Enrolment Guidelines for Postgraduate unit LAW5052
Students should read through and understand the stages below before embarking on the application process that is required for LAW5052 - Professional Project (6 credit points).
Assessment regime
Completion of online Masters Research Skills module including quiz - 5%; and
Project plan: 1,500 words – 20%; and
Research paper: 6,000 words – 75%;
Stage 1: Eligibility and enrolment information
This unit should be completed after 14 of the core JD units are complete (with except of LAW5013 and LAW5015). This unit is only for students who joined the JD from T1, 2015 onwards.
It is one of the options available to students to fulfil their compulsory JD Professional Constrained Elective. The details about the range of compulsory JD Professional Constrained Electives can be viewed under the heading: “Part D: Extending Specialist Expertise: Specialist Law Electives here. The alternative options have restricted numbers and so you must do this course unless you are admitted to take one of the alternatives. The alternatives are:
- LAW4803 Clinical placement
- LAW4811 In-house clinical placement
- LAW5050 Professional practice
- LAW5055 Vis arbitration moot
- LAW5056 Jessup moot competition
- LAW5082 Masters research
- LAW5083 Extended research
- LAW5355 Advocacy
It is possible to enrol in this unit even if you have taken any of these other units previously.
NB You must complete at least one of the above units OR this unit before graduating.
Enrolling in LAW5052: Professional Project
For Semester 1 & Semester 2, eligible students will enrol through the Web Enrolment System (WES) in the usual way.
Stage 2: Proposal preparation and approval
Once students have been enrolled in this unit they join a particular topic based upon the research specialism offered via Moodle. The available research specialisms can be viewed once enrolled via Moodle.
For streams offered in Semester 1, the typical timeline is detailed below (please note this timeline is approximate and deadlines may differ from year to year):
| Plan | Timeline |
|---|---|
| First lecture (6 hr) | Late January |
| Plans submitted | Deadline by mid February – submission via moodle |
| Second lecture (3 hr) | Late February |
| Papers submitted | Deadline: Late April – submission via moodle; requirement must be complete by this point. This is done by completing the quiz. |
| Marking completed, week 19 | Late May |
For streams offered in Semester 2, the typical timeline is detailed below (please note this timeline is approximate and deadlines may differ from year to year):
| Plan | Timeline |
|---|---|
| First lecture (6 hr) | Mid July |
| Plans submitted | Deadline by early August – submission via moodle |
| Second lecture (3 hr) | Mid August |
| Papers submitted | Deadline: by late October – submission via moodle; requirement must be complete by this point. This is done by completing the quiz |
| Marking completed, week 19 | Mid November |
Before coming to the first lecture, (and only after specific topics for each stream are released) it is advisable that students formulate their research working title and decide whether they will work as an individual or a group of three or four, with the consent of their stream academic. It is sensible to check this working title before spending time producing a detailed plan. This is the student’s own responsibility.
The next step is to produce a detailed plan on the form that will be provided in due course through Moodle. This should be submitted to the academic of your stream within the deadlines. Further information of how to approach these steps is contained in the online Professional Project: Research Skills Moodle module. The link to the module will be made available via the LAW5052 Moodle page.
This Professional Project course will require independent study and so it is not expected that there will be input by the academic, who is not acting as a supervisor. Students must complete the requirements as soon as possible as this also teaches the research skills required.
Form to be used to submit the detailed plan by the above deadline.
Stage 3: Undertaking research
As the unit is one taken in the last or penultimate semester of the course, students are expected to complete their project with a high degree of autonomy and independence.
The academic in charge of the stream will be involved at three stages of the project:
- Assessment of the suitability of the research project, through the information contained in the plan;
- A total of nine hours of teaching (or consultation): six hours at the start of the module and three hours mid-way though the module;
- Marking of the final research paper upon submission.
In addition, the Monash Law Library offers Learning skills consultations for the development of student's research project planning skills and writing techniques, where required. This is envisaged as taking the form of small group sessions on topics of common interest, such as structuring a research project. Students can also contact the law librarians for advice on research techniques and sources.
Stage 4: Submission
The students are required to submit the completed professional project by the deadlines (via Moodle).
The results will be available on WES on the results publication date of the host unit. For more information refer to Results publication dates.
Contact information
For further information about the Professional Project unit, please contact:
- Law Student Services
1800 MONASH (1800 666 274), Contact: Ask Monash