Master of Laws (Research)

The University of New England is committed to maintaining its strong research culture, underpinned by high research training standards.

The Master of Laws (Research) Rules provide the framework for one of the University's AQF Level 9 awards.

They provide the rigorous processes that are essential for the maintenance of academic quality and integrity in the University's operations, and that reflect the University's values of providing a formative, respectful, inclusive, flexible and innovative environment for the delivery of high quality research training for its candidates.

Course Aims

The Master of Laws (Research) aims to enable candidates to develop and deepen their knowledge and advanced research skills through undertaking legal research on a significant legal topic in a scholarly dissertation, either for academic or professional purposes. The course also aims to provide candidates with theoretical knowledge and relevant advanced research methodologies for conducting advanced research in a specialised area of law, including legal theory, corporate law, comparative law, biotechnology and intellectual property law, human rights, international law or legal history or interdisciplinary studies of law and policy.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: demonstrate advanced skills in research analysis and the written or oral communication of complex ideas; demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of legal theories in a chosen area of law or interdisciplinary studies in law and critical examination of the relationship between those theories and contemporary legal and social problems; demonstrate advanced knowledge of, and an ability to apply, selected methodological approaches to legal research in order to identify and critically analyse complex legal and policy problems; apply higher-level legal writing, research and communication skills in order to apply the results of their specialised knowledge effectively for resolving contemporary legal and social problems; and demonstrate an advanced ability to undertake, interpret and develop a legal research project using appropriate principles and research techniques in order to produce a scholarly dissertation.

Graduate Attributes

Knowledge of a Discipline Students are presented with appropriate teaching and assessment experiences to enable them to develop and demonstrate comprehensive knowledge in a chosen area of law or an area involving the interdisciplinary study of law. Students are taught and encouraged to take a global perspective in evaluating the law, legal theories and related public policy. Communication Skills Students are taught and trained to demonstrate high-level scholarly written and oral communication skills which must be demonstrated in the final dissertation. The foundational unit has been designed to facilitate student interaction and collarboration with their peers and for them to practise the skills of communicating effectively and confidently both orally and in writing. Problem Solving The primary focus of any legal and interdisciplinary research is on seeking legal and practical solutions to complex legal and social problems. This is assessed through the written dissertation. Information Literacy Students are assessed on their ability to use advanced legal research methods through assessment of their dissertation. Ethical Conduct and Social Responsibility Students are encouraged throughout the course to reflect critically on the impact of the law on society. The foundational unit on research methodology and theory requires reflection on the requirements of ethical research, and this is reinforced through supervision at an individual level. Lifelong Learning The skills acquired and developed through research and problem solving will provide the students with self-motivated learning and research techniques for their future challenges. Independence and Collaboration While students in this course are predominantly working independently, they are introduced to the collegial nature of research through their participation in the foundational unit on research methodology and theory. Students in this unit are encouraged to work in collaboration with their peers, engaging empathetically and insightfully with them, to achieve agreed outcomes.