Program

Int'l Law & Int'l Relations - 9240

Program Summary

Faculty: Faculty of Law

Contact: http://www.law.unsw.edu.au

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Typical Duration: 1 Years  

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 6

Max UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC For Award: 48

Award(s):

Master of International Law and International Relations

View program information for previous years

Program Description

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

There is virtually no area of world politics in which international law does not play a role and international law cannot be fully understood without an appreciation of the political context in which it operates.
The Master of International Law & International Relations provides an interdisciplinary study program for students with backgrounds in law, the social sciences or humanities who are interested in a career in international law and international relations. It provides students with a strong theoretical and practical understanding of the international legal system, the workings of international politics and their effect on each other. Not all courses are necessarily available in any one year.

This program does not lead to a professional qualification for legal practice.

Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

The objectives of the program are:
  • To provide an interdisciplinary study program that meets the developmental requirements of students interested in careers in international law and international relations;
  • To 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;
  • To provide a depth of study and research opportunities in respect of the interrelationship between international law and international relations;
  • To 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.

Program Structure

The MILIR may be taken full-time in two semesters or part-time in a minimum of three semesters. A total of 48 units of credit (uoc) are required for the award of the degree. Fifty percent of the program (24uoc) must be taken from appropriate courses with a POLS prefix and the remaining 24 uoc must be chosen from appropriate courses with a LAWS prefix.

ENROLMENT
The Enrolment Guide for the Master of International Law and International Relations (MILIR) can be found on the Enrolment UNSW Law website.

Academic Rules

Award of the Degree
1. The degree of Master of International Law and International 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

(1) A candidate for the degree shall have been awarded an appropriate Bachelor degree in law, social sciences or humanities or a Juris Doctor degree from UNSW Australia or a qualification considered equivalent from another university or tertiary institution with a minimum of credit average, or

(2) A candidate for the degree shall have been awarded an appropriate Bachelor degree in law, social sciences or humanities or a Juris Doctor degree from UNSW Australia or a qualification considered equivalent from another university or tertiary institution with a minimum of two years' relevant professional experience.

Advanced Standing
For information regarding Advanced Standing for Program 9240, please refer to the ‘Credit Transfer Rules and Regulations (PG)’ on Law website.

Enrolment and Progression

(1) An application to enrol as a candidate for the degree shall be lodged online on the UNSW website, 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.

Fees

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

Course List

Candidates for the MILIR must complete 48 uoc for the MILIR degree. 24 uoc must be obtained from courses with a POLS prefix and 24uoc from courses with a LAWS prefix. LAWS and POLS courses are generally 6 uoc each.

Students enrolled in the MILIR are required to complete the following two compulsory courses (12 uoc) in the first year of study:
Students who have completed LAWS3381 Public International Law or equivalent in their undergraduate law degree may be exempt from completing LAWS8180 and may be given permission to undertake another elective in lieu of this. These requests can only be approved by the Program Director, Andrew Byrnes, (andrew.byrnes@unsw.edu.au).


All Students
All students in the program must take a minimum of 2 of the elective courses from the Research-Based Course List as specified below. The requirement to take two courses from the Research-Based Course list can, in the alternative, be satisfied if the student takes the single course LAWS8423 Research Thesis: 6 uoc.

The remaining 36 uoc required for the MILIR must be obtained from the following list of courses and the research-based courses . Students must obtain 18 uoc (three courses) from courses with a LAWS prefix and 18 uoc (three courses) from courses with a POLS prefix. Not all electives are offered every year. The semester in which a course is offered varies every year. Other courses may be added as new courses are developed and changed.

Note: MILIR students have the option to enrol in either LAWS8423 Research Thesis: 6 uoc or POLS5113 Thesis (but not both).

MILIR students may enrol in ONE internship program only, LAWS8173 UNSW Law Internship Program or POLS5100 International Relations Internship Program (but not both).

Any requests to undertake an elective not on the below list will need to be approved by andrew.byrnes@unsw.edu.au, the program director.

LAW courses

POLS courses
Research-Based Course List:

Area(s) of Specialisation