Doctor of Legal Science (Research)

Where will your degree take you?

The research industry extends from universities, not-for-profit organisations and government departments to industry bodies and major private enterprises. 

The university sector offers particularly varied career opportunities in the research field, with campus-based research institutes and smaller specialist units attracting grants and private sector funding to carry out a wide range of needs-driven research commissions. 

Ultimately, you will have the satisfaction of seeing the results of your research being applied in the real world to create better ways of doing and being.

Education sector

Universities are the traditional home of independent research, offering the opportunity to engage in research, teaching, and supervision. Increasingly, universities are looking for research experience as a pre-requisite for their teaching positions.

Industry-based

A key role of many industry bodies is to steer research and knowledge development for the benefit of their members.

Government/Public Sector

Government departments at all levels of the public sector conduct research into relevant societal, economic and environmental trends.

Program learning outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes provide a broad and measurable set of standards that incorporate a range of knowledge, skills and abilities that will be achieved on completion of the program. These outcomes will help you determine whether this program aligns with your professional pathway, career and learning goals.

View Doctor of Legal Science (Research) learning outcomes
  1. A graduate of the Doctor of Legal Science (Research) degree will be able to demonstrate depth and breadth of knowledge through: a thorough understanding of a substantial body of knowledge that is at the frontier of the relevant field of work or learning, or area of professional practice, including, where appropriate, relevant knowledge outside the field and/or discipline; knowledge that constitutes an original contribution to knowledge and understanding within the relevant field of work or learning, or area of professional practice; substantial knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to the discipline, field of work or learning, or area of professional practice; and an appreciation of the limitation of the graduate’s own work and discipline, of the provisional nature and complexity of knowledge, and of the potential contributions of other interpretations, methods and disciplines.
  2. A graduate of the Doctor of Legal Science (Research) degree will be able to demonstrate research and scholarship through: an advanced ability to initiate research and to formulate viable and significant research questions; an advanced understanding of key disciplinary and multi-disciplinary norms and perspectives relevant to the field; an understanding of the relevance and value of the graduate’s research to national and international communities of scholars and collaborators; the capacity to conceptualise, design and implement sustained and original research for the generation of new knowledge, application or understanding at the frontier of the discipline, field of work or learning, and/or area of professional practice; the ability to adjust the research design or methodology in the light of unforeseen problems; the ability to contextualise research within an international corpus of specialist knowledge, and to make informed judgements on complex issues within specialist fields of areas of learning and/or professional practice, perhaps requiring new methods; a capacity to cooperate with and respect the contributions of fellow researchers and scholars; a profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of research and scholarship; and the ability to produce original research, or other advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, and to merit publication.
  3. A graduate of the Doctor of Legal Science (Research) degree will be able to demonstrate application of knowledge through: the capacity to plan and undertake pure and/or applied original research at an advanced level with intellectual independence, with initiative and creativity in new situations and/or for further learning, with full responsibility and accountability for personal outputs, and with the ongoing capacity to generate new knowledge, including in the context of professional practice; and an ability to contribute to the development of academic or professional skills, techniques, tools, practices, ideas, theories, approaches and/or materials.
  4. A graduate of the Doctor of Legal Science (Research) degree will be able to demonstrate the following skills: the ability to produce work that makes a significant and original contribution to knowledge within the discipline or relevant field of work or learning, and/or to professional practice; an advanced capacity to think independently and critically, to evaluate existing knowledge and ideas, to undertake systematic investigation, and to synthesise research-based and scholarly literature across a potentially dynamic disciplinary environment; cognitive skills commensurate with an expert understanding of theoretical knowledge and the ability to reflect critically on theory and practice; highly developed problem-solving abilities and flexibility of approach; the ability to communicate complex and/or ambiguous ideas, issues, methodologies and conclusions clearly and effectively to peers and other relevant communities of scholars or audiences; an ability, where appropriate, to formulate applications to relevant agencies, such as funding bodies and ethics committees; and an advanced facility in the management of information, including the application of computer systems and software where appropriate to the graduate’s field of study or learning, and/or area of professional practice.
  5. A graduate of the Doctor of Legal Science (Research) degree will be able to demonstrate autonomy and professional capacity through: the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and largely autonomous initiative in complex situations; the intellectual independence to be academically and professionally engaged and current; ethical behaviour consistent with academic integrity and the use of appropriate guidelines and procedures for the responsible conduct of research; and the ability to evaluate the broader implications of applying knowledge to particular contexts.