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University of queensland

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anotherstudent

Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 32
University of queensland
Tue Jan 24, 2006 03:41 AM
Hi Monroe

What course are you doing at UWA? I did my undergrad course there - a combined arts and bachelor of laws degree. the campus is absolutely beautiful and every student I know who came there from exchance from another law school in Australia agreed it has the best social life of any university in Australia. It's very easy to meet people. Just make sure you get involved in all the activities ("shows") on offer. You should have a great time.
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SR

Joined: 23 Jan 2006
Posts: 5
University of queensland
Tue Jan 24, 2006 06:38 AM
Monroe,

Let me endorse the above comments - UWA has the most picturesque campus in Australia (that I have seen) and is centrally located to the city, beach etc, and also has affordable accomodation nearby.

It is also well regarded academically. By most measures it's probably about 6th/7th -but could quite feasibly be higher than than - the ranking systems quoted by some earlier posts using entrance scores discount the fact that many unis reserve half or more of their undergraduate places for full fee-paying students who do not have to meet the same entrance requirements demanded of those taking government subsidised places. This means that the score required to get in is distorted for those unis. UWA by contrast does not (at least until recently - this may have changed) set aside full fee places, so all students get in on merit. You will find also that if you look at the number of students who do things like High Court Associateships, or Jessup mooting etc, UWA (and also University of Queensland) are disporportionately represented, given that their cohorts are substantially smaller than Melbourne or Sydney.

Of course, much of this applies only to undergrad degrees. I think it is fair to say that most well performing Australian undergrads would seek to go to the UK or US for their master's, so you may find that an Australian LLM is a slightly less rigorous, slightly less intense academic experience. That said, it is pretty hard to go wrong with spending a year in Perth, regadless of the reason - You'll have a blast.
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Hayden

Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 4
University rankings.
Tue Feb 28, 2006 03:04 PM
I agree with the above posts. I must say however that rankings with Australian Universities is some what of a farce. I know for a fact (having studied at UWA (Perth), ANU, and Uppsala (Sweden) that unlike most countries with a concentrated population there is very little movement of students across state borders. Any university that claims to be the 'best' university is quite frankly deceiving itself.

I just would like to say, so long as you go to one of the "G-8" group of universities you are assured a good university. I always love the disproportionate responses of many 'eastern states" students and how they like to distort figures. The university of WA has consistently been the highest entrance score of any of the universities in Australia, and has been in the top 5 for the entrance to the undergraduate law degree. It was 98.2 in my year.

I readily accept that it does not have the greatest research rankings, however you should not dismiss some of the universities in other states (for example UWA, USA, UQ, etc) all of which are comparable if not better than their NSW and Victorian colleagues.

I agree with the above post as well, UWA has the best campus, and Perth has by far the best weather in OZ!!!
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Bluna

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 32
University rankings.
Tue Feb 28, 2006 09:48 PM
Hayden, which uni does "USA" stand for? Thanks
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Quack

Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 1
Re: Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Fri May 26, 2006 07:05 AM
LLB Student in Sydney is obviously delusional. There is NO WAY that the University of Sydney is regarded as Australia's top law school (wishful thinking), or that Melbourne ranks below Monash.

By "demand and supply" I'll assume that you mean ENTER/UAI score.

First, this isn't a good measure across states -- I (and most people I know at Melbourne) were not prepared to leave Melbourne to study law. Why would we? Melbourne is generally regarded as superior to Sydney (see, eg, the recent ranking of universities internationally -- Melbourne = 19). Home-State loyalty and discrepancies in secondary school population sizes across states relative to faculty size mean that the market is distorted across States.

Second, your "demand and supply" approach isn't even applied correctly. The ENTER score required for direct entry into the Melbourne LLB is clearly higher than that required at Monash. One what possible basis could Melbourne be ranked lower than Monash, then? Pray tell.

Frankly, I don't care which law school is considered "the best". The label is meaningless (and subjective). Your post annoyed me, that's all.



