As a Doctor of Philosophy candidate you will undertake supervised research with the aim of making a significant and original contribution to a discipline or profession. Research areas include: intellectual property, copyright, trade marks law, innovation and technology in legal services, artificial intelligence and law, sentencing, criminal law, commercial and corporations law, Asian law, transnational lawyering. Find out more about research areas and expertise in the Swinburne Law School. This program is suited to applicants who: have some prior research experience are interested in a pursuing a career in research have a desire to make an original contribution to research in a particular field have a naturally inquiring mind and a desire to know more wish to gain an internationally recognised qualification want to enhance their employment opportunities. Course structure The Doctor of Philosophy degree is generally completed over a period of four years full-time or eight years part-time. Candidates undertake research, which may be pure, exploratory, experimental and/or creative, and are required to submit a written research thesis, a written research thesis including associated papers, or an artefact with an accompanying exegesis. The examinable outcome will normally be equivalent to 70000 to words. Where the examinable outcome takes the form of a thesis, it is acknowledged that thesis length can vary according to the nature of the work and the discipline. Throughout your candidature you will receive guidance and support from your research supervisors. You will also have the opportunity to participate in a number of research training sessions on topics such as thesis writing, publishing and presenting. Aims and objectives The Doctor of Philosophy program has the objective of producing graduates with the capacity to conduct research independently at a high level of originality and quality. Graduates will demonstrate a capacity to design, conduct and report sustained and original research. While the research is conducted under a supervisor students are expected to demonstrate the ability to work independently.