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The LL.M. thesis is generally 80-120 pages long (excluding abstract,
notes, bibliography, and any appendices). It is prepared with the
advice and direction of your supervisors. It constitutes the principle
focus of the master’s program.
The following milestones are useful in developing your thesis:
- Prepare your proposal.
Your LL.M. application
should have included a basic proposal. You should revise and
expand that proposal over the course of your first months,
in close communication with your supervisors. By the end of
the second semester it should be finalized, approved by your
supervisors, and lodged with the Graduate
Assistant.
- If necessary, apply to the Human Research Ethics
Board for approval.
All research involving human
participants must receive approval in advance from the Human
Research Ethics Board (HREB).
It is wise to apply early in your program, for approval can take
up to six weeks even if modifications are not required. Again,
this should be done in close consultation with your supervisors.
- Develop your proposal and begin your thesis research
in the framework of Law 501 and Law
502.
These
two courses are designed to help you formulate and commence
your research, to start writing, and to obtain feedback from your
colleagues.
- Research and write in earnest.
Students
normally begin to work on their thesis in earnest during the
second semester. The thesis will dominate your work from then
until completion. The earlier you begin to write the better. Writing
helps to clarify ideas, identify issues, and direct your research.
Draft chapters are essential to enable your supervisors to give
effective feedback.
- Submit for examination.
When you and your supervisors agree
that the thesis is ready for examination, you submit the examination
copy of the thesis to the Graduate
Assistant. This copy should be letter-perfect:
revised, proof-read, grammatical, and with citations in proper
form. All interviews must be completed and signed off before the examination.
For formatting, see the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines and the UVic Thesis Template. You
must use a consistent citation style. In Law, students normally
use the most recent edition of Canadian Guide to Uniform
Legal Citation (“the McGill guide”). You
must scrupulously avoid any form of academic
dishonesty.
There are strict
completion deadlines by which you
must submit in order to avoid a subsequent term’s fees
or to graduate at a specific convocation ceremony. You are responsible
for informing yourself about these deadlines and meeting them.
You must allow a reasonable time for supervisors to review, comment
on, and approve drafts. Communicate closely with your supervisors
about their availability as you approach the date of submission.
- Examination.
LL.M. theses are examined, in writing only, by a single external examiner.
There is no oral examination. All LL.M. candidates must discuss
possible thesis external examiners with their two supervisors and agree
with their supervisors on a list of three nominees, submitting
the potential external examiners’ names and contact details to
the
Graduate Program Director
for decision.
Please read the Nomination Guidelines for LL.M. thesis external examiners.
Please carefully read the thesis submission
procedures and submission deadlines early in your program.
The external examiner will
often approve your thesis subject to corrections. If these are
minor, and if you meet the deadline for final submission, you
will not be required to pay fees for a subsequent semester. If
they are significant, you will have to register and pay the fees.
- Correction and Final Submission.
The last stage is the final submission of the examined, completed,
and corrected thesis. Please see the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines
for the required number and form of copies and the UVic Thesis Template for formatting.
Review the thesis submission
procedures and/or contact the Graduate
Assistant for additional instructions.
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