in LAW 121 (rather than LAW 121G) are those who are admitted to LLB Part I as graduates (and therefore exempt the General Education requirements).
Students will choose General Education courses from the schedules that list courses available to their particular degree or conjoint combination. The schedules have been developed so that students will take General Education courses that allow them to explore areas of interest outside of their degree subjects. In some cases, courses are available both as part of the General Education Programme and as part of the portfolio of regular degree courses. LAW 121G Law and Society is such a dual-purpose course.
LAW 121G: Law and Society
The course is an introduction to the nature, functions, origins and contemporary questions relating to law in its social context. The focus is on law and society in New Zealand, including its sources of law, its institutions, and its operation historically and today. Māori concepts of law and justice, and their relationship to the New Zealand legal system, are also addressed.
