Welcome to Monash University Law School

“The law should not be seen as narrow-minded, conservative and tedious, but as broad, critical and intellectually stimulating. As Dean of Law, I affirm our commitment to developing the highest quality graduates who hold a solid grounding in legal, social and ethical issues.”

Professor Arie Freiberg, Dean of Law

Monash Law is one of the largest and most prestigious law schools in Australia providing legal education and training to over 2700 undergraduate and postgraduate students. Increasingly, law is seen as one of the most valuable generalist degrees, providing a solid foundation for a range of careers. As a result law graduates enjoy a higher rate of employment than graduates from almost every other discipline.

The quality of the law school is reflected in our alumni, many of whom hold prominent positions around the world both inside and outside of the legal profession. In Victoria alone, Monash law graduates hold some of the most senior judicial positions in this State including the Chief Justice of Victoria, the Chief Magistrate of Victoria, Chief Judge of the County Court, President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Chief Magistrate of the Victorian Children’s Court, as well as the Victorian Solicitor-General and State Coroner.

Some of the faculty’s students are also making a name for themselves, including Hugh Evans, the 2004 Young Australian of the Year, and Clare O’Neil, the mayor of Victoria’s Greater Dandenong region – at 23, the youngest ever female mayor in Australia.

Teaching excellence

In an era of rapid change, the study and practice of law are constantly evolving to meet new challenges. The faculty prides itself on being able to meet these challenges, ensuring graduates are accomplished professionals with transferable knowledge and skills.

The faculty’s expert teaching staff contribute a mix of specialist knowledge and international experience. Nine current staff members have won the Monash Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, more than any other faculty in the university. The faculty also draws on the expertise of industry professionals and international guest lecturers to ensure its programs remain relevant in a changing global climate.

In addition to the traditional Bachelor of Laws, the Monash Law School significantly improves career options by offering a variety of double degrees with the faculties of Arts, Business and Economics, Engineering, Information Technology, Science, and Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

The Faculty's postgraduate program reflects the professional needs of both law and non-law graduates. Courses are offered across an array of legal specialisations and range from research doctorates and masters degrees to single-unit enrolments. Classes are scheduled at convenient times in the city-based Monash University Law Chambers, located in the heart of Melbourne’s legal district. The teaching and research efforts of the faculty are reinforced by the Monash University Law Library, one of the largest in Australia and a gateway to legal information across the world.

Practical Legal Training

As a clinical law school, Monash is committed to providing the highest standard of legal education and training. Over 30 years ago, the law school developed the first practical legal training program in Australia for undergraduate students. Through our two community legal centres, students learn vital skills relating to the practice of law while providing an important service to disadvantaged communities. At the postgraduate level, Monash Law also offers the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Skills and Ethics – an alternative to articles of clerkship and a direct pathway to legal practice.

Internationalisation

Students from around the world study law at Monash, exchanging knowledge and ideas and contributing to the cultural wealth of the faculty community. Monash Law is committed to multidisciplinary studies and, through its programs and research opportunities with other faculties, to providing students with a greater understanding of the law and its influence on the world around us. The scope of the Monash law degree has led to a diversity of careers for graduates, many of whom work across the globe in a myriad of professions.

The faculty is also committed to providing a range of international opportunities that enrich the study experience and contribute to both the personal and professional development of our students. Many students study a semester overseas at the Monash University Prato Centre in Italy or at some of the world’s finest law schools through exchange and study abroad schemes.

Students also have the opportunity to undertake internships at international organisations, such as the the United Nations in Geneva, or to work as volunteers through the Castan Centre and Reprieve Australia to provide legal representation to those facing the death penalty in the USA.

Centres of Excellence

The faculty’s academic staff have written many internationally renowned publications and the faculty has earned a worldwide reputation for its dedicated research centres.

The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law brings together national and international human rights scholars, practitioners and advocates to promote and protect human rights through education, publications, consultancies and advocacy.

Through its International Institute of Forensic Studies, the faculty, in collaboration with the Australian Advocacy Institute, provides expert witness and advocacy training to the United Nations and supports research and education relating to court and tribunal procedures, such as the ethical obligations of expert witnesses and international comparisons of forensic processes.