Law and computer science is not exactly a common pairing of degrees, particularly not when compared to combinations like law and commerce. It’s hardly surprising, given the fact that when I tell people that I study law and computer science, the first reaction is usually “How are you still alive!?”. So in this article, I will share my thoughts and how I’ve managed to stay alive.
Why I Chose to Study Law and Computer Science
Initially, I didn’t want to do law. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I was going to do computer science. It wasn’t until about halfway through my final year in high school that I decided that I would study both law and computer science.
The computer science half was the easy part for me. While I was interested in engineering, particularly electronic engineering, after hearing my friends’ experiences in the workforce, I decided that I would do computer science instead. I also had an interested in cybersecurity for a while now, and I thought that computer science would be a great way to learn more (spoilers: yes but no). For the law side, I had always enjoyed debating and had been a longtime fan of the Ace Attorney series but it wasn’t until my mother suggested I take it as a degree that I started considering it more seriously. In the end, I decided to do a double degree (as opposed to an undergraduate/postgraduate combination) at Monash University, which where I am currently studying.
Now, my interest areas are cybersecurity and cyberlaw, both of which are growing fields. In particular, I am interested in web security and IoT security, and how countries overcome jurisdictional issues when pursuing cybercriminals.
My Experience at Monash University
At the time of writing, I am 1.5 years into a 5 year degree. Here’s what I’ve learnt in that time:
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It’s all independent learning: This is actually something I enjoy, but I know it can be stressful for others. Particularly in law, you are not going to ’learn’ new content in class. You come to class to discuss, or in the case of computer science, apply, the content you have learnt about in the pre-readings/lectures (most of which are recorded). If you don’t do the work beforehand, you will be lost. The majority of ‘stuff you learn’ will be done at home, in your own time. One thing that is super important though is if you do not understand something, make sure you bring your question to class and find a time to ask a TA/your teacher or ask a friend. Don’t expect to have your questions answered outside of class by a teacher but if you manage to catch them before/after/in class, they’ll usually be happy to help you.
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Time-management is absolutely crucial: This sort of leads on from above but since you will be responsible for the bulk of your learning, it is vital that you can stay up to date and manage your time appropriately. A lot of people choose to work during university, for various reasons, and juggling university and work can be challenging at times, especially since you will have to do a lot of work outside of class. I know for a fact that with law, due to the sheer amount of pre-reading, many people resort to pre-written notes but this severely hampers their ability to apply and interpret the law. Make the time to do the readings and if you must cut corners, prioritise the cases. In computer science, it really depends on your units but getting started on assignments as soon as they are released, regardless of the due date, is always an excellent idea. To give prospective students an insight, I tend to do all of the pre-class work for all my units each week, while working about 18 hours per week (at most) and attending all classes (~16 hours per week). Roughly speaking, per week, I spend about 3-6 hours doing the pre-reading per law unit and about 2-3 hours per computer science unit (including watching lectures, if applicable). The amount of time depends on how challenging the week’s topic is and how much material there is to get through, as it can vary from week to week (and between units). This excludes working on assignments. Although it seems arduous, staying on top of your work, and even ahead if possible, is one of the best things you can do to avoid being overwhelmed.
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The learning curve can be very steep: This is more applicable to computer science than for law, though of course other students may find it to be reversed. Essentially, although you might meet the pre-requisites for a unit, or it is a ‘beginner’ unit, that does not necessarily mean that the content is easy/you don’t have to spend a lot of time learning the content. An example of this is FIT1045, which is the beginner Python programming unit. Many of my classmates had never done coding before and they seriously struggled as while the first two or three lessons were quite simple, the difficulty escalated exponentially. Although it was not impossible, it required them to put in a significant amount of extra time and effort to simply pass the class. However, those who had some coding background found the unit very easy, as they already had foundational skills and were familiar with how code ‘works’. The thing is, FIT1045 isn’t the only unit like this, so be prepared to be challenged and to put in extra effort to make sure you understand the content and can keep up. For law, I have found that it can simply be boiled down to reading comprehension, critical analysis and argumentation. If you are confident in those skills, then the law units are not too challenging. Yes, the law does get more complex and there are more things to consider as you go on but I feel that it doesn’t have the same exponential curve as some of the computer science units do. The hardest part about law is the sheer volume of stuff you have to know (particularly if it’s a drier subject), so good notes are crucial!
So, Should You Study Law and Computer Science?
The short answer is ‘it depends’. Firstly, are you actually interested in both of those areas? If you don’t like reading (a lot, including potentially very boring things), writing, coding or mathematics, then you’re probably going to be in trouble. Admittedly, even I don’t really like coding, but I am decent at it and I enjoy the theory. However, you will need to be at least proficient with skills across both subjects and not hate any of the key parts of them.
Secondly, it is an intensive combination, though I would argue it’s just as intensive as other doubles, such as computer science/software engineering or law/biomedical science. Now law/engineering is a separate matter and I wish you the best of luck for that because you’ll need it. Still, I digress. If you are one of those people who have basically taught themselves a lot of the computer science theory before starting (I don’t know anyone who has done that for law), then essentially you just have to do 1.25 degrees, as there will be less ’new’ content for you to learn. But for the rest of us mere mortals, you will need to invest a lot of time into studying outside of class hours, which is why time management is extra important.
Finally, consider what careers you are interested in. The good thing about this double is that it offers flexibility. It allows you to pursue both technical and non-technical roles. A lot of people also don’t realise how much overlap there can be between the two subjects. Whether you are keen to develop intellectual property law now that generative AI is everywhere, or you want to work as a cybersecurity specialist who can deal with transnational jurisdictions, there are many different applications of law/computer science, so you will have a degree of flexibility that other courses may not offer.
Final Remarks
Overall, I am enjoying studying both law and computer science, even if it can be quite challenging at times. I think that one of the good things about studying two very different subjects at the same time is that if you get tired of one, you can switch to the other! It also makes it more interesting, as you can see how seemingly unrelated concepts can overlap in unexpected ways. Still, it’s not a course that will suit everyone, so I would definitely recommend looking into it more yourself before choosing.
Good luck!
Banner image credits: Tingey Injury Law Firm and Clément Hélardot