Accommodation
Discover your accommodation options and explore our residences.
Key information
Award:
MPhil
PhD
Study mode:
Full time
Part time
Campus:
Strand Campus
The Dickson Poon School of Law’s vision for its research culture is to create a focal point for interdisciplinary, transnational legal research that encourages cross-fertilisation of ideas within existing areas of strength while incorporating a new global perspective. One of a handful of Law Schools around the world pioneering a transnational approach, our aim is to foster innovative research that yields new insights for global challenges relating to personal responsibility, health, wealth, justice, communication and governance.
The School is home to over 90 doctoral researchers. Their projects cover a broad range of topics from intellectual property to information technology, from competition law to counter-rules, from global justice to gender equality.
For more information on recent publications and current research degree projects, visit the Research Portal.
Course detail
While graduate research opportunities are organised through The Dickson Poon School of Law, you may well find that your work is related to research undertaken at one of the research centres associated with the School. These centres enjoy strong international and national reputations and contribute to legal and wider public debates on important issues of today. The Dickson Poon School of Law is home to Centre of European Law; Transnational Law Institute; Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law; Centre of Medical Law and Ethics; Centre for Technology, Ethics, Law and Society; Centre for Climate Law and Governance and Centre of Construction Law.
Candidates should identify and approach their potential first supervisor before applying. Applications from candidates without a named, agreed supervisor from The Dickson Poon School of Law will not be considered. Please refer to our people directory to identify academic or research area.
The majority of our research students are full-time; however, we are able to offer study on a part-time basis in exceptional circumstances. To apply for part-time study, please choose the full-time route via the application portal and be prepared to make a case at your interview.
UK Tuition Fees 2023/24
Full time tuition fees: £8,340 per year
Part time tuition fees: £4,200 per year
International Tuition Fees 2023/24
Full time tuition fees: £21,960 per year
Part time tuition fees: £10,980 per year
These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.
Funding Opportunities
Dickson Poon School of Law School Studentship
This is a fully funded studentship that includes 3 years of fees + a maintenance stipend at the UKRI level.
How to apply: All candidates who apply for the PhD programme by the application deadline for Round 1 will automatically be considered for this studentship. Consideration is based upon your academic merit and proposed research.
Deadline: Apply by 1st December 2022
Centre of European Law Studentship
This is a fully funded studentship that includes 3 years of fees + a maintenance stipend at the UKRI level.
The subject area of proposed legal research for the studentship must relate to European Law or European Law as broadly understood.
Please apply via the Centre of European Law: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/europeanlaw/study
Deadline: Apply by 1st December 2022
King’s-China Scholarship Council PhD Scholarship programme (K-CSC)
This opportunity supports students from China who are seeking to study an MPhil/PhD degree at King's College London.
Eligibility: Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the People’s Republic of China. Please check further criteria on the link below.
Award Value: Full international tuition fees covered by King’s College London. From the CSC you will receive an annual living allowance (currently set at a rate of £1200-1350 per month) plus overseas student health cover, return airfare to London and visa application fees. The Scholarships are valid for up to 4 years.
Application deadline & how to apply: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study-legacy/funding/kings-china-scholarship-council-phd-scholarship-programme-k-csc
King’s College London Postgraduate Funding
There may be opportunities which suit individual candidates on the King’s College Postgraduate Funding Database or International Student Research Funding list.
London Arts & Humanities Doctoral Training Partnership (LAHP DTP)
King’s College London is one of eight Higher Education Institutions (HEI) partnered with the AHRC-funded London Arts & Humanities Doctoral Training Partnership. These are studentships that normally cover fees and maintenance allowance (stipend).
You may apply for this award upon your first year of entry to the programme, or, if you have already commenced doctoral study, you may apply for funding for the remainder of your study, providing that, at the start of the AHRC award you will have at least 50% of the period of study remaining (excluding the ‘writing-up period’).
For information sessions and details on how to apply please visit LAHP’s website on how to apply for an open studentship.
Opens: each November
Application deadline: each January
*You may only submit ONE application to LAHP for a studentship. Although you may apply to more than one partner institution for research study, you must decide which of your chosen PhD programmes you will name on your LAHP application. If you wish to use your LAHP studentship at King’s, then the first named supervisor on your LAHP application must be from King’s College London.
London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS DTP)
LISS DTP awards ESRC-funded postgraduate research studentships in the social sciences at three partner institutions – King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, and Imperial College London.
ESRC studentships are only available for projects that fall substantially (>50%) within the broad social and behavioural science remit of the ESRC. Please check the criteria on their website listed below.
This funding is offered for either a 1+3 studentship (1-year Masters degree followed by a 3-year PhD) or a +3 studentship (3-year PhD). All studentships are available full-time or part-time (50%). Full-time students receive a stipend of £17,285 per annum, and their fees are paid. (Fees for International students may not be paid in full.) Additional funding for research costs of around £750 per annum is also available.
Opens: every October, check website for open date
Application deadline: every January, check website for exact deadline
More information: https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/applying-to-liss/open-competition/
Modern Law Review Scholarships
Each year the School of Law supports the nomination of two current PhD students for the Modern Law Review (MLR) scholarship.
To be eligible for nomination, students must have completed the first year of their PhD research and passed any necessary upgrades to PhD status at the time of the award (though not necessarily the time of application).
Scholarships are usually in the amount of £5000, but this is at the discretion of the MLR.
Applications are made each May and submitted by the department after a shortlisting process based on the MLR application criteria.
Criteria and eligibility can be found here on the Modern Law Review website.
Base campus
Strand Campus
Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.
The Dickson Poon School of Law provides the training to help our researchers achieve excellence, world class facilities in which to do so and the opportunity to contribute to teaching at King’s
Our researchers are an integral part of the King’s community and fully participate in the life of the School. They join our academic staff in the premises in Somerset House East Wing. In addition to dedicated hot desking spaces, our doctoral researchers have access to the Maughan Library, British Library of Economics and Political Science and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. Our dedicated Information Specialist for Law helps to ensure that each of our researchers has access to the materials they need to complete their projects.
The Dickson Poon School of Law has over fifty academic staff members as well as visiting professors and lecturers with practical experience. Each of our doctoral researchers is assigned two supervisors – a primary supervisor who oversees the research project and a second supervisor who provides complementary expertise.
Research students are invited to attend and participate in staff seminars. The Graduate Legal Research Society represents the students and organises educational and social events. Research students have access to the Maughan Library where they have a dedicated work space. Students also have access to the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library, Senate House Library, and the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics. Our facilities are aimed at supporting research at the highest level.
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UK Tuition Fees 2023/24
Full time tuition fees: £8,340 per year
Part time tuition fees: £4,200 per year
International Tuition Fees 2023/24
Full time tuition fees: £21,960 per year
Part time tuition fees: £10,980 per year
These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.
Funding Opportunities
