Master of Legal Studies (MLS)

Program Overview

Professionals from a non-legal background are increasingly finding that their careers require some knowledge of legal matters; however they do not necessarily want to practise law.

The Master of Legal Studies (MLS) is specifically designed for non-lawyers to understand how the legal system works and to provide some substantive knowledge of the law in specific areas.

Professionals who will particularly benefit include:

• Accountants and Auditors
• Architects and Town Planners
• Business Development Managers
• Compliance Managers
• Engineers
• Financial Planners
• IT professionals
• Police
• Policy Officers in the public sector
• Property Developers
• Psychologists
• Public Sector Managers, for example those in DFAT, DCITA, Attorney-General’s Department and Treasury
• Social Workers
• Teachers of legal studies in high schools

The MLS allows cross-disciplinary study of postgraduate courses from other UNSW faculties, enabling students to advance their professional skills while acquiring knowledge of the law.

Candidates are encouraged to explore the postgraduate offerings of other UNSW faculties and include them in the study plan outlining the courses they wish to study within the Legal Studies program. The study plan must be submitted with the application form. Candidates are required to also submit a curriculum vitae with their application form so that work experience can be taken into consideration when approving their study plan.

The program is designed to complement previous study and work experience and to build an understanding of the law into the current area of expertise of non-law professionals. The program is not designed to allow candidates to branch into a new area of knowledge.

Entry to Legal Studies programs is available in Semester 1 only. This program does not lead to a professional qualification for legal practice.

Students can also enrol in the Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies (Grad Dip LS).

Program Structure

Students must complete a total of 48 uoc in order to complete the requirements for the degree.

The following five core law courses (total 24 uoc) must be completed before, or be taken concurrently with, non-core courses:

• Australian Legal System and Process (8uoc)
• Research and Writing in a Legal Environment (4 uoc)
• Elements of Contract (4 uoc)
• Introduction to Property Law (4 uoc)
• Introduction to Public Law (4 uoc) *

On completion of the compulsory law component, students may design individual study plans to best suit their professional needs. The remaining 50% of the program may be selected from postgraduate courses offered by the Law Faculty or from accrediting postgraduate courses from other UNSW faculties.

School of Law Courses

The School of Law offers a wide range of postgraduate elective law courses. Enrolment is subject to the approval of the Associate Dean (Postgraduate). Some courses may assume background experience or education leading into the area of postgraduate coursework students wish to study. Other than in exceptional circumstances, MLS students are not permitted to enrol in the Research Thesis option.

When choosing courses, please consult the current timetable, as all courses are not necessarily available in any one year or academic session.

All postgraduate courses have a strong research dimension and course assessment is principally on the basis of research essays (6,000 words). Essay topics are agreed upon with the lecturer within the first few weeks of semester to enable students to work on their research and writing with continuous feedback from the lecturer. Papers are normally due a week or two after the end of semester.

• All Law Courses
• 2010 Law Courses

Taxation courses offered by the Faculty of Law are taught through the Australian Taxation Studies Program (Atax). Courses should be selected from the Master of Taxation program.

• All Tax Courses
• 2010 Tax Courses
  

Other UNSW Faculties

If you are interested in cross-disciplinary study please contact the following UNSW faculties for more information about their postgraduate offerings:

• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Built Environment
• Australian School of Business
• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Science
• College of Fine Art

* Please note that to enrol in any of the non-core courses students are required to obtain approval from the Coordinator of Postgraduate Education.  To obtain approval you need to complete the Enrolment Form Legal Studies Students which is available at:  http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/Current_Students/forms/2008/LegalStudies_EnrolmentVariationForm.pdf and forward it to law@unsw.edu.au.