UTS Law research assistant

Why become a research assistant?

Becoming a research assistant to a member of Faculty is an excellent opportunity to polish your legal research skills and increase your exposure to a particular area of law. It will also allow you to cultivate a relationship with an academic.

An academic for whom you have worked as a research assistant will be well placed to provide potential employers with letters of recommendation about your talents and abilities.

Research assistants also often benefit from the mentoring by their academic supervisors, who may offer advice on employment opportunities and how to develop professional networks in the relevant field. Not only can this be a valuable experience, but it differentiates you from other graduates when pursuing employment or postgraduate study overseas.

The tasks of the research assistant may be quite varied:

  • Research cases, legislation, bills and treaties.
  • Conduct literature searches for journal articles, second reading speeches or relevant reports.
  • Prepare casenotes or summaries of a particular area of the law.
  • Edit academic work for publication, especially bringing legal citation into correct format.

How to become a research assistant?

Academics are often looking for good research assistants. If you would like to be considered for research assistant work, please send a copy of your CV and details of your areas of interest to Law.Research@uts.edu.au. Your details will be given to academics when they have an opportunity to engage a research assistant and they will contact you directly.

We also encourage students to register with CareerHub. CareerHub allows you to create a detailed employment profile including previous work history, industry experience, current availability and job interest. Here, you can signal your desire to be considered for work as research assistant and other jobs at UTS. Academics may consult CareerHub to find research assistants as the need arises.

Students should note that research assistant work might not always be available.

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.