UAI/Enter scores are reflective of the demand shown towards the course and although there are distances between the states, I don't think that is sufficient to deter a logical student from travelling if one university is clearly ahead of the other. Is it not a bit hypocritical if on one hand you question the effectiveness of UAI and ENTER scores (which reflect supply and demand), and then you support your arguments with references to international rankings (which also reflect demand and supply, based on peer reviews and other things)? Pray tell.

Surely, if a student is offered a scholarship place in say, Harvard Law School, would "home-state loyalty" towards the 'oh-so-great' Melbourne Uni deter the reasonable minded student from going? Pray tell.

While I cannot speak about other courses, I am pretty certain that University of Sydney Law is, at least from a reputational perspective, better than any other law school in Australia. Year in year out Sydney Law has had entry requirements higher than any other law school, a fact consequential upon it being in highest demand of the state. Sydney law alumni are amongst the most established in the legal profession, with the current Prime Minister John Howard and FOUR of the seven high court justices to come from Sydney Law school. How many Melbourne Uni alumni have made it to the high court compared to Sydney? Pray tell.

From a historical point of view, University of Sydney (and Sydney Uni Law school) are the first to be established in the country. Consistent across the globe, the first uni's established are always considered the best (so far as image and reputation is concerned) : Harvard of USA, Oxford of England, HKU of Hong Kong, NUS of Singapore. Sydney University is no exception.

And research-wise? Sydney Uni has consistently been awarded the highest amount of ARC research grants for god-knows how many years in a row now.

While I cannot conceive how Monash Uni can be superior to Melbourne Uni, I equivocally cannot conceive how Sydney Law school can be inferior to Melbourne Law school.
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Sharika

Joined: 05 Dec 2007
Posts: 22
Re: Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:02 PM
LordWilberforce
I am a law student from India in my final year.My are of interest is 'IP'.I wrote to a faculty member from Melbourne university.She discouraged me from pursuing an LLM in Australia.Her reasons were
1)Australia is so highly competitive when it comes to careers in the legal forte,that with an LLB degree my chances of finding a job are very limited.
2)Since LLB from India doesn't match the requirements in Australia,i will have to do a number of extra subjects to be eligible to apply for a job after i finish my LLM.She also said that LLM courses as it is is very taxing.Therefore it isnt advisable to take on extra work.
3)I will need a ruling from(i forget the exact name of the body) from the Australian education board before i can apply for an LLM.This ruling is given only if I am eligible to practice in India The problem is that most universities(australian and others)start their admission process during the end of our semester,prior to our exams.Hence i would not yet have completed my examinations and hence cant get this ruling.

I dont understand.Do any students from India or other asian countries come to Australia for a LLM??do they manage to find work?
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Fredster

Joined: 24 May 2007
Posts: 2
Re: Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Fri Jun 06, 2008 11:19 PM
If you want to practice in NSW ~ among the law community here it's either UNSW or USYD. They're the two 'biggies' with power in prestige and alumni association. I work at Mallesons and most of our graduates come from either UNSW or USYD. In addition, those are the only two universities that we target (as in campus visits and promotion) during recruitment season every year.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNSW_Faculty_of_Law#cite_not…
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jasonjb

Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 43
Re: Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:40 AM
Here is the latest Times Guide:www.law.unsw.edu.au/images/2008/GoodUniversitiesGu…

UNSW leads hands down!!!

It also beat all other Australian universities in law for teaching and starting salary in the latest G08 benchmark.
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flyinjj

Joined: 25 Jul 2009
Posts: 2
Re: Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Sun Jul 26, 2009 09:41 AM
Hi I'm wondering if non-LLB students can apply for LLM?
I'm UNSW B/Com&Arts local student and want to apply LLM at either Syd Law school or UNSW next year, but application requirement is LLB or equlvalent, not sure if I'm eligible. Anyone can give me some advice thanks?
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flyinjj

Joined: 25 Jul 2009
Posts: 2
Re: Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Sun Jul 26, 2009 09:54 AM
Just checked UNSW postgrad handbook again, just realized the chances of me being admitted is low, thought it might be useful to share with anyone else applying, sorry to break the bad news..

