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Does your job require you to deal with legal documents, but your knowledge of business law is lacking? Let the Post-Degree Diploma in Business Law help you out.
What you'll learn
You’ll learn the basics of business, finance and accounting law; how to draft and interpret employment and service contracts; and more. With the legal skills and knowledge gained through this program, you’ll differentiate yourself from other candidates and better position yourself to advance your professional career.
This program is ideal for business owners and managers, professionals in accounting, finance, risk management or human resources, and anyone who might have to review and negotiate contracts in a business or sales setting. You must already have a bachelor’s degree to take this program.
A great introduction to the law
If you’re considering a career in law but are not quite ready to take the leap into law school, this program is a great introduction to the legal field and some of the topics you can expect to encounter in a law degree program. Many of the courses in the post-degree diploma program qualify for credit transfer to other post-secondary institutions in British Columbia; however, this program is not equivalent to first year law.
Applicants must meet the admission requirements listed below:
Calculate your tuition and see the approximate cost of taking your program at Douglas College with the tuition and fee estimator. See costs broken down into categories including tuition fees, textbooks, student activity fees, U-Pass and more.
For more information, refer to the tuition fee charts.
Graduation Requirements
Course Requirements
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
| Required courses: | ||
| BLAW 1320 | Introductory Business Law | 3.00 |
| BLAW 3730 | Corporate and Financial Planning Law | 3.00 |
| BLAW 37501 | Employment Law | 3.00 |
| ENGL 1130 | Academic Writing | 3.00 |
| LGST 1110 | Legal Research & Reasoning | 3.00 |
| One of the following course options: | ||
| BUSN 1210 | Management Essentials | 3.00 |
| Or any suitable Commerce and Business Administration course approved by the Business Department Chair | ||
| Four courses from the following options: | ||
| BLAW 3700 | Fundamentals of International Trade Law | 3.00 |
| BLAW 3710 | Sales and Marketing Law | 3.00 |
| BLAW 3760 | Labour Relations | 3.00 |
| BLAW 3770 | Real Estate Law |
3.00 |
| BLAW 3780 | Negotiation Skills |
3.00 |
| BLAW 4720 | Procurement Law and Contract Interpretation | 3.00 |
| BUSN 4490 | Applied Legal and Ethical Decision Making for Managers, Professionals, and Executives | 3.00 |
| LGST 3320 | Immigration Law | 3.00 |
| LGST 3330 | Indigenous People and the Law | 3.00 |
| Total Credits: | 30.00 | |
Notes:
1) Students who have already taken BUSN 3750 - Human Resources Law can substitute the course for BLAW 3750 - Employment Law.
Program Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this program and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the program, consider the previous version as the applicable version.
Have questions about enrolment and the Business Law program? Watch this short video to get answers to questions such as:
Below is a sample course schedule that a student could take in each term. This schedule takes into account when BLAW courses traditionally run and, by following it, a student could graduate after completing their summer courses.
Proper course planning is essential if students want to complete their programs within the one-year window. Failure to properly course plan could mean that students have to complete four academic terms (rather than the typical three academic terms for a PDD program).
BLAW PDD – Sample Student Schedule*
Fall Term (September-December) | Winter Term (January-April) | Summer Term** (May-August) |
BLAW 1320 LGST 1110 BLAW 3770 BLAW 3780 or BLAW 3710 (if offered) | BLAW 4720 BLAW 3750 BLAW 3760 BLAW 3780 or BLAW 3710 (if offered) | BUSN 1210 ENGL 1130 BLAW 3730 BLAW 3700 |
*Please note that the timing/term of course offerings are subject to change in light of scheduling needs and faculty availability. Students should always consult with Enrolment Services for current information related to registration or enrolment.
**Please note that the Summer term typically has the least amount of upper-level courses which are scheduled. Therefore, students should strive to complete at least 4-5 upper-level BLAW courses within the Fall and Winter terms.
While there are numerous Business Law courses that a student may take, most courses do not run every term and many run only once per academic year. Students wishing to graduate the Business Law Post-Degree Diploma program within one year should be very mindful about which courses are scheduled in which term. Please refer to the program requirements and course offerings under each course prior to course registration.
Please note that course offerings are subject to change in light of scheduling needs and faculty availability. Students should always consult with Enrolment Services for current information related to registration or enrolment.
Academic term when course is typically offered*
Required Courses | Fall (Sept-Dec) | Winter (Jan-Apr) | Summer (May-Aug) |
Academic Writing | Offered | Offered | Offered |
Legal Research & Reasoning | Offered | Offered | Not offered |
Management Essentials | Offered | Offered | Offered |
Introductory Business Law | Offered | Offered | Offered |
Corporate/Financial Planning Law | Offered | Offered | Offered |
Employment Law | Offered | Offered | Offered |
Elective Courses | Fall (Sept-Dec) | Winter (Jan-Apr) | Summer (May-Aug) |
International Trade Law | Offered | Offered | Offered |
Sales and Marketing Law | Not offered | Offered | Not offered |
Labour Relations | Offered | Offered | Offered |
Real Estate Law | Offered | Not offered | Not offered |
Negotiation Skills | Offered | Offered | Not offered |
Procurement/Contract Interpretation | Not offered | Offered | Not offered |
Immigration Law | Offered | Not offered | Offered |
Indigenous Peoples and the Law | Not offered | Offered | Not offered |
*Please note that the timing/term of course offerings are subject to change in light of scheduling needs and faculty availability. Students should always consult with Enrolment Services for current information related to registration or enrolment.
Career opportunities include: