Master of Environmental Law

What you will study

Students must complete 100 credit points in total. Each subject is valued at 12.5 credit points.

Students who do not have a law degree from a common law jurisdiction must complete Fundamentals of the Common Law, as well as 87.5 credit points of study from the prescribed list of subjects.

Students with a law degree from a common law jurisdiction must complete 87.5 credit points of study from the prescribed list and may choose 12.5 credit points from the subjects available in the Master of Laws (excluding Fundamentals of the Common Law and the Minor Thesis).

Entry requirements

To be considered for entry into this course, you must have completed one of the following:

• Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) (AQF7) or a Juris Doctor (JD) (AQF9) leading to admission to legal practice with a weighted average mark (WAM) of 70%, or equivalent.
• Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) (AQF7) or a Juris Doctor (JD) (AQF9) or equivalent, leading to admission to legal practice and two years of documented relevant experience.
• Bachelor's degree (AQF7) or equivalent in a cognate (relevant) discipline and two years of documented relevant experience.
• Bachelor's degree (AQF7) or equivalent in a cognate (relevant) discipline, completed four graduate-level subjects in a cognate graduate diploma and one year of documented relevant experience.

Cognate (relevant) disciplines include: Environmental studies, natural resource management and environmental engineering.

Relevant experience for this course may include legal roles such as a lawyer, solicitor, advocate, attorney, counsel, barrister, magistrate, or judge's associate or roles such as public servant, policy or research officer, or political advisor and roles in charities or not-for-profits.

English language requirements

All applicants to the University of Melbourne must satisfy the English language requirements. This may be achieved in a number of ways, including a recognised previous study taught and assessed entirely in English or an approved English language test.

Contact the university or visit its website for more information.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Prior studies may be credited towards your degree and potentially reduce the duration of your course. This is known as Advanced Standing (also known as credit or recognition of prior learning). Contact the university for more details.

Outcomes

Learning outcomes

As a student in the Master of Environmental Law, you’ll develop an advanced understanding of the complex body of knowledge in the field of environmental law, including:

• An in-depth knowledge of the specialist area of environmental law and associated disciplinary areas.
• Detailed knowledge of the complex law, regulation and market-based approaches in the field.
• The capacity to identify new laws and/or apply existing law in the rapidly evolving legal context for environmental law.
• Advanced understanding of developments in international environmental law.

You’ll also develop skills in critical analysis and the ability to interpret and transmit your ideas to specialist and non-specialist audiences, including clients.

Fees and FEE-HELP

Indicative first-year and total course fee in 2026: $49,984 (domestic full-fee paying place)

All costs are calculated using current rates and are based on a study load of 100 credit points (normally eight subjects) per year.

Student fees may vary in accordance with:

• The number of subjects studied per term.
• The choice of major or specialisation.
• Choice of subjects.
• Credit from previous study or work experience.
• Eligibility for government-funded loans.

You may also need to pay the student services and amenities fee.

Student fees shown are subject to change. Contact the university directly to confirm.

FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.