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Label Element Value
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Document Type dei_DocumentType 485BPOS
Document Period End Date dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate Sep. 19, 2011
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName LAUDUS TRUST
Central Index Key dei_EntityCentralIndexKey 0000832545
Amendment Flag dei_AmendmentFlag false
Document Creation Date dei_DocumentCreationDate Sep. 19, 2011
Document Effective Date dei_DocumentEffectiveDate Sep. 19, 2011
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Sep. 19, 2011
Laudus Mondrian Global Fixed Income Fund
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Laudus Mondrian Global Fixed Income Fund
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The fund seeks long-term total return consistent with its value-oriented investment approach.
Fund fees and expenses lt832545_FundFeesAndExpensesAbstract  
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fund fees and expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees rr_ShareholderFeesAbstract  
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Redemption fee (as a % of the amount sold or exchanged within 30 days of purchase) rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption 2.00%
Annual fund operating expenses rr_OperatingExpensesAbstract  
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.68%
Distribution (12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.35% [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.03%
Less expense reduction rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.18%)
Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reduction rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.85% [2]
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text] rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates “Other Expenses” are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
Example rr_ExpenseExampleAbstract  
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those time periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The one-year figure is based on total annual fund operating expenses after expense reduction. The expenses would be the same whether you stayed in the fund or sold your shares at the end of each period. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
Expense Example by, Year, Caption [Text] rr_ExpenseExampleByYearCaption Expenses on a $10,000 investment
1 year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 87
3 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 291
Portfolio turnover lt832545_PortfolioTurnoverAltAbstract  
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. The fund is new and therefore does not have a historical portfolio turnover rate.
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal investment strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The fund invests primarily in fixed income securities that may also provide the potential for capital appreciation. The fund is a global fund that invests in issuers located throughout the world, including in emerging countries. As such, it may invest in securities issued in any currency and may hold foreign currency. Securities of issuers within a given country may be denominated in the currency of such country, in the currency of another country or in multinational currency units, such as the euro. The fund will attempt to achieve its objective by investing in a broad range of fixed income securities, including debt obligations of governments, their agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions of developed and emerging countries and of companies located within such countries. The fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets (determined at time of purchase) in fixed income securities rated below investment grade (sometimes called junk bonds), including government securities as discussed below. It is anticipated that no more than 25% of the fund’s net assets (determined at time of purchase) will be invested in corporate debt obligations under normal circumstances.

The fund may invest up to 40% of its net assets (determined at time of purchase) in securities denominated in the currencies of emerging countries. The fund may invest up to 50% of its net assets (determined at time of purchase) in securities denominated in U.S. dollars. The fund is considered “non-diversified”, which means that it may invest in the securities of relatively few issuers.

Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income securities. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy.

The subadviser’s approach in selecting investments for the fund is oriented to country selection and is value driven. In selecting instruments for the fund, the subadviser identifies those countries’ fixed income markets that it believes will provide the United States domiciled investor the highest yield over a market cycle while also offering the opportunity for capital gain and currency appreciation. The subadviser conducts extensive fundamental research on a global basis, and it is through this effort that attractive fixed income markets are selected for investment. The core of the fundamental research effort is a value-oriented prospective real yield approach which looks at today’s yield in each market and subtracts from it forecasted inflation for the next 1 to 2 years to identify value as a forward looking potential real yield. The higher the prospective real yield the higher the relative allocation and conversely the lower the prospective real yield the lower the allocation or even a zero allocation. The subadviser employs a discounted income stream methodology to attempt to isolate value across country boundaries. This approach focuses on future income and discounts the value of these payments back to what they would be worth if they were to be paid today. Comparisons of the values of different possible investments are then made.

The fund may invest in fixed income instruments with zero, variable, stepped or index-linked coupon bonds, and in the debt securities of supranational entities denominated in any currency. The fund also may invest in securities issued by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The fund may actively carry on hedging activities, and may utilize a wide range of derivative instruments, including options, futures contracts and related options, and forward foreign currency exchange contracts to hedge currency risks associated with its portfolio securities. This hedging may be in the form of cross hedging. Hedging and cross hedging may be used to identify value opportunities in the currency markets. The fund may also use derivatives as a substitute for taking a position in the underlying asset. The fund may lend its securities to certain financial institutions to earn additional income.

