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Monash Law HonoursFor their final full year of law, many of the Faculty’s top students elect to enrol in the Honours Research Unit (Research Unit 512). Undertaking the unit involves the a student writing a 12,000-15,000 word thesis under the supervision of an academic member of staff, on a topic chosen by the student, and approved by a staff member. Students undertaking an Honours thesis have the opportunity rigorously to analyse, and to research in great detail, an area of the law that fascinates them, and then to write a learned piece about that area of the law, all the while under expert guidance from a member of staff. This will further develop high level research and writing skills, and provide deeper understanding of the discipline. Some highly sought-after jobs, eg jobs as a judge’s associate, are likely to go to graduates who have included a major research project in their degree. To be eligible for the Honours Research Unit, students must have an average of 65% or better across their law subjects, and have no more than 54 credit points remaining to complete the law requirements of their degree. Exemptions from the 54 credit point requirement can be made for students who will finish their law degree mid-year 2011. The Honours Research Unit is a 12 credit point subject. Enrolment in the Honours unit is for a full year starting in semester 1. In recognition of the high level achievement in researching and writing a thesis, a bonus 20% is added to the grade obtained in that unit when calculating the student’s overall Honours Weighted Average - the weighted average of all of a student’s Monash law units in the degree. The degree with honours is awarded in classes 1, 2A, 2B or 3, depending on the value of the student’s Honours Weighted Average. That 20% bonus may have a significant impact upon a student’s Honours Weighted Average, and could easily affect the class of honours awarded, as well as the student’s ranking in the order of merit in the graduating class, as explained below. The bonus in action Assume a student obtains a mark of 80% for her Honours Thesis (the median result for Honours theses in 2007 was in fact 82%!). For the purposes of ascertaining the student’s Honours Weighted Average (‘HWA’), the thesis mark of 80% will count as a mark of 96% (80% + (20% * 80%)). More accurately, since the Honours Research Unit is a 12 point subject, it will count as the equivalent of marks of 96% in two (6 point) units. Because of that weighting, a student who is doing a 156 credit point LLB as part of a combined degree, and who receives 80% for the Honours thesis, will receive a bonus of 1.23 marks in calculating the HWA. That bonus of 1.23 marks could be crucial to the class of honours a student obtains, for the reason that only two marks separate each class of honours award. (For table of numerical values of HWAs for each class of honours, go to Calculation of Honours, below) A student who receives a mark of 75% for the Honours thesis will receive a bonus of 1.15 marks in the HWA, and a student who receives a mark of 85% will receive a bonus of 1.38 marks. In each case, the bonus will not necessarily, but might well, catapult the student into the award of a higher class of honours. To hear the 2009 semester 2 Honours Convenor, Normann Witzleb, discuss this bonus, as well as other matters relevant to the Honours Research Unit, please Click Here Applying for the Honours Research Unit Students who would like to apply to be admitted to the Honours Research Unit, should calculate the weighted average of all law units completed up to and including their penultimate year. A 12 point or compulsory full year unit carries a weighting of 1.0; a 6 point unit carries a weighting of 0.5; and a 3 credit point unit carries a weighting of 0.25. If it seems likely that you will achieve an HWA of at least 65% at the end of the year, you should fill in an Honours Research Unit 512 Application Form [Doc] available online, or from the Student Services counter. Application forms must be lodged by the last Friday in November of a student’s penultimate full academic year. Successful applicants will be notified in late December. Students will then, in consultation with a member of staff, be required to develop a research proposal, which will be submitted for approval by the Director of the Honours Program in February. Honours GenerallyCalculation of Honours The award of an Honours degree in Law is currently based on the weighted average of marks obtained in Monash Law units. Depending upon a student’s Honours Weighted Average you may be awarded may be awarded an Honours classification of HI, HIIA, HIIB or HIII. For further information, go to Honour Classification and Order of Merit. Each law unit is weighted according to its value in the Bachelor of Laws:
It is possible to qualify for the degree with honours without undertaking LAW5207 Research Unit 512, in which students complete an honours thesis. However students who undertake the unit receive a 20% bonus added to the grade achieved in that unit for the purposes of the HWA calculation. Honours cut-offs were determined and endorsed by Faculty Board Meeting 1/08. The following cut-offs were applied when determining the Honours grade in 2008:
Applying for an Honours Degree There is no need to apply for the award of Honours. The average of every completing student is calculated by the Faculty of Law in February of each year. The Order of Merit list ranks each student in the graduating cohort by their HWA. Students are identified by ID number only. Students who do not wish their ID number to be included in the Order of Merit can request that the number be withheld in the published list. Further informationShould you require further information about the Honours program, please contact: Pauline Smith Dr Normann Witzleb
http://mulo.lib.monash.edu.au/download/2009-09-17_13-04.mp3 |