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Postgraduate Research Study

Liverpool Law School is at the forefront of legal education and our academic research is respected internationally for its precision and significance. We are committed to contributing, through the excellence of our research and policy work, to critical exploration of the role of law in promoting (or inhibiting) social justice.

Postgraduate research is at the centre of the School’s activities and we are committed to supporting the intellectual and professional development of all our PGR students.

We have an internationally recognised staff group with a range of research specialisms that are closely linked with our research units. We offer exceptional students with innovative research proposals expert supervision in these core areas of research excellence. To learn more about our on-going and completed postgraduate research projects take a look at the student profiles from our current postgraduate research community.

To find out more about how to apply, visit our recruitment pages:

Support for projects

As a member of our postgraduate research community, you will enjoy access to a comprehensive suite of postgraduate research training organised through the University’s flagship postgraduate research development training hub, the Liverpool Doctoral College. Through our contribution to these initiatives all postgraduate research students will also benefit from specialist legal research and methods training. With the support of their supervision teams, all postgraduate research students are invited to reflect on their particular research training needs and to develop a bespoke training plan to meet their individual requirements.

Postgraduate Research applicants to Liverpool Law School also have the opportunity to apply for funding (subject to eligibility) for their projects through the North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) and North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP). This partnership, involving the University of Liverpool, Keele University, Lancaster University and the University of Manchester, provides our postgraduate research students with access to the resources, facilities, expertise and research training of four leading UK universities as members of methods North West and artsmethods North West. An annual competition is held to determine the allocation of bursaries with two rounds taking place in November (for PhDs involving external agencies) and February.

Our postgraduate research community

As a member of our postgraduate research community you will become part of a long and sustained historical legacy of over 100 years of critically engaged social science research within the Department. In addition to our extensive research training you will be provided with expert academic supervision and support from an internationally recognised staff group.

Combined with our extensive research training and academic support you will also become part of a friendly, collegiate and active postgraduate research community. As part of this community you will be expected to take a proactive role in your own academic development within the Liverpool Doctoral College by maintaining, for example, a Portfolio of Activity, contributing along with your supervisors to an Annual Progress Report and having the development of your work peer reviewed during Independent Assessment Panels. You will also have the opportunity to attend and present your research each year at our annual Postgraduate Research Conference.

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