It is anticipated that the average weighted maturity of the fund will be in the 5- to 10-year range. If the subadviser anticipates a declining interest rate environment, the average weighted maturity may be extended beyond 10 years. Conversely, if the subadviser anticipates a rising rate environment, the average weighted maturity may be shortened to less than 5 years.

The fund may buy and sell portfolio securities actively. As a result, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate and transaction costs will rise, which may lower fund performance and may increase the likelihood of capital gain distributions.

For temporary defensive purposes, during unusual economic or market conditions or for liquidity purposes, the fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash, money market instruments, repurchase agreements and other short-term obligations. When the fund engages in such activities, it may not achieve its investment objective.
Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text] rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income securities.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The fund’s principal risks include:

Market risk. Bond markets rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money.

Management risk. As with all actively managed funds, the strategies of the fund’s subadviser may not achieve their desired results. Poor bond selection or a focus on a particular region may cause the fund to underperform its benchmark or other funds with a similar investment objective.

Non-diversification risk. The fund is non-diversified and, as such, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a fund that is diversified. A non-diversified fund is more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.

Interest rate risk. Interest rates will rise and fall over time. During periods when interest rates are low, the fund’s yield and total return also may be low. The longer the fund’s duration, the more sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely to be.

Credit risk. The fund is subject to the risk that a decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price to fall. The fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a portfolio investment fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations. Securities rated below investment grade (junk bonds) involve greater risk of price declines than investment grade securities due to actual or perceived changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness.

Prepayment and extension risk. The fund’s investments are subject to the risk that the securities may be paid off earlier or later than expected. Either situation could cause the fund to hold securities paying lower-than-market rates of interest, which could hurt the fund’s yield or share price.

Foreign investment risk. The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers may involve certain risks that are greater than those associated with investments in securities of U.S. issuers. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions; changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges); differing accounting, auditing, financial reporting and legal standards and practices; differing securities market structures; and higher transaction costs. These risks may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Emerging markets risk. Emerging markets may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in market or economic conditions than more developed countries. Such countries often have less uniformity in accounting and reporting requirements, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with the custody of securities. In addition, the financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than in other countries. As a result, there will tend to be an increased risk of price volatility associated with the fund’s investments in emerging market countries.

Currency risk. The fund’s investments in securities denominated in, and/or receiving revenues in, foreign currencies may involve risks that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

Derivatives risk. The fund’s use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments and could cause the fund to lose more than the principal amount invested. In addition, investments in derivatives may involve leverage, which means a small percentage of assets invested in derivatives can have a disproportionately larger impact on the fund.

High yield risk. High yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (sometimes called junk bonds) that the fund may invest in are subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risks. High yield securities are considered primarily speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to make principal and interest payments.

Leverage risks. Certain fund transactions, such as derivatives, may give rise to a form of leverage and may expose the fund to greater risk. Leverage tends to magnify the effect of any decrease or increase in the value of the fund’s portfolio securities.

Liquidity risk. A particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell. The fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price.

Securities lending risk. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recovery of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

For more information on the risks of investing in the fund please see the “Fund details” section in the prospectus.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text] rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus Non-diversification risk. The fund is non-diversified and, as such, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a fund that is diversified. A non-diversified fund is more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Performance lt832545_FundPastPerformanceAbstract  
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock Because the fund is new, no performance figures are given. This information will appear in a future version of the fund’s prospectus. Once available, the fund’s performance will be posted on the fund’s website www.laudus.com/prospectus.
Performance One Year or Less [Text] rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess Because the fund is new, no performance figures are given.
Performance Table Closing [Text Block] rr_PerformanceTableClosingTextBlock Once available, the fund’s performance will be posted on the fund’s website www.laudus.com/prospectus.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.laudus.com/prospectus
[1] "Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
[2] The investment adviser has agreed to limit the total annual fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, and certain non-routine expenses) of the fund to 0.85 for at least 2 years from the date the fund commences operations. During this term, the agreement may only be amended or terminated with the approval of the fund's Board of Trustees. Any amounts waived or reimbursed in a particular fiscal year will be subject to reimbursement by the fund to the investment adviser during the next two fiscal years to the extent that the repayment will not cause the fund's total annual fund operating expenses to exceed the limit (as stated in the agreement) during the respective year. The investment adviser may, but is not required to, extend the agreement for additional years.