Law (PhD - MPhil)

Institution Birkbeck, University of London
Method At the institution
Location London
Type Masters
Course fee By request

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Law (PhD - MPhil)

Objectives The Birkbeck School of Law has an excellent reputation. Its body of research students has grown dramatically over the last few years, and competition for places is high. The School’s research community now comprises people from around the globe, researching in diverse legal areas and with different methodologies. The School encourages and assists researchers to publish articles. Many of the School’s graduates have become professional academics after, and even during, their studies here. PhD/MPhil Law students benefit from the supervision of internationally renowned experts, secondary supervisors, classes in legal theory and research and presentation skills, seminars and extensive library facilities. Moreover, we offer financial assistance for conference attendance where appropriate, a comprehensive programme of independent monitoring of each student’s yearly progress, and postgraduate student representation on the School board. In addition, our present body of researchers constitutes a vibrant community that organises, with the support of the School, a series of workshops, reading groups and a work-in-progress group, as well as frequent social events.
Entry requirements Entry requirements Good honours degree in law. With any application you must send a research proposal of 300–1000 words containing a statement outlining the main themes of your proposed research project, a section addressing questions of methodology, an overview of the literature in the field and a statement relating to the project’s intended contribution to legal scholarship.
Academic title Law (PhD / MPhil)
Course description Staff research areas
We encourage applications for research in the areas listed below, but it is important to stress that we can only offer supervision in areas where members of the Law School are actively working.

Areas of research interest include: legal theory; public law; language and law; law and literature; law and film; law and development; gender, sexuality and law; socio-legal studies; environmental law; company law; legal history; medical law and ethics; criminology; European law; intellectual property; insurance law; media law; law and bioethics; constitutional theory and national identity; human rights; criminal justice; feminist legal theory; post-colonial theory; legal aesthetics; law and political economy; race and law; child law; access to justice; international economic law; international refugee law; law and multinational corporations.

Study resources
The School of Law, rated 5 in the last Research Assessment Exercise for carrying out research of international importance, provides an exciting and innovative centre for a wide range of research with a strong theoretical and policy focus. The School publishes Law and Critique: The International Journal of Critical Legal Thought.

Study resources include an induction programme for all postgraduate students, which offers classes on methodology, and regular research seminars, workshops and conferences.