The handbook has stated: "Graduate Law or Bachelor of Laws (LLB) is designed for students who have an undergraduate degree in any discipline other than law, and who want to undertake study to practise as a solicitor or barrister."
I guess there's no chance to jump straight into LLM without a LLB
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dan003

Joined: 12 Aug 2009
Posts: 1
Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Thu Aug 13, 2009 06:42 PM
Its very odd, but not one person on this forum has mentioned the Australian National Unviersity. The ANU is Australia's highest ranked university and has the countries best law school - consider it when you are weighing up your options. Also, Canberra is less expensive to live than Sydney or Melbourne. The ANU is also a more personal university than the big city universities (and ranked higher in the world/national rankings).


Hey im a later yr undergrad at anu at the moment. i love the law school and anu to bits! im originally from melbourne and whilst canberra took a while to get used to, the ANU def has the best campus life in australia because its a smaller uni than melb and sydney (which are quite impersonal- i know this from friends experiences in both places)

HOWEVER, dont be fooled- Canberra IS MORE EXPENSIVE to live in than Melbourne!! there is a shortage of housing and rent is through the roof compared to cool, hip inner-city suburbs in melbourne which can be $40 less a week in rent!

I still think the ANU is a better uni and law school than Melbourne though...thats why im here :-)
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feegz

Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 2
Re: Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Mon Aug 17, 2009 03:44 AM
Just checked UNSW postgrad handbook again, just realized the chances of me being admitted is low, thought it might be useful to share with anyone else applying, sorry to break the bad news..

The handbook has stated: "Graduate Law or Bachelor of Laws (LLB) is designed for students who have an undergraduate degree in any discipline other than law, and who want to undertake study to practise as a solicitor or barrister."
I guess there's no chance to jump straight into LLM without a LLB


In Australia you cannot have a bachelor of law degree without having another degree as well. Most students (ie, those who have just finished secondary school) do a combined law degree - ie, they do both degrees at once. It takes 5 years full time.

The stand alone LLB is for those students who already have their other degree and takes 3 years.

For both, you can cut down the time by doing summer and winter courses - I did my LLB in 2 1/2 years.

To practise law in Australia you also have to do the professional qualification (a grad dip), usually referred to as "college of law". That takes a semester, but you can do most of it online and, to be frank, it's pretty easy.

UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) combines college of law with their general legal degree, so you do not have to do the extra time.

From what I've seen, foreign lawyers from at least non-common law countries (not sure about the other common law countries) have to do what is, essentially, the first year of the stand alone LLB as well. This is to catch you up on the principles of common law, as opposed to the other legal systems. There were two students doing that in the first year of my LLB (at UNSW) - one from France and the other from China - both reasonably experienced lawyers.

Someone asked some time ago about Macquarie University. It is definitely ranked lower than UTS. On the other hand, it's a much more pleasant campus in that it features real trees and grass.

UTS is right in the city. Sydney Uni law used to be in the city, but is currently in the process of moving to the university's main campus, which is about a 20 minute bus ride away (depending on traffic). UNSW about a 20 minute bus ride in the other direction and is close(ish) to a really nice beach.

ANU has a really lovely campus and, from my limited experience of it, the university's social programs make up for the fact that it's in Canberra. I've always regarded it as a more academic, rather than professional, law school. Canberra Uni is also supposed to be quite good.

I don't have much experience of the unis in other cities so I can't speak for them, although I work with graduates from Melbourne Uni and Uni of Queensland. UQ seems like a fun place to be a student.
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crazytweety22

Joined: 17 Nov 2009
Posts: 1
Re: Re: LLM Rankings - Australia
Wed Nov 18, 2009 06:35 AM
hi am actually in my 2nd yr llb from university of london ...am finking of joining university of western australia to continue my last yr ova ther and later opt for masters in environ mental law. please advise n suggest what should i do.thnx
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