Law PhD/LLM (Research)

Our staff are experts from across all areas of the law, supervising top-calibre international research students.

PhD: 3 years full-time; 5 years part-time; Thesis of up to 100,000 words
LLM (Research): 1 year full-time; 2 years part-time; Thesis of 30,000 words

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Overview

Our School of Law is one of the leading centres for legal research in the United Kingdom and internationally. Our academic staff are renowned for their expertise and ground-breaking research across all areas of law. Over 87% of our published research was rated as “world-leading” or “internationally excellent” by the UK’s funding councils in the Research Assessment Framework (REF) 2021. We supervise an exceptional group of postgraduate researchers from around the world and support them to make their own original and distinctive scholarly contributions.

Research themes:

Find out more about our research activities.

Study options

PhD: 3 years full-time; 5 years part-time. Thesis of up to 100,000 words

LLM by Research: 1 year full-time; 2 years part-time. Thesis length 30,000 words.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for PhD study are an undergraduate degree with at least a 2:1 result (or international equivalent) and a good Master’s degree (normally, at least “with merit” or equivalent). Alternatively, applicants without a Master’s degree can be considered for admission to the PhD programme if they achieved a first-class honours result (or international equivalent) at the undergraduate level. Applicants to the PhD programme must also submit a research proposal, CV, references and a sample piece of written work.

Entry requirements for the LLM by Research are generally a good 2.1 degree or equivalent. Students must also submit a research proposal, CV and references.

It is strongly advised (and essential if funding is sought) that applicants contact a member of staff working in their planned research area to discuss the proposal and application.

Read our advice about writing a research proposal for postgraduate study in law.

Initial programme enquiries: law-pgr-director@glasgow.ac.uk

English language requirements

For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

7.0 with no sub-test under 6.5
Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test
IELTS One Skill Retake accepted.

Common equivalent English language qualifications

All stated English tests are acceptable for admission to this programme:

TOEFL (ibt, my best or athome)

94; with Reading 19; Listening 20; Speaking 20; Writing 21
Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements , this includes TOEFL mybest.

Pearsons PTE Academic

66 with no subtest less than: Listening 59;Reading 60; Speaking 59; Writing 74
Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

185 overall, no subtest less than 176
Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Oxford English Test

Oxford ELLT 8
R&L: OIDI level no less than 7 with Reading: 25-26 and Listening: 18-19
W&S: OIDI level no less than 8.

Trinity College Tests

Integrated Skills in English II & III & IV: ISEII Pass with Pass in all sub-tests.

University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses

Tests are accepted for 2 years following date of successful completion.

Alternatives to English Language qualification

Degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
- students must have studied for a minimum of 2 years at Undergraduate level, or 9 months at Master's level, and must have complete their degree in that majority-English speaking country and within the last 6 years
Undergraduate 2+2 degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
- students must have completed their final two years study in that majority-English speaking country and within the last 6 years

For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.

Fees and funding

Fees

2025/26

UK: To be confirmed [24/25 fee was £4,786]
International & EU: £26,580

Fees are based on the annual fee for full-time study. Tuition fees for part-time study will be charged at half the full-time annual fee.

Irish nationals who are living in the Common Travel Area of the UK, EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status, and Internationals with Indefinite Leave to remain status can also qualify for home fee status.

Fee status and policies

Alumni discount

We offer a 20% discount to our alumni on all Postgraduate Research and full Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes. This includes University of Glasgow graduates and those who have completed a Junior Year Abroad, Exchange programme or International Summer School with us. The discount is applied at registration for students who are not in receipt of another discount or scholarship funded by the University. No additional application is required.

Possible additional fees

Re-submission by a research student £540
Submission for a higher degree by published work £1,355
Submission of thesis after deadline lapsed £350
Submission by staff in receipt of staff scholarship £790

Depending on the nature of the research project, some students will be expected to pay a bench fee (also known as research support costs) to cover additional costs. The exact amount will be provided in the offer letter.

Funding

RESPECT PhD Scholarship – Social Capacities for Peatland Transformations

Support

The College of Social Sciences Graduate School draws together internationally recognised scholars and respected practitioners to offer a range of research programmes.

Our programmes are based on thorough training in research methods and we encourage you to take part in numerous exciting seminars, conferences and events. We offer modern library, IT services and a wide-range of support services. You will be living in one of Europe’s most exciting cities which has a vibrant cultural and social life.

Our Graduate School Researcher Development Programme will support you to plan your professional development over the course of your PhD and ensure your employability.

How to apply

Application deadlines

The School of Law considers applications to the PhD and LLM by Research programmes at three different rounds every year, with deadlines in the Autumn, Winter, and Spring.

We aim to decide on admissions to our PGR programmes within one month of the relevant deadline. For example, if you apply by the Winter Round Deadline (31 January 2025), you can expect a decision by the end of February 2025. If we believe that your research proposal is promising and there is capacity to supervise your project, you can expect to be contacted for a brief online interview. Applications received after any deadline will be considered at the next round. Successful applicants will normally begin their postgraduate studies with us in October.

Autumn Application Deadline: 1 November 2024 at 17:00

Applicants seeking funding from UK/Scotland funding council sources (e.g. the SGSSS studentship or SGSAH studentship) must apply by this deadline.

Winter Application Deadline: 31 January 2025 at 17:00

Applicants seeking funding from the China Scholarship Council or the James McCune Smith Scholarship must apply by this deadline.

Spring Application Deadline: 12 May 2025 at 17:00

This is the last deadline for applicants seeking to start in October 2025. At this point, the School of Law occasionally offers a very limited number of scholarships for research in specified areas.

Identify potential supervisors

All Postgraduate Research Students are allocated a supervisor who will act as the main source of academic support and research mentoring. You may want to identify a potential supervisor and contact them to discuss your research proposal before you apply. Please note, even if you have spoken to an academic staff member about your proposal you still need to submit an online application form.

You can find relevant academic staff members with our staff research interests search.

Gather your documents

Before applying please make sure you gather the following supporting documentation:

Final or current degree transcripts including grades (and an official translation, if needed) – scanned copy in colour of the original document.
Degree certificates (and an official translation, if needed): scanned copy in colour of the original document.
Two references on headed paper and signed by the referee. One must be academic, the other can be academic or professional. References may be uploaded as part of the application form or you may enter your referees contact details on the application form. We will then email your referee and notify you when we receive the reference. We can also accept confidential references direct to rio-researchadmissions@glasgow.ac.uk, from the referee’s university or business email account.
CV
Name of potential supervisor
Research proposal. Candidates are required to provide a single page outline of the research subject proposed (approximately 1000 words). This need not be a final thesis proposal but should include:
- a straightforward, descriptive, and informative title
- the question that your research will address
- an account of why this question is important and worth investigating
- an assessment of how your own research will engage with recent study in the subject
- a brief account of the methodology and approach you will take
- a discussion of the primary sources that your research will draw upon, including printed books, manuscripts, archives, libraries, or museums
- an indicative bibliography of secondary sources that you have already consulted and/or are planning to consult