Graduating with Law Honours from 2023
Overview
From 2023 there will be a new Bachelor of Laws (Honours) course. Students who are accepted into Honours will complete two dedicated Honours units over the course of two semesters, (LAWS5910 and LAWS5920). These units are embedded in the Bachelor of Laws requirements, reducing the number of Law electives to six. You do not need to do an additional Honours year.
Under the supervision of a Law School academic, students will be provided with a significant grounding in legal research in a research methodologies unit, and then go on to write a 10,000 word thesis in the following semester.
Admission procedure for the new Honours course
Admission to Law Honours units (LAWS5910 and LAWS5920) will be by direct internal application to the Law School. Students will fill out an Expression of Interest form emailed by week 13 of each semester, where they will be asked to identify a potential topic and a supervisor.
Eligibility
Students will be eligible for the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) units if they meet the following two criteria:
- have completed a minimum of 160 credit points in LAWS units, and
- have a LAWS WAM of 75.00 or above.
Required units
All Honours students will need to complete the following units over two semesters:
- LAWS5910 Research Methodologies in Law
- LAWS5920 Legal Research Project
Note: LAWS5910 is a prerequisite for LAWS5920. Both units are taught fully online.
Students awarded First Class Honours
Students who pass both Honours units will graduate with First Class Honours if they have attained a LAWS WAM of 75.00 or above at the end of their degree.
Students awarded Second Class Honours
Students who successfully pass both Honours units will graduate with Second Class Honours if they have attained a LAWS WAM of less than 75.00, but a minimum of 70.00, at the end of their degree.
For the purpose of Honours calculation, a LAWS WAM is not rounded. For instance, a student with a final LAWS WAM of 74.95 will receive Second Class Honours.
How is LAWS WAM calculated?
A student's LAWS WAM is calculated as follows:
- Multiply the unit mark for all attempts of a graded LAWS unit by the value of that unit in terms of credit points;
- Sum the resulting values (weighted marks);
- Divide the sum of the weighted marks by the total value (in terms of credit points) of all graded LAWS units attempted by the student.
For the purposes of Honours calculations, all graded units including Failed units are counted. This applies irrespective of whether you transferred courses. All grades prior to your course transfer are included.
Contact us
For further information, please contact the Convenor of the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Program, Dr Holly Doel-Mackaway: holly.doel-mackaway@mq.edu.au.