Monash Law Honours Unit
LAW4327 - Honours thesis
For their final full year of law, many of the Faculty's top students elect to enrol in the Honours thesis research unit (LAW4327 - Honours thesis).
In the Honours thesis research unit, you write an 8,000 - 10,000 word thesis under the supervision of an academic member of staff, focusing on a topic of your choice. You must have your topic approved by a staff member.
Undertaking an Honours thesis gives you the opportunity to choose an area of the law that fascinates you and, under expert guidance from a member of staff member:
- rigorously analyse this area, and research it in great detail
- write a learned piece about that area of the law.
Students in the Honours thesis unit also attend three seminars throughout the year, designed to support them through the research process.
At the end of the year students present their thesis findings to their peers and invited guests at the Annual Honours Conference.
The unit has been designed to develop high level research and writing skills, providing students with a deeper understanding of the discipline.
From 2026 in recognition of the sophistication of the skills applied in producing an Honours thesis, results in LAW4327 Honours thesis can be scaled up by 10% by the Board of Examiners (with a maximum scaled mark of 99) to support Honours students achieve a WAM that reflects their high performance. This was decided at the Faculty Education Committee 02/2025.
Completing an Honours thesis may enhance your chances of securing highly sought-after jobs, such as a judge's associate. Moreover, it demonstrates your capacity for research, which is an admission criterion to a graduate research degree, such as an MPhil or PhD .
Are you eligible?
To be eligible for the Honours thesis research unit, you must have both:
- an average of 72% or better across your law units at Monash.
- you must have no more than 72 credit points remaining to complete the law requirements for the degree at the time of commencing the unit.
Applying for the Honours Research Unit - LAW4327
If you would like to commence the Honours Research Unit in 2026 you must lodge your application by 11.59pm 14th December 2025.
Applications will be assessed once semester 2 results are released.
Applications for 2026 will open on 30 September 2025
Successful applicants will be notified via e-mail mid December 2025 for the 2026 intake.
Before you apply for LAW4327 please contact a potential member of staff who will agree to supervise you. Once you have been accepted and enrolled develop a research proposal, which will be submitted for approval by the Director of the Honours Program.
Contact information
For further information about the Honours program, please contact:
Phone: Monash Connect Contact Centre on 1800 MONASH (1800 666 274)
Online: Ask.Monash
Email: law-honours@monash.edu
Honours Convenors 2026
Tyrone Berger
Jennifer Paneth