Postgraduate Research in Law

The School of Law offers two postgraduate research degrees: Ph.D. and M.Phil. Both degrees can be undertaken full-time, part-time or by distance learning (DL). The Ph.D. degree will normally require three years of full-time research although many candidates find that they need a fourth year to finish writing the thesis. If you study part-time/DL, completion will take approximately five to six years. Part-time/DL researchers are expected to be able to spend around 10-15 hours per week over the duration of their course. The maximum length for the thesis is 80,000 words (approximately the size of a 200 page book). For the award of a Ph.D., your work must show evidence of originality and contain material deemed worthy of publication. The M.Phil. takes a maximum of 2 years by full-time study or 4 years if part-time/distance learning. The maximum length for an M.Phil. thesis is 50,000 words. The M.Phil. thesis should demonstrate a deep analysis of the chosen subject, but there is not the same requirement for originality.

The School of Law has a lively international community of around 85 Ph.D. students. Of these students, around one-third are studying full-time on campus and the other two-thirds are part-time/DL. The School has dedicated office space for Ph.D. researchers and the David Wilson Library contains a Graduate Reading Room. The School provides an individual allowance for photocopying/printing, as well as a budget to support researchers in attending conferences related to their research. During term-time, the Ph.D. researchers meet frequently for formal and informal discussions, and they recently organised a very successful one-day conference on the theme ‘Human Rights Beyond Borders'.

There is a dedicated research training programme for all postgraduate researchers in law. This is initially delivered through 3 intensive training weeks in November, January and March, which are undertaken in the first year (or two years if part-time/distance learning). The training programme covers both generic skills (eg conference presentation technique) and subject specialist skills (eg comparative law methods or socio-legal research methods). In addition, there is a research training programme for all postgraduate researchers within the College of Arts, Humanities and Law which provides training throughout your research degree.

The School of Law is pleased to offer two Graduate Teaching Assistantships for January 2014 entry to its Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme. See further details at:

http://www2.le.ac.uk/study/research/funding/law-gta 

When applying to either the Ph.D. or M.Phil. programmes, you will be assessed on the basis of your academic qualifications and relevant experience, as well as your research proposal. The School will consider, in particular, the feasibility and originality of your proposed research topic and our capacity to provide supervision in that area. To assist you in preparing your research proposal, please consult the guidance on our website on ‘How to Write a Research Proposal': http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/law/postgraduate/phd-mphil-research/how-to-apply-and-entry-requirements?ref=findaphd_law1

For more information on our Ph.D. and M.Phil. programme, see:
http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/law/postgraduate?ref=findaphd_law2