Master of Laws

The Master of Laws by coursework is designed for both Australian and international law graduates.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will be able to broaden their knowledge and enhance their independent, critical thinking and research skills.

The course will also enable students to achieve a high standard of professional writing and research relevant to current issues in law and practice.

Students will have the opportunity to choose units of interest or specialise by undertaking units that form a major.

Course Aims

The Master of Laws aims to enable students to use their undergraduate skills, as well as any practical or professional experience, to develop independent critical thinking and to reflect upon and further develop research analysis in legal environments. They can gain specialised knowledge and skills for professional practice, scholarship, research and/or further learning. These studies enable students to apply interdisciplinary and global approaches to the development of law.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: demonstrate a well developed understanding of advanced skills in research analysis and the written or oral communication of complex ideas; demonstrate a sound knowledge in a range of theories that seek to explain how law is created and operates in society; demonstrate advanced knowledge of, and an ability to, apply methodological approaches to legal research in order to identify and analyse complex legal and policy problems. In doing so exhibit a highly developed understanding of the use of relevant technology; demonstrate developed concrete conceptual, analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills; and demonstrate a well-formed and tested ability to design and construct a logically compelling legal thesis dealing with issues of significance in contemporary society.

Graduate Attributes

Knowledge of a Discipline Students are presented with appropriate scholastic, teaching and assessment experiences to enable them to develop and demonstrate that they have a comprehensive knowledge of the law and the legal skills needed to conduct research into contemporary issues. Students are also challenged to take an interdisciplinary and theoretical approach to research in order that they have a more holistic understanding of law and its relationship with society. The dominant focus of this Masters is the Australian legal system. However, students are encouraged to take a global and international perspective in evaluating the law. To this end students are required to read academic literature and scholastic articles dealing with other jurisdictions and are challenged to engage in a comparative analysis. Consequently they can critically evaluate the effectiveness of Australian law in the global context. Communication Skills The learning environment has been designed to facilitate student interaction and collaboration with their peers and for them to practise the skills of communicating effectively and confidently both orally and in writing, either physically or with the application of relevant technologies. Problem Solving Individual units will present students with problem-based learning and case studies so that they can learn and practice solutions. Identification, conceptualisation and solution modelling is required, both in teams or individually, and also forms part of their assessment. Information Literacy Throughout their studies, students are taught advanced legal research methods. This provides them with the means to construct arguments, to present new considerations, and the ability to verify or refute the academic literature on a particular topic. Ethical Conduct and Social Responsibility In law, students are constantly reminded that their actions, and reporting of research findings, have consequences. It is important that they conduct their research ethically, and report their findings responsibly. Lifelong Learning The skills aquired and developed throughout the course will prepare the students with self-motivated learning techniques for their future challenges. Independence and Collaboration Academia is, on the whole, a collegial vocation, which is reflected in this course. Students are required to work independently and to participate in small groups. They will be discussing the work of others and may be asked to generate a single submission, lead a team, and interact with other students from various disciplines as appropriate. Participatory exercises are assessed in some units.