Research students in criminal law and criminal justice

We have an active community of research students working (towards either PhD or LLM by research degrees) on projects in the area of criminal law and criminal justice, including the candidates listed below. Further down this page, you can find useful information about enquiring to study for a research degree in this area at Glasgow.

Applying to study for a research degree in criminal law and criminal justice at Glasgow: making initial enquiries

We are frequently contacted by students who are interested in applying to study for a research degree in criminal law and criminal justice at Glasgow and want to discuss this before making a formal application. Here are some details on what we can offer by way of supervision, and what information we need from you to advise you properly. 

What topics can you supervise? We can supervise research projects in a broad range of areas spanning criminal law and criminal justice, evidence and procedure. This includes projects which take theoretical, doctrinal and comparative approaches. Cross-supervision with another academic area (within or outside of the School of Law) is possible in appropriate cases. We cannot generally supervise projects which have as their primary focus a jurisdiction outside of the United Kingdom. 

Who should I direct my enquiry to? Any of our academic staff would be happy to deal with an inquiry – please direct your email to the academic whose research interests you feel match your project most closely. They will consult with other colleagues in the area as appropriate before replying to you, so please do not send separate emails to multiple academics – there is no need to (or benefit in) doing this.

What information do you need? At the stage of an initial enquiry, we do not need a full research proposal – although if you do have one already written we would be interested to see it. We need an indication of your intended topic and the reasons why you think Glasgow might be an appropriate place to pursue your studies. Neither needs to be particularly detailed at the stage of an informal enquiry. We can advise on refining a potential topic in order to prepare a strong application but we cannot advise on what your topic should be – that is a matter for you.

In addition, we also need some indication of your prior academic record and experience. No matter how strong your research proposal, a successful application for admission to a research degree requires a very strong academic record at undergraduate and (if appropriate) masters level. Because of this, we cannot advise you properly unless you give us an indication of your grades to date (either an overall degree grade, classification, or full transcript).

What funding is available to study for a PhD at Glasgow? You can find information about this at https://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/socialsciences/studentfundingopportunities/. We do not have funded places available to offer directly: funding must instead be obtained through a competitive application scheme, either to one of the sources listed here or to an external funder. We are happy to support the development of funding applications. As with admission, success in such applications depends both on your proposal and your record to date: a very strong academic record is usually essential. Funding applications normally have to be made well in advance of the start of your studies. Some schemes have closing dates as early as November or December for studies starting the following September.

What funding is available to study for an LLM by research at Glasgow? There are no internal schemes offering funding for the LLM by research degree, although applicants pursuing research in Scots law have often been successful in obtaining support for tuition fees from the Clark Foundation for Legal Education.

How do I make a formal application for admission? Please see https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/law/postgraduateresearch/, where you can also find more general information about the School’s research degree programmes.