Undergraduate qualifications

Law interest fields

In Law we focus on the application of principles and procedures as determined by legislation. The legal field is diverse and could include specialisation in various areas such as mercantile law, criminal law and private law. There are many different sub-specialisations in each of these fields, such as conveyancing, entertainment law, labour law, immigration law, intellectual property law, electronic commerce law, family law and environmental law. Additional requirements exist for admission to practice as an advocate and attorney.

School of Law

  • Department of Criminal and Procedure Law
  • Department of Jurisprudence
  • Department of Mercantile Law
  • Department of Private Law
  • Department of Public, Constitutional and International Law

Related Job titles

  • Administrative lawyer
  • Advocate
  • Arbitrator
  • Attorney
  • Case manager
  • Commercial rights manager
  • Compliance officer
  • Compliance specialist
  • Conciliation and arbitration commissioner
  • Court clerk/deputy court clerk
  • Court operations director
  • Court specialist
  • Courtroom clerk
  • Family advocate
  • Judge
  • Intellectual property practitioner/lawyer
  • Law clerk
  • Legal administrative officer
  • Legal advisor
  • Legal assistant
  • Legal researcher
  • Legal secretary
  • Legislation facilitator
  • Legislator
  • Magistrate
  • Maintenance officer
  • Master of the High Court
  • Mediator
  • Negotiator
  • Paralegal
  • Patent attorney
  • Public prosecutor
  • Registrar
  • State attorney
  • Trademark attorney
  • Tribunal member

Possible work environments related to law

  • Courts (eg Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, High Court, Labour Courts, Divorce Courts, Land Claims Court, Maintenance Courts, International Criminal Court (ICC)
  • Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
  • Government institutions
  • Legal firms
  • Legal departments of banking institutions, insurance companies, government institutions and estate agents
  • Magistrates’ offices
  • Other government departments, as a legal officer or legal advisor
  • Public and private companies as a legal adviser
  • Self-employed (attorneys and advocates)
  • Research Institutes
  • Local and International NGOs

Find out more about careers in this field


School of Criminal Justice

Criminal justice, corrections and security includes correctional services, criminology, criminal science, police science and security management.

  • Department of Criminology and Security Science
  • Department of Corrections Management
  • Department of Police Practice

Related Job titles

  • Administrative officer
  • Correctional parole officer
  • Correctional service officer
  • Correctional services manager
  • Crime analyst
  • Crime information analyst
  • Crime prevention consultant
  • Criminal intelligence analyst
  • Criminal intelligence specialist
  • Criminal records centre official
  • Criminologist
  • Criminologist as offender profiler
  • Criminologist and Forensic criminologist
  • Detective
  • Forensic analyst
  • Intelligence analyst
  • Intelligence and criminal research specialist
  • Intelligence officer
  • Investigating officer
  • Investigator
  • Lecturer (university)
  • Police official/officer
  • Police manager
  • Policy analyst
  • Private detectives and investigator
  • Programme coordinator
  • Public manager
  • Researcher
  • Risk manager
  • Security consultant
  • Security manager
  • Security risk assessment manager
  • Security services manager
  • Security officer
  • Security practitioner

Possible work environments related to protection services and criminal justice, corrections and security

  • Correctional institutions
  • Courthouses
  • Department of Correctional Services
  • Forensic investigation organisations (SAPS, private and corporate forensic investigation units, and forensic laboratories)
  • Large companies with security, intelligence and compliance divisions
  • National, provincial and local government departments
  • Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
  • Research organisations
  • Retail and wholesale distributors
  • Self-employment as a consultant
  • Social services
  • South African Police Services
  • Specialised security companies
  • Research Institutes
  • Local and International NGOs


Possible work environments related to protection services and criminal justice, corrections and security

  • Correctional institutions
  • Courthouses
  • Department of Correctional Services
  • Forensic investigation organisations (SAPS, private and corporate forensic investigation units, and forensic laboratories)
  • Large companies with security, intelligence and compliance divisions
  • National, provincial and local government departments
  • Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
  • Research organisations
  • Retail and wholesale distributors
  • Self-employment as a consultant
  • Social services
  • South African Police Services
  • Specialised security companies


Find out more about careers in this field

  • Download the Criminology @ Unisa brochure to learn more about preparing yourself for career opportunities in this field.
  • Download the Career research document to learn more about how you could find information related to your career and study choices.

Further career information