The Melbourne Law School is Australia's oldest Law School, with a rich tradition of excellence in learning, teaching and research developed over more than 150 years. We have a deep sense of history and a strong vision for the future. We aim to be one of the finest law schools in the world.
The Melbourne Law School is committed to providing outstanding research training for our PhD and MPhil (formerly LLM by thesis) students. We provide a three year Research Support Programme that assists candidates to develop the high level skills needed to complete an outstanding thesis. We run two colloquia a year that provide our candidates with a chance to present their research to a group of academics and fellow candidates and to receive detailed questioning on their work. We provide up to $4000 in additional funds over the life of the PhD to enable candidates to present their work at conferences in Australia and overseas, to have critical texts translated, to receive language training and to provide support for empirical work. All of our full time candidates are given a desk and computer facilities in our impressive, modern building usually in close proximity to their supervisors. All of this support, combined with some of the most outstanding supervisors in Australia, leads to the Melbourne Law School having one of the highest completion rates for Law PhDs in Australia.
We also aim to create a global experience for our PhD students. The Melbourne Law School is the only Australian member of the Association of Transnational Law Schools (ATLAS) – an organisation of 7 law schools worldwide that are recognised leaders in research training for PhD students. Every year up to 6 of our students are selected to attend an Agora where they receive intensive research training and they are able to present their research to their peers from four difference continents. We also have a series of other formal links (eg Universitas 21) with other universities and we actively support our candidates in presenting their work internationally when opportunities arise. In 2008, for example, three of our PhD candidates will travel to Toronto for the ATLAS Agora, two will present papers at a major conference on obligations in Singapore, one will present a paper at a U21 conference on water in Birmingham, another will participate in a summer school on federalism in Switzerland and others are undertaking field work in countries as diverse as Timor Leste, Nepal, Pakistan, the United States and Bosnia.
If you are an outstanding student who wishes to obtain a PhD or MPhil from a leading university located in the heart of a wonderful city we encourage you to apply for a place in our programme.
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