The Master of International Law and International Relations is a joint program of the Law School and the School of Politics and International Relations in the Faculty of Arts.

The degree will provide an interdisciplinary study program that meets the developmental requirements of students interested in careers in international law and international relations. Students will acquire an advanced level of knowledge and analytical ability in relation to the issues, problems and conduct of international law and politics and the areas of interaction, overlap and conflict between the two disciplines. The program will provide a depth of study and research opportunities in respect of the interrelationship between international law and relations and provide students with a strong theoretical and practical understanding of the international legal system, the workings of international politics and their effect on each other. All courses are not necessarily available in any one year.

Please contact the Faculty of Law for information regarding the Program Objectives and Learning Outcomes.

The MILIR may be taken full-time in two semesters or part-time in a minimum of three semesters. Students must undertake and satisfactorily complete six semester-long courses or the equivalent. A total of 48 units of credit are required for the award of the degree. Fifty percent of the program (24uocs) must be taken from appropriate courses with a POLS prefix and the remaining 24 uocs must be chosen from appropriate courses with a LAWS prefix. Postgraduate law courses are taught in a variety of formats both during the University's formal academic semesters and over the winter teaching break. While many are taught for two hours per week over a teaching semester, in others the class hours are arranged more intensively to permit students to focus fully on a research project. Some courses of particular interest to students in employment are scheduled in a venue situated in the CBD.

1. The degree of Master of International Law Relations may be awarded by the Council to a candidate who has satisfactorily completed a program of advanced study in law, social sciences or humanities.

Qualifications

2. (1) A candidate for the degree shall have been awarded an appropriate Bachelor's degree from the University of New South Wales or a qualification considered equivalent from another university or tertiary institution at a level acceptable to the Faculty Education Committee of the Faculty of Law (hereinafter referred to as the Committee).

(2) In exceptional cases an applicant who submits evidence of such other academic and professional qualifications as may be approved by the Committee may be permitted to enrol for the degree.

(3) When the Committee is not satisfied with the qualifications submitted by an applicant the Committee may require the applicant, before being permitted to enrol, to undergo such examination or carry out such work as the Committee may prescribe.

Enrolment and Progression

3. (1) An application to enrol as a candidate for the degree shall be lodged with the Registrar by the advertised due date.

(2) A candidate for the degree shall be required to undertake such formal courses and pass such assessment as is prescribed.

(3) The progress of a candidate shall be reviewed at least once annually by the Committee and as a result of its review the Committee may cancel enrolment or take such other action as it considers appropriate.

(4) No candidate shall be awarded the degree until the lapse of two academic semesters from the date of enrolment in the case of a full-time candidate or three semesters in the case of a part-time candidate. The maximum period of candidature shall be three academic semesters from the date of enrolment for a full-time candidate and six semesters for a part-time candidate. In special cases an extension of these times may be granted by the Committee.

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html

The following electives are available for credit towards the Master of International Law and International Relations degree and the Graduate Diploma in International Law and International Relations (MILIR and GDILIR).

Students enrolled in both programs are required to complete the following two compulsory courses (16uoc) in the first year of study:

LAWS4080 Issues in International Law
POLS5125 The Politics of International Law

MILIR students must choose 32uoc from the following list of courses. Students must choose fifty percent of courses from each discipline. All courses are not necessarily available in one year.

Note: MILIR students may enrol in either LAWS4423 Research Thesis or POLS5113 Research Project