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Centre for Law, Justice and Society Postgraduate and Research Study Options

PhD study opportunities

Thematic areas for doctoral research include: 

  • Law, Equality and Social Justice
  • Sustainable Development Goals
  • Law and Public Policy
  • Food law and Policy
  • International Economic Law
  • International Human Rights
  • International Humanitarian Law
  • International Humanitarian Law and Conflict
  • International Child Law
  • Corporate Law and Corporate Governance
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Environmental Law
  • Pollution offences, including light pollution
  • Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 
  • Criminal Investigation
  • Criminal Law and Mental Defences
  • Online harm and Hate Crime
  • Police Powers and Public Order
  • AI and Information Technology Law
  • Ethics, Privacy and Surveillance
  • Medical Law
  • Medical Law and Ethics: End of Life issues
  • Applied Legal Theory and Law Reform
  • Law, Culture and the Humanities
  • Interdisciplinary Legal Studies 

The Centre for Law, Justice and Society welcomes applications from excellent prospective doctoral students. The above are examples of the supervisory expertise we can offer. If you are interested in developing your PhD proposal in the fields outlined above or on any law-related or interdisciplinary topic relating to law and / or social jusrice, you can email individual staff members working in your proposed research area. Alternatively, for further information contact our CLJS Head of Research Students, Dr Conrad Nyamutata, at phd.law@dmu.ac.uk

PhD via Extended Professional Practice (EPP)

This route is available to legal professionals or practitioners with substantial professional experience at a senior level. For example, wthis would include Judges, QCs, Barristers, Solicitors amd those who have a demonstrable portfolio of schievements in a specific legal field.  Your research topic will be based on experience and knowledge already derived within professional practice, amd your supervisory team will provide guidance in further developing the project within the broader academic context. In summary, applicants for a PhD in Law via EPP will have a portfolio of achievements attained during their career in legal practice. They will have gained knowledge in a particular area of legal practice which could be further developed into a 40,000 word doctoral thesis, leading to a doctorate in law.  For further information, contact jshaw@dmu.ac.uk

Length of programme

Full-time: 2 years  /  Part-time: 4 years

Intake

We offer 3 intakes per year:  1 October / 1 January  / 1 April

 

LLM Postgraduate Courses in Law

We also offer a range of specialised LLM programmes designed to enhance your knowledge in your area of interest. All of our Law postgraduate courses benefit from Education 2030, where a simplified 'block learning' timetable means you will study one subject at a time. This means more time to engage with your learning, receive faster feedback, and enjoy a better study-life balance. Information on our 6 LLM programmes is available via this link:  https://www.dmu.ac.uk/business-law/postgraduate/law.aspx