Program Overview

Law

Overview

The School of Law at Queen’s has over 100 years of achievement in both education and research. We are ranked as a leading centre for legal research in the UK, and our academics are recognised experts at home and abroad.

We offer MPhil supervision across the legal field, supporting a range of approaches, from the doctrinal to the socio-legal, comparative, criminological and critical.

Our research students go to exciting careers, including as academics at law schools across the UK. Our base in Belfast gives us direct contact with the legal profession and judiciary, allowing excellent access in terms of the study of law and legal practice.

We are committed to making research students part of the life of the School of Law and the wider university. We have created a bespoke training programme for new research students. Research students also have the opportunity to get involved in editorial work for the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly (one of the UK’s oldest law journals), or with LawPod, a podcasting venture hosted by the School of Law, or with the student-led Research Network. Funding is available to support students who want to present their work at conferences or expert seminars.

Subject Summary

You will join the 70 research students in the School who make up a vibrant postgraduate community contributing to the School’s scholarship and research culture. Research supervision is available in a wide range of legal areas including:

• Human Rights: this is a longstanding area of strength within the School, with expert colleagues at all levels and a dedicated Human Rights Centre, which research students can join. A human rights conference is held annually, hosted by research students, who choose the conference theme and manage the event. Our expertise spans both core and emerging areas of human rights, including gender, health, refugees, equality and non-discrimination, the EU and human rights, conflict and human rights, business and human rights, and new technologies and human rights.
• Justice: Justice is a further longstanding area of strength within the School, which has close relations with the University's George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. Our expertise ranges from transitional justice to criminal justice, with additional strengths in areas such as the legal profession, judicial review and international criminal law.
• Law and Governance: Our track record on questions of law and governance is impressive and wide-ranging. We have expertise in commercial, contract and business law, in EU law and governance, and in questions of law and ethics, and law and risk. Importantly, the School is able to host research students across an array of research methods. Our experts use a particularly wide range of legal research methods, allowing us to offer supervision to projects that are doctrinal, sociolegal, critical, criminological or oral-history based. We are also able to host interdisciplinary research students, working with experts from across Queen's.
• Emerging areas of legal studies:
  • The UK's changing relationship with the European Union (EU)
  • Business and human rights
  • Heritage, property and culture
  • Law and new technologies, from the human right to science, to the legal implications of AI

Law Highlights

Industry Links

• The Law School has strong links with the High Court and Court of Appeal and the Northern Ireland Assembly (all based in Belfast).

World Class Facilities

• The £20 million investment in the School of Law building has created excellent facilities for postgraduate researchers, with access to Queen’s Graduate School just minutes away.

Internationally Renowned Experts

• We have staff and students from over 70 countries. Our academics have research links across the world.

Key Facts

Research students are encouraged to play a full and active role in relation to the wide range of activities within the School and the wider University.

• A bespoke School of Law training programme
• A student-led Research Network
• Office accommodation with access to computing facilities and support to attend conferences
• Access to the University's Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme

Student Testimonials

“QUB’s research environment has allowed my doctoral studies to go from strength to strength, fostering academic insight and research skills that I was unsure I had, and providing me with the confidence, resources, and skills to develop my own ideas and research interests. My supervisor team has given me invaluable insight as first-rate academics, and they have fully welcomed me into the research community at QUB.”

"The School of Law provides training for PhD law students, covering the necessary aspects for a successful PhD journey. In addition, postgraduate students may sign up for a range of training courses offered by the Graduate School.

Career Prospects

Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus, bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.

People Teaching You

PhD Coordinator

School of Law

Learning Outcomes

A research degree offers students an opportunity to foster their capacity for independent research and critical thought. It also allows students to explore an area of interest and so understand and solve theoretical and practical problems within the field.

Undertaking a research degree can enhance a student's written and oral communication skills.

Course Structure

An MPhil is awarded for original research in a topic chosen by the student. MPhil studies may be undertaken on a full (2 years) or part-time (4 years) basis.

Research students are appointed a primary and secondary supervisor who will guide them through their research.

Assessment

Assessment processes for the research degree differ from taught degrees. Students will be expected to present drafts of their work at regular intervals to their supervisors who will provide written and oral feedback.

In addition, a formal assessment process takes place annually. This Annual Progress Review requires students to present their work in writing and orally to a panel of academics from within the School. Successful completion of this process will allow students to register for the next academic year.

The final assessment of the degree is both oral and written. Students will submit their thesis to an internal and external examining team who will review the written thesis before inviting the student to defend their work orally at a viva voce.

Feedback

Supervisors will offer feedback on draft work at regular intervals throughout the period of registration on the degree.

Facilities

Full time MPhil students have access to shared office space and access to a desk with personal computer and internet access.

Entrance Requirements

Graduate

An Upper Second or First Class Honours degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) in Law or another relevant discipline, plus a Master's degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) with an average above 60%.

Applicants with an Upper Second or First Class Honours degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) in Law or another relevant discipline who are currently studying a Master’s degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) will also be considered.

Applicants with an Upper Second or First Class Honours degree (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) in Law or another relevant discipline plus evidence of ability to conduct independent and original research will be considered on a case by case basis.

International Students

For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.

English Language Requirements

Evidence of an IELTS* score of 7.0, with not less than 6.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required.

*Taken within the last 2 years.

Tuition Fees

Northern Ireland (NI) | £5,006 Republic of Ireland (ROI) | £5,006 England, Scotland or Wales (GB) | £5,006 EU Other | £20,500 International | £20,500

Additional Course Costs

There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.

Funding and Scholarships

The Funding & Scholarship Finder helps prospective and current students find funding to help cover costs towards a whole range of study related expenses.