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Law Lecturer

Education

Teach courses in law. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

LawEducation

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workA lecture hall

  • Mostly indoors
  • Sitting for most of the day
  • Rarely dealing with the public
  • Regular working hours

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

In Malaysia

In Malaysia law lecturers teach at public law faculties (UM, UKM, UiTM, IIUM, UUM and others) and private institutions that run LLB, diploma and CLP-preparation programmes. Many are also qualified advocates and solicitors (called to the Malaysian Bar), though this is not required to lecture.

How people get into it here
SPM → Matrikulasi/Asasi/STPM/Diploma → Bachelor's in Law (LLB) (usually CGPA 3.00+ / second-class upper) → Master's → PhD. Public universities appoint Master's holders as DS11 lecturers but now strongly prefer PhD holders; many start as a tutor or 'pensyarah pelatih' sponsored for postgraduate study.
Demand
UKM lists all law fields (Faculty of Law) as critical fields where it will appoint lecturers on temporary DS45 terms (2024 criteria). UKM lecturer appointment criteria UA20241

Sources:pengambilancns.uitm.edu.myappsmu.ukm.myapps.ump.edu.mydocs.jpa.gov.my

Pay in Malaysia

Government starting pay

RM3,320 – RM3,650

per month

Senior grade

RM6,210 – RM14,370

per month

Official basic pay for the government grade, before allowances. Private-sector pay can differ.

UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA) · Dec 2025

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationProfessional degree
The full route to this careerThe steps from school, UPU programmes and sourced costs, read against your answers.

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

IPG (Teacher Training)

Explore KPM's teacher-training route. Check current funding and apply through KPM's PISMP portal, not UPUOnline.

~5 years
Compare routes against your results and interests

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

Quick answers

How do you become a Law Lecturer in Malaysia?

SPM → Matrikulasi/Asasi/STPM/Diploma → Bachelor's in Law (LLB) (usually CGPA 3.00+ / second-class upper) → Master's → PhD. Public universities appoint Master's holders as DS11 lecturers but now strongly prefer PhD holders; many start as a tutor or 'pensyarah pelatih' sponsored for postgraduate study. Optional registration with Malaysian Bar (Advocates & Solicitors) — needed to practise law, not to lecture is available.

What should I study to become a Law Lecturer?

Related fields of study: Law and Education. SPM subjects that help most: History (Sejarah), English, Computer Science / ICT and Electrical & Electronic Eng. Studies.

How much does a Law Lecturer earn in Malaysia?

The official pay scale put starting pay at RM3,320 – RM3,650 a month, and RM6,210 – RM14,370 with experience (source: UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA), Dec 2025).

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  2. 2Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, papers, and oral presentations.
  3. 3Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  4. 4Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  5. 5Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  6. 6Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as civil procedure, contracts, and torts.
  7. 7Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  8. 8Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
  9. 9Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
  10. 10Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
  11. 11Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks.
  12. 12Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
  13. 13Assign cases for students to hear and try.
  14. 14Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
  15. 15Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
  16. 16Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
  17. 17Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
  18. 18Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
  19. 19Act as advisers to student organizations.
  20. 20Participate in campus and community events.
  21. 21Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
  22. 22Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
  23. 23Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Teacher
  • Professor
  • Instructor
  • Law Lecturer
  • Law Professor
  • Faculty Member
  • Law Instructor
  • Adjunct Professor
  • College Professor
  • Adjunct Instructor

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

History (Sejarah)Draws directly on Law and Government — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Computer Science / ICTDraws directly on Computers and Electronics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Electrical & Electronic Eng. StudiesDraws directly on Computers and Electronics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Bahasa MelayuDraws directly on Communications and Media — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Law and Government98%

    History (Sejarah)

  • English Language94%

    English

  • Education and Training89%
  • Computers and Electronics67%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

  • Communications and Media65%

    EnglishBahasa Melayu

  • Customer and Personal Service59%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicNot at all
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never
  • Time spent sittingMost of the time

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

43%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.01%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job, and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

What beginner adverts asked for

We read 15 internship and fresh-graduate adverts in related fields (August 2026). A small sample from one job site, not every vacancy.

10 of 15 were internships

Allowance or pay, when stated

RM1,500 – RM2,500

5 of 15 adverts printed an amount: usually between RM1,500 and RM2,500 a month. Many print none.

Professional bodies named

Bar

Languages named

Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin

An empty line means the adverts did not say, not that employers have no requirement. Check each employer's own advert before you plan around it.

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Law Teachers, Postsecondary

Source: UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA) · as of Dec 2025

Check the salary figures yourself:UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA)

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org