1. Law Honours 2017 14 September 2016 Presented by Dr Catrina Denvir
Associate Professor Arlie Loughnan
Natasha de Zilva
Sarah Bradbury– former Law Hons student
Faculty of Law

2. Honours: Basic Features
Supervised honours thesis
Undertaken for 12 credit points over one semester
12,000 word limit, including footnotes (but not footnote numbers or citations)
Standard for HD: a scholarly paper of publishable quality
Honours Award based on HWAM: double weighting of Honours Thesis mark
Compulsory - research training seminar (methodology is fun!)

3. Eligibility for admission to honours in 2017
Completion of at least 16 compulsory units (including Legal Research I and II) by the application closing date (13 December). This does not include 2016/ summer school results.
Satisfied the requirements of your first degree
Meet the WAM cut-off – for 2017 this is 75
This WAM is based on all compulsory units taken at Sydney Law School, except Foundations, completed by the end of Second Semester This does not include marks for electives.
Submission of a complete Honours Application: this includes the research proposal and the supervisor’s approval/sign-off.

4. Eligibility for admission to honours in 2017
Students who fall marginally short of the entry WAM (those with a WAM of 74+) may apply to the Dean for special entry on the basis that they can demonstrate aptitude for extended research.
A strong record of achievement in academic essay writing or other evidence of high level research and writing skills is required.
If you are a student with a WAM between 74 and 74.9 and you wish to apply for Honours, please attach a statement which outlines your capacity for high level research and writing. This statement should not exceed 300 words.

5. What is Honours and why do it?
Independent and extended research  extended essay or thesis
An intellectual challenge in an area that particularly interests you
Research and writing skills training
Apprenticeship for postgraduate study – direct supervision
Competitive advantage for postgraduate places, scholarships
Value-adding for the employment market
Sarah Bradbury

6. Honours: Applications
Applications in penultimate year for all students intending to do honours in following year (in either semester)
Students are responsible for developing a topic and arranging supervision as part of the application process
Past Honours theses are available in the Sydney E-Scholarship Repository on the library catalogue in special collection: see

7. Important Dates 4 September: WAM cut-off released  75 for 2017
14 September: list of available supervisors released and applications for Honours 2017 open
13 December 2016: applications close
By early February 2017: notification of successful applicants

8. Law Honours 2014 Information Session
The application form
You must nominate the semester in which you wish to undertake honours
Include: proposed title, supervisor, research proposal and preliminary bibliography
You must obtain the approval of your supervisor before you submit the form
Successful applicants will be notified after results are processed and WAMs are calculated. This should be completed by early February
If successful, you must submit a departmental permission request to enrol in honours in Sydney Student.
Note: Putting in an application does not guarantee a spot in the Honours program.

9. Finding a supervisor
The list of available supervisors for 2017 is available under the “How to apply” section of the Honours web page. This includes…
The semester each supervisor is available
Each supervisor’s research interests
Please note: supervision capacity is limited

10. Finding a supervisor
When choosing a supervisor consider the following:
The supervisor’s availability and expertise in the general field of study
Read some of their published work before deciding esp if you have not had experience with then as a lecturer
Knowledge and experience with the supervisor and useful feedback
Likely compatibility of style and approach
Make contact and discuss proposed topic with potential supervisor
Don’t leave it to the last minute! Potential Supervisors may not be available to sign relevant forms, meet with you or attend to correspondence if you do.

11. Ethics approval
Consider early on whether you need to get human ethics approval – will you be conducting research that involves human participants?
This includes surveys, questionnaires, and interviews.
Getting ethics approval may delay the commencement of your project so you should speak to your supervisor about this well in advance.

12. Award of honours
Award based on HWAM = all compulsory and elective law units taken at Sydney Law School except Foundations with the Honours mark given double weighting
Note: Being in the Honours program does not guarantee an honours degree
Description
HWAM
Honours Class I
HWAM ≥ 80
Honours Class II (Division 1)
75≥ HWAM < 80
Pass
HWAM < 75

13. Honours Thesis - Mark
The honours thesis is an important component of your honours grade
Your thesis mark is the result of a robust examination process in which:
Your supervisor will suggest an examiner for your thesis and your examiner will prepare a report and recommend a conditional mark to your supervisor
Supervisor and examiner discuss and agree on conditional mark
The examination report and the conditional mark are provided to the Honours Committee
Theses are then moderated by the Honours Committee who ensures each student has been marked to the same standard

14. The First/Second Class Honours Fear
Previously students have expressed concerns that if they do not achieve a First, then they are better off getting a Pass degree
Operates on assumption that a Distinction sounds better than a 2:1
Maybe yes, maybe no
Important to recognise that whatever your eventual degree classification, if you are applying to overseas universities, they will usually require you to convert your grade into their classification system (Honours, GPA, etc…)
Focus on whether you want to undertake independent research

15. Developing your topic and research proposal
LAWS 3900
Developing your topic and research proposal

16. Outlining your research proposal
Honours application requires a brief outline of intended research:
Maximum of 200 words – tight and concise
Your working hypothesis or research question
Rationale and background to the research – including brief reference to the relevant law literature and why it is worth doing
Brief description of your research methodology

17. The good research question checklist
Will this question hold my interest and can I manage any potential biases I may have in this area?
Is the question right for the field?
Will the findings be considered significant and contribute to knowledge? Contribute to change?
Is the question well articulated and terms properly defined?
Is the question doable? In time, resources, materials? Ethically?
Is the question of interest to potential supervisors?
Zina O’Leary 2014 Doing your research project, p 45

18. Developing your research proposal
Refining your choice of topic area to a research question:
What is already known what are the gaps in knowledge about this issue?
Why is this topic important, interesting or topical?
How do you propose to approach the topic in terms of methodology and argument?
What is the line of your overall argument?
Selected bibliography or sources

19. Questions? law.professional@sydney.edu.au
First point of enquiry: Honours webpage
Still not clear? For both administrative and academic queries, contact: