Applicant information
What happens after you apply to Bristol?
Law
| Awards available | MPhil PhD |
|---|---|
| Duration of programme | MPhil: One year full-time; two years part-time PhD: Four years full-time; seven years part-time |
| Number of places | Not fixed |
Page contents
Programme overview
The PhD and MPhil are substantially different from other types of postgraduate work. It is the responsibility of each student to devise an independent research project to be undertaken under the supervision of a member of staff. Appropriate research training will be given by the University of Bristol Law School. If you are undertaking socio-legal research, this will take the form of the MSc Socio-Legal Studies Programme, which is recognised by the ESRC.
All research students are registered for the MPhil in Law, and are upgraded to the PhD programme around the end of their first year.
Research groups
A wide variety of subject areas are covered in the Law School. This reflects a range of different approaches to legal research - doctrinal, socio-legal/interdisciplinary and theoretical. The School has a strong portfolio in human rights, housing, governance and regulation, criminal justice, the legal profession, and family law and practice.
The School usually has as many as 35 research postgraduates at any one time, working in a wide variety of subject areas and adopting a range of different approaches to legal research.
Research in the School is facilitated by: a generous policy of study leave, teaching relief and payment for student research assistants; a system of research pairing to assist with project development, review of work in progress and effective dissemination of research; and a vibrant programme of staff seminars, with roughly equal division between internal and external contributions.
Entry requirements
An upper second-class honours degree in Law (or international equivalent) and/or a Masters qualification.
For information on international equivalent qualifications, please see our International Office website.
Admissions statement
Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.
Key research interests
Dr Ardavan Arzadeh, International commercial law.
Ms Lois Bibbings, Gender and law; human rights; criminal law; medical law; historical studies; social policy; literary studies; gender studies.
Ms Nina Boeger, EU Law; comparative law.
Dr Jonathan Burnside, Criminal law; criminal justice.
Professor Patrick Capps, Public international law; jurisprudence; sociology of law.
Mr Andrew Charlesworth, Information technology law; e-commerce law; intellectual property law; privacy law.
Professor David Cowan, Housing; regulation; government.
Professor Malcolm Evans, International law, particularly law of the sea and religious liberty; human rights; prevention of torture.
Mr Nigel Furey, Company law (including corporate finance law); insolvency; tort.
Dr Clair Gammage, Law and international development; World Trade Organisation; international economic law; EU-Africa relations.
Mr Roger George, Criminal law.
Professor Paula Giliker, Comparative law; contract law; tort law.
Professor Steven Greer, Human rights; legal and political theory.
Professor Jonathan Hill, Property law; private international law.
Dr Emma Hitchings, Family law; public law.
Mr Stephen Jones, Criminology; criminal justice; criminal law.
Professor Roger Kerridge, Succession; tax.
Professor Panos Koutrakos, EU Law, particularly international relations of the EU.
Professor Judith Masson, Child law; family law; international child law.
Dr Morag McDermont, Housing law and policy; administrative law; regulation and risk; social theory.
Dr Harry McVea, Company law; securities regulation; financial services.
Professor Bronwen Morgan, Regulation; comparative welfare states; political economy; social and economic human rights; global governance; citizenship; social theory.
Mrs Elizabeth Mumford, Medical law and ethics; criminal law; legal theory.
Professor Rachel Murray, Human rights, particularly national human rights commissions and African systems; public international law.
Dr Michael Naughton, Miscarriages of justice; human rights; penal policy; social harm; social justice; Foucauldian theory.
Professor Tonia Novitz, Labour law; international and EU law; jurisprudence and legal mechanisms for the protection of human rights.
Dr Margherita Pieraccini, Environmental law; conservation law; common pool resources; legal pluralism; social-ecological resilience.
Dr Devyani Prabhat, Public law; human rights law; socio-legal studies.
Professor Tony Prosser, Public law; regulation; privatisation.
Athanasios Psygkas, Comparative public law (constitutional and administrative), EU.
Dr Oliver Quick, Medical law; criminal law; professional regulation; risk and trust
Professor Julian Rivers, Legal and constitutional theory; public law; law and religion.
Dr Gwen Seabourne, Legal history; medical law and ethics.
Professor Achilles Skordas, International law; law of the sea; sociology of international law; European and international immigration and asylum law; foreign policy.
Professor Keith Stanton, Tort; contract; banking law; professional negligence.
Dr Sujitha Subramanian, Intellectual property law and its interaction with innovation policy; international trade law and competition law.
Dr Philip Syrpis, EC law; labour law.
Ms Julia Vennard, Criminal justice structures and processes; sentencing; penal policy and practice; effectiveness of rehabilitative responses to crime, in both custodial and community settings.
Professor Charlotte Villiers, Company law; employment law; Spanish law.
Professor Celia Wells, Criminology; criminal justice; criminal law.
Ms Chris Willmore, Local government; environmental law; countryside access; forensic science.
Application deadline: Not fixed
Get in touch
Postgraduate Office
University of Bristol Law School
Wills Memorial Building
Queens Road
Bristol
BS8 1RJ
Phone: +44 (0) 117 954 5357 or 5225
Email: law-pg-admissions@bristol.ac.uk
Web: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/law
International students
English-language requirements: 7.0 overall with 6.5 in the reading and writing bands and 5.5 in all other bands, in addition to the standard entry requirements.
Find information for international students on eligibility, funding options and studying at Bristol.
Fees and funding
2014/15 fees
Full-time: UK/EU £3,939;
overseas £13,400
Fees quoted are provisional, per annum and subject to annual increase.
Funding options
For socio-legal work, ESRC recognition is available for 1+3, +3 and CASE studentships. The School has a number of quota awards for 1+3 or +3. The School may also have a limited number of Graduate Teaching Assistantships. AHRC funding and University studentships may also be available. Further information on funding for prospective UK, EU and international postgraduate students is available from the Student Funding Office website.
Research Assessment Score
Unit of Assessment 38 applies. See Complete RAE listings for University of Bristol for further details
Useful further information
Accommodation
Our Accommodation Office helps all postgraduate students find accommodation.
Living in Bristol
Discover more about living in Bristol and the city of Bristol.