Postgraduate Research Scholarships in Law

Monash Law research students intending to enrol in the Master of Philosophy, Master of Laws (Research), Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Juridical Science can apply for the postgraduate research scholarships.

Scholarships for local students

  • Australian Postgraduate Award (APA)
  • Monash Graduate Scholarship (MGS)

Scholarships for international students

  • International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS)
  • Monash International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (MIPRS)
  • Monash Graduate Scholarship (MGS)

Information on scholarships are available from the Monash Institute of Graduate Research

Scholarship applications

Students intending to apply for scholarships are requested to contact the Faculty's HDR Coordinator in the first instance (contact details below). Closing dates for applications are 31 May and 31 October each year.

Applicants who intend to apply in the mid-year round with closing date on 31 May should be able to commence their candidature by end of September in the same year.  Applicants who intend to apply in the end-of-year round with closing date on 31 October should be able to commence their candidature by 31 March in the following year. 

Scholarship eligibility

Applicants who can establish first-class honours (H1) equivalency are eligible to apply. Applications can be submitted online.

University Wide H1 Equivalence (H1E)

The Monash Research Graduate School has established procedures to determine H1 equivalence. However, candidates applying for postgraduate scholarships in the Faculty of Law are advised to refer also to the Faculty-specific guidelines.

Faculty of Law Specific Guidelines for H1 Equivalence (H1E)

A.  Graduate entry from Australian or New Zealand universities with LLB honours

A number of factors are considered in order to make allowance for the relatively small number of H1 degrees that are awarded to undergraduate law students. The principal factors that are considered in granting H1E to a Monash or other Australian or New Zealand Bachelor of Laws honours graduate include:

  • final class ranking
  • published articles in recognised refereed journals
  • performance in honours thesis and/or research papers
  • examiners’ reports
  • proportions of students with honours degrees and number of H1 degrees awarded
  • prizes won
  • averages over the final two to three years of the undergraduate degree

B.  Graduate entry from Australian or New Zealand universities with an ungraded honours degree

Some universities may only grade honours degrees where the student completes an honours research thesis. Students who have completed a Bachelor of Laws with honours, but no grade, will be considered for H1E. Factors to be considered are the same as those in Section A above.

C.  Other graduates

Ungraded Master of Laws (Research)) (100% research component)

Students in this group can be in Australia or overseas. Examiners’ reports and articles published in recognised refereed journals in English will also be considered

Ungraded Masters of Laws by coursework with a minor thesis of at least 66%

A minimum average of 75% is desirable for the coursework component. Examiners’ reports, coursework averages and articles published in recognised refereed journals in English will also be considered.

Graded Master of Laws by coursework with a minor thesis component less than 66%

A minimum average of 75% is desirable for the coursework component of the course. The grade of the minor thesis (if appropriate), examiners’ reports, coursework averages and articles published in recognised refereed journals in English will also be considered.

Master of Laws by coursework

A minimum average of 75% is desirable for all coursework. The grade of the research components of the coursework units, examiners’ reports, coursework averages and articles published in recognised refereed journals in English will also be considered.

Individual applications will be judged on their merits in cases of exceptional circumstances.

For postgraduate research scholarships ranking, Master of Laws (Research) will be ranked above all other applicants.

Contact us

Should you have any queries about research scholarships, please contact the Faculty's HDR Coordinator:

Phone: +61 3 99905 3342
Email:  law-research@monash.edu

Frequently asked questions

How do I prepare my research proposal ?

The statement of your thesis proposal should be structured as follows:

  • a short descriptive title of the project (This does not have to be exactly the same as the title eventually given to the thesis.)
  • a statement of the broad goal or goals of the project (ie.  the general ideas)  to be explored/discussed.
  • a statement of particular objectives and tasks to be undertaken. This may take the form of a statement of issues and/or matters to be investigated.  The statement should indicate the directions the project will take.
  • a statement indicating why you think the project is worth undertaking.  (This statement might include reference to existing literature on the subject and an explanation of why you think if deficient.)

There is no word limit but your research proposal must be sufficiently informative for a potential supervisor to understand your ideas.  Please refer to an example of a good research proposal.

If I am an international applicant from a non English speaking country, what is the standard for English language proficiency ?

IELTS:
overall score seven with seven for written module

TOEFL:
If paper-based: overall score 600 with five for Test of Written English (TWE)
If computer-based: overall score 250 with five for Essay Rating (ER)
If web-based: a total score of 100 with a minimum of 25 in each test

Exemption is considered on a case-by-case basis.

If my scholarship application is not successful but I still would like to be enrolled or re-apply for another round, what should I do?

Please contact the Faculty HDR Coordinator for advice.
Email:   law-research@monash.edu
Tel:  (+ 61 3) 990 53342