UNISA is one of the best Universities, not only in South Africa but also across Africa. The university is renowned for its world-class facilities, long history, robust curriculum, and knowledgeable lecturers. It offers a wide range of courses across several faculties which Law is one of them.
Before you can study Law at the University of South Africa, there are certain requirements which you have to meet as this course is one of the most demanding courses in the university.
These requirements are grouped into two which are BCom Law requirement and LLB requirement. The BCom degree is the first stepping stone to becoming a complete lawyer. The BCom degree provides a broader perspective on issues such as taxation and it also allows you to acquire an LLB within 2 years.
What are the requirements for law at UNISA?
Below are the important requirements you must meet before you can get accepted to study Law at UNISA.
For BCom
- A minimum APS Score of 21. The APS score also known as Admission Point Score is a metric used in calculating your marks to determine if you qualify for admission or not.
- A minimum score of 50% in English language
- A minimum score of 60% in Mathematics
For LLB
- A minimum APS score of 20
- A National Senior Certificate (NSC) (Degree endorsement) with a minimum of 50% in the teaching language
How long does it take to get a law degree at UNISA?
It takes a minimum of four years to get a law degree at UNISA either BCom or LLB.
How many modules does the UNISA Higher Certificate in Law require?
A minimum of 60 NQF credits (5 modules of 12 credits each) are required for the higher certificate in one semester.
For year modules, you must have a minimum of 120 NQF credits (10 modules of 12 credits each) per year.
How much does it cost to study Law at UNISA
The average amount it will cost you to study Law at UNISA is between R1 743,00 and R6 722,00 per module.
This cost depends on the qualification (BCom or LLB), and also the number of modules you choose.
Skills you must have as a lawyer?
Confidence
If you want to be a successful lawyer, the first and most crucial skill you should have is to be confident in yourself.
To be a successful lawyer, you must be confident in the fact you’ve gathered and also confident to back up each of the claims you are making in court. Having confidence in yourself would help you convince the judge to see things from your perspective thereby giving you an upper hand in winning the case. However, if you’re not confident in yourself, in your client, and all the facts you’ve gathered, you might run out of what to say in court and this in return would help you lose the case thereby increasing your losing rate – which will hurt your career as a lawyer
Ability to Communicate
If you want to be a successful lawyer, another important skill you should have is the ability to communicate.
As a lawyer, you will be communicating with a lot of people while doing this job; starting from your client whom you would be interrogating on how to gather enough evidence to defend them in court. In addition, you will also be needing this communication skill to communicate in the court of law where you try to convince the judges and audience to let them know that your client is innocent of the charges against him or her.
Listening and writing are the two types of communication skills in the legal area. Speaking of listening, as a lawyer, you should be able to communicate with, speak with, and listen to your clients to understand and comprehend what they want.
Listening carefully to your clients can help you analyze and propose the best solutions to their problems. If you’re a lawyer, you may find it challenging to win cases and advance your profession if you’re not a good listener.
Ability to Relate Well
Law is a job that requires a great deal of interaction with others. Lawyers are constantly in contact with barristers, senior partners, judges, clerks, and other legal personnel. To be a competent lawyer, you must have strong interpersonal skills. You will reap numerous rewards if you can appear relatable, charming, polite, respectful, and fascinating.
You should also be aware that, no matter how smart or bright you are at forming facts and sound arguments, you may not be able to achieve a deeper feeling of professionalism in the legal sector if you lack good relationship skills.
In addition to this, relationship skills would also help you network with other experts and this, in turn, will let you gain more experience in this field, thereby boosting your career as a lawyer.
Ability to Conduct Research
Another important skill you must have as a lawyer who wants to have a successful career is the ability to research. To be successful, you must be able to comprehend data in a short amount of time, analyze issues, and understand various legal histories. Not only will having solid research skills benefit you, but it will also benefit your clients.
Conducting thorough research would also help you have more wins in court since you are sure that you will be providing actual and real facts to back up everything you said or we will be saying in court. This skill cannot be left out because it helps build a successful career as a lawyer.
Ability to Manage Time
As a lawyer, you will always have a busy workload and be faced with tight deadlines.
Knowing how to manage time would help you a lot also keep you organized.
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Conclusion
Law is considered to be one of the best professional degrees in the world.
Furthermore, when studying law, it is critical to choose a renowned and great institution, as this will have an influence on your career as a lawyer.
Hence, the University of South Africa (UNISA) is one of the best institutions in South Africa to study law and get a Law degree.
UNISA is a respectable and well-known university dedicated to inspiring the next generation. The university’s major goal is to construct futures in the service of mankind and provide solutions to Africa’s educational and developmental concerns.