Welcome to this webcast where I will discuss programme information on the BCom (Law) degree.
My name is Thala Msutu. I am a lecturer in the Faculty of Law
at Stellenbosch University and I graduated with the BCom (Law) degree in 2014 and I also obtained
an LLB degree and an LLM degree from this Faculty. Thank you for joining me in this presentation
– I hope that you will find the presentation of the next few minutes both helpful and interesting!
In sharing this information about the BCom (Law) degree with you, I will touch on the following aspects:
Firstly, the legal and commercial or business knowledge you will be exposed
to during your programme; secondly the various skills that you can acquire during your degree;
third, the admission requirements, selection and the application process for the programme;
and, lastly, where you can find further information online.
Right, with all that being said, at the outset it is important to know
that the BCom (Law) programme caters for students that have an interest in both law and business.
The degree covers the same law subjects as the first two years of the LLB degree,
so that includes modules such as constitutional law, family law, property law and labour law.
But besides the law subjects, you will of course complete
various commerce modules, such as financial accounting, economics and business management.
Then in your final year of the degree you can then choose to major in two of the following
modules: so that is, financial accounting and/or economics and/or taxation.
BCom (Law) graduates typically choose to enrol for the two-year LLB degree at the Law Faculty,
but this is not compulsory and as a BCom (Law) graduate you could also
choose to enter the workplace, or pursue further studies in commerce.
Just remember, if you wish to become a legal practitioner,
for example an attorney, you must complete the LLB degree after your BCom (Law) degree.
This is the route that I followed and having completed my LLB,
I joined one of the large law firms in South Africa and I was a candidate attorney for two
years, before my passion for teaching and research brought me back to the Faculty.
The big advantage with BCom (Law) is that it gives you the legal knowledge that can
assist you if you enter the business world, while also providing you with
the business or economic knowledge that is useful for many legal professions.
So, with us having explored what legal and commercial knowledge can be acquired,
what then about the various skills that you can be exposed to?
During the course of your studies with us, you will have the opportunity to
improve on, and develop, a host of different higher-level skills.
These include critical thinking skills, reading and writing skills, especially with regards to how
to read and interpret case law and legislation. Of course, whilst knowledge about the law itself
will also be learnt – similarly, you will be exposed to the skills associated with your
commerce modules, such as logic, attention to detail, the analysis of vast amounts of
information quickly both in the legal and commercial context and financial literacy.
All of these skills are not only vital for a career as a legal professional,
but also for any other career that you may wish to pursue, such as entrepreneurial endeavours
or in-house financial and legal advising. In short, the way that you think and engage
with information and the world around you and your ability to find solutions to complex problems,
is what will set you apart as a law graduate from so many of the other degree programmes available.
We turn to the minimum admission requirements for the BCom (Law) programme,
what is required is at least a 70% average in grade 12 (excluding life orientation in this calculation)
and at least a 60% in mathematics and at least
a 60% in English or Afrikaans Home Language or 70% in English or Afrikaans First Additional Language.
However, I must make the point that these are the minimum requirements – so the better that you do,
and the higher your score on these requirements, the greater your chances of being selected.
And, in speaking of selection, it is very important to note that meeting
the admission requirements does not guarantee you a place in the programme.
We only have a limited number of places and selection is based on academic merit,
considering both your final grade 11 marks or if available grade 12 results and the
National Benchmark Test (NBT) results. To give you an idea of availability,
over the past several years, we have received more than 400 applications for the BCom (Law) programme
each year but can only select 60 students. It is therefore very important that you do
as well as possible in grade 11, and then also make sure you complete the NBT tests in grade 12.
Regarding timelines, applications for 2021 open on 6 April and close on 31 July.
Students applying for any programme in law must also ensure that they write the National Benchmark Test
before 16 July in order that we can use the results for selection.
Applications are submitted online at www.maties.com.
It is very important to note that the Faculty does not consider any late applications.
Finally, if you would like to know more about the BCom (Law) programme, please visit www.maties.com, or,
for information about the full programme, please read through the Calendar of the Faculty of Law,
which can be found at www.sun.ac.za/calendar. I also encourage you to watch the other webcasts
providing you with other relevant information, regarding your choice of studying law.
I look forward to seeing you on campus soon and I thank you for
joining us for this presentation. Goodbye! Thank you, dankie and enkosi.