• Charles Sturt Master of Ethics and Legal Studies has been restructured to offer new subjects and advanced research options
• The restructured course will have a significant focus on First Nations issues
• It will be officially offered from the start of 2025

Charles Sturt University has reimagined the way it teaches ethics and law for masters students as global politics continues to raise questions about the appropriateness of legal and institutional arrangements.

The Charles Sturt Master of Ethics and Legal Studies has been restructured with new subjects and a significant focus on First Nations issues, launching at the start of 2025.

Course Director in the Charles Sturt School of Social Work and Arts, Professor Stephen Clarke referred to  the recent news of former US President Joe Biden pardoning his son, who was facing sentencing for two federal cases. Professor Clarke said this was an example of the relationship between ethics and law being thrown into the spotlight.

“The issue of pardoning Hunter Biden raises many challenging ethical and legal issues,” Professor Clarke said.

“Pardoning in Australia is not a foreign concept either, as the Governor General can issue these on the advice of the Attorney General, as well as state-level pardons.

“It is our role as an educational organisation to help the next generation work through the complex questions around whether and when these systems are ethically appropriate.”

The restructured course will equip students with the skills to think through complex ethical and legal issues for themselves, and to be able to articulate their thinking in a way that can help convince others.

The course will place greater emphasis on the strength and diversity of First Nations social identities, supporting students to understand and honour Indigenous perspectives while designing institutions that amplify and centre Indigenous voices

The new interdisciplinary subject POL501, Ethics, Identity and Colonisation provides students with the opportunity to examine the impact of Australia’s colonisation on their understanding of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people’s experiences of self and relationship to others.

Professor Clarke said one of the other exciting changes to the course is a new Research Pathway alongside the Coursework Pathway already being offered.

“Research Pathway students will complete a supervised project proposal, followed by a 10,000-12,000 word-long supervised report or dissertation,” he said.

“This will open even more doors to students, where upon completion of their degree, they may be eligible to enrol in a PhD at Charles Sturt University.”

Students also have the option to exit the Master of Ethics and Legal Studies early with two alternative qualifications: A Graduate Diploma of Ethics and Legal Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Ethics and Legal Studies.

The new subjects will be available to Master of Ethics and Legal Studies students from 2025.

If you would like more information about the new offerings, email Professor Clarke on stclarke@csu.edu.au.