Birmingham Law School - Postgraduate Research Opportunities

Law PhD / PhD by Distance Learning / MPhil / MJur

For more than 90 years, Birmingham Law School has made a major contribution to teaching and scholarship. Our academic staff are among the country's most eminent legal scholars and provide a supportive research culture that encourages and facilitates research activities.

As well as providing expert supervision from experienced members of staff, we offer a friendly and supportive environment for our postgraduate students and consider them an integral part of the School’s research community.

The PhD programme requires you to research and write a thesis of 80,000 words with supervision from academic staff, the work should make an original contribution to knowledge. Full-time students are expected to complete their work within three years. This programme can also be studied by Distance Learning - see whether distance learning is an option for you.

The MPhil programme requires you to research and write a 60,000-word thesis under the supervision of a member of academic staff. Full-time students are expected to complete their work within two years.

The MJur programme requires you to research and write a 40,000-word thesis under the supervision of a member of academic staff. Full-time students are expected to complete their work within one year.

Research interests of staff include: 

Commercial and company law (including banking, international commercial law, corporate governance)

Comparative law (including civil law)

Constitutional and administrative law (including legal response to terrorism)

Criminal law and criminal justice (including international criminal law and evidence) 

Environmental law

European Union law

Family law

Health and health care law

Human rights and civil liberties

International law and global legal studies (to include conflicts, international economic law, International sale of goods, international trade law, transitional justice, law and development, international economic law, international criminal law)  

Jurisprudence and legal theory

Law and society (disability law, law and religion, gender and sexuality) 

Legal education and the legal profession (legal education, judicial administration)

Private law (contract, tort, restitution and common law)

Property law (including intellectual property)

For full research interests of staff, please read our staff profiles or visit the research interest tab on the course page.