Law Honours (11289.1)

Please note these are the 2027 details for this unit
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Law Honours
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods Research
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.25 6 Faculty Of Business, Government & Law
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Canberra Law School Level 4 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Band 5 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit provides students with the opportunity to undertake research and to write an Honours thesis. Successful completion of Law Honours will further develop student's legal or socio-legal analysis capabilities, ability to think critically (and originally), and research and writing skills. Students will also learn how to work independently and with a supervisor. Successful completion of Law Honours at credit level or above means students will be eligible to graduate from their LLB with Honours, if their meet all the other requirements in the Honours Policy.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Manage and complete a substantial research project under supervision;
2. Identify and apply existing research paradigms and methodologies as reflected in an explicit justification of the choice of paradigm and methodology;
3. Engage in critical thinking in both the evaluation of research literature and the formulation of original arguments;
4. Master written expression through (a) employing the basic principles of effective, grammatical and argumentative writing, (b) polishing multiple drafts under supervision, and (c) complying with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation; and
5. Identify and apply the most up-to-date primary and secondary sources relevant to the research project.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development


Skills development

This unit is conducted through supervised research. You should have taken the pre-Honours unit in a prior semester (most likely 2025), and you should already have identified a supervisor and met with that person in developing your research proposal for Law Honours. If you still need to identify a suitable supervisor, please contact the unit convenor as soon as possible.

If your research involves interviews, surveys or observation, you need to submit an ethics application - with the help of your supervisor. 

Learn about requirements and timetable of University ethics applications at:

Human Ethics - Staff Portal - University of Canberra

The site also notes the ethics application process.

Ethics approval takes time, and ideally you need to seek it prior to the unit starting, as you can do no research involving human subjects until you have obtained approval.

There are no lectures/tutorials/practicals/field classes in this subject. However, the unit proceeds according to the timetable listed elsewhere in this unit outline.



Prerequisites

11272 Law and Justice Research Project

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

9804 Law Honours (6cp)

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2027 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 Research Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 Research Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 15 February 2027 Research Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 09 August 2027 Research Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

None

Here some useful general resources for thesis research/writing (available via the UC Library):

Terry Hutchinson, Researching and Writing in Law (Thomson Reuters, 4th ed, 2018)

James Lester, Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide (Pearson, 15th ed, 2015)  (Links to an external site.)

Laura Lammasnie, Law Dissertations: A Step by Step Guide (Routledge, 2018) 

 

Access to University subscribed online databases

Databases can be accessed through the Library website.. There is additional research support available through the Library.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Artificial intelligence 

Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in assessments for this unit, except for Studiosity Writing Feedback Plus.

GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:

  1. the Unit Convener has authorised GenAI use for that assessment
  2. the student uses GenAI in the way that the assessment instructions allow
  3. the student fully acknowledges their use of GenAI, with proper citations, references and a GenAI Acknowledgement Statement in line with the assessment instructions.

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not permitted for that assessment. Students must still provide the required GenAI Acknowledgement Statement to indicate whether GenAI has or has not been used in the preparation of the assessment. If unsure, students should seek advice from the Unit Convener.

The GenAI for Students Library Guide provides further information, including how to reference GenAI.

Submit via Canvas dropbox.

There are no late submissions unless you validly sought (and were granted) an extension. Late submissions must be pre-arranged with the Law Honours Convenor and will only be granted under limited circumstances and subject to submission of valid supporting documentation.

Special assessment requirements

If you receive a Pass for your Honours thesis, you will pass the Unit but will not graduate with Honours.The Law Honours will be weighted as 30% for the purpose of calculating the Honours GPA.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

The key to success in this unit is working closely with your supervisor. Maximise the opportunity to use their expertise for thesis success. The Unit Convener will also hold virtual information sessions a few times during semester. Details on this will be posted in Canvas. It is your opportunity to ask general questions about the Law Honours process and thesis.

Inclusion and engagement

Please utilise Inclusion and Engagement for providing evidence in support of extensions.

Participation requirements

Please work in close consultation with your supervisor as per the Timetable provided elsewhere in this Unit Outline and in Canvas. The only other formal requirement in addition to working on, and submitting on time, your thesis, is a mid-semester progress report to your Unit Convener. See details in Timetable.

Required IT skills

Nothing other than word processing, internet-based research, spreadsheets, etc.

In-unit costs

None.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None.

Next step

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