MLS at a Glance

International Connections

Melbourne Law School's vibrant and active community comprises internationally renowned teaching staff, a strong global alumni network, dedicated mentors, visiting scholars from around the world, leading research centres and institutions, as well as many partner international organisations.

Melbourne Law School JD students can participate in exchange programs, undertake a dual degree at one of our partnered universities overseas and apply for an international internship during their degrees. A Melbourne Law School degree also prepares graduates for global careers. More than one-third of our graduates have worked or are working in international locations.

Read more about our global outlook

Key facts

Faculty

• Melbourne Law School was established in 1857
• Opened in 2 May 2002, the current Law School building is located on 185 Pelham Street, Carlton, south of University Square
• Academic programs include the Melbourne JD, Melbourne Law Masters and Graduate Research Degrees. The School also offers breadth subjects to undergraduate students, as well as single-subject studies
• Melbourne Law School is a single-department professional graduate school active in the research and teaching of a wide range of legal topics through the work of our 20 research centres and institutes.

Academics

• More than 90 continuing academic staff members
• More than 170 visiting lecturers, fellows and visiting scholars from Australia and around the world each year
• Melbourne Law School academic staff are actively engaged in International fellowships, lectureships and scholars exchange programs.

Alumni

• Melbourne Law School has more then 20,000 active alumni in over 90 countries
• Our alumni are leaders in law firms, government, public interest, business, academia, not-for-profit and the judiciary.

Law Library

• The Law Library has one of the best law collections in Australia
• Located within the Law School building, the Law Library has an historically rich collection of legal texts including approximately 180,000 printed volumes, 30,000 volumes in microfiche or microfilm
• There are three fully equipped computer laboratories in the Library where students can work with a comprehensive collection of online legal databases
• The Library is designed exclusively to house and present the full library collection, making it extremely accessible to students, researchers, academics, visiting scholars and the general public.
• The Law Library has a permanent display of a rare books collection, comprising rare legal items dating back to the early 1600s
• The Law Library is also furnished with spacious study areas, group discussion rooms and postgraduate carrels for individual and collaborative work.

Engagement

• Melbourne Law School hosts hundreds of students, alumni and public engagement events each year, including major Public Lectures, conferences, workshops and networking functions. View our events calendar for more information on upcoming events
• Melbourne Law School's communications team provides a range of services to media requesting information about the Law School, its faculty, research, students, staff, and programs. All media enquiries should be directed to the media and communication office
• Melbourne Law School is a signatory to the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation Workplace Wellbeing: Best Practice Guidelines (the Guidelines). The Guidelines have been designed to aid wellbeing in the legal profession in Australia.  Specifically, they assist in the work of creating psychologically safe workplaces that reduce workplace stress and support individuals and organisations to perform at their best. As a signatory to the Guidelines, Melbourne Law School is committed to honouring and advancing the values and principles that they entail.

Sustainability

• Melbourne Law School is a hub for research, engagement and teaching on the role of law in contributing to sustainable and just futures. We are a member of the International Universities Climate Alliance and the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law.
• Our academics are members of peak bodies including the National Environmental Law Association, and have contributed to expert bodies such as the Australian Panel of Experts on Environmental Law, the United Nations Global Compact for the Environment, and the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change.
• The law school has strong links with local and national community legal organisations and international and regional public law organisations such as the United Nations Environment Program. Through these networks, we promote law and development solutions to global and local environmental problems.
• We are the host of Melbourne Climate Futures (MCF), the University of Melbourne’s strategic, multidisciplinary climate initiative. We also are home to and support the Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law, the Institute for International Law and the Humanities, each doing research and engagement activities to raise issues of sustainability and law, environmental justice and human rights globally, transnationally, and in Australia.
• MCF shares responsibility with campus operations for implementation of the University of Melbourne’s carbon targets under the Sustainability Plan. Within the law building, we have focussed our internal operational sustainability efforts on waste reduction.
• We teach an Australian-first clinical subject: the Sustainability Business Clinic, collaborating with grassroots and community enterprises pursuing sustainability goals.
• Our clinical program is part of the Student Law Clinics for Climate Justice Group. Our Masters programs, especially in our Environmental Law, Law and Development, Energy and Resources, and Construction Law specialisms, develop leading thinkers and practitioners in various fields of sustainability and law.
• Our students lead, and the law school supports, the Victorian Environmental Law Student Network on sustainability advocacy. Our academics mentor students to achieve their sustainability project goals, including through university programs such as the MCF Doctoral Academy and the Wattle Fellowship.