PhD Law

Our PhD Law programme requires an original contribution to the body of knowledge in a particular academic or professional discipline. It will take approximately three academic years to complete with full-time study and six years of part-time study.

Students are registered initially for the degree of PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), although their status is probationary until the first Annual Review has taken place, normally between 12 and 18 months from first registration.

Applicants are normally expected to have a first or second class honours law (or law-related) degree or significant experience in law.

Research Proposals

We are only prepared to take on research students where we have the necessary expertise to supervise the research amongst our staff. Therefore, you may wish to look at the research interests of our current staff.

Candidates will be required to submit a short 1500-2000 word (excluding footnotes) Research Proposal. The Research Proposal will need to set out the proposed topic of research, and the proposed contribution the research will bring to the existing debate within the literature. Ultimately, the Research Proposal should present the proposed USP (Unique Selling Point) of the Thesis. Please note, we will be assessing your research potential through different methods.

More information

To find out more about the University of Buckingham's PhD Law programme, visit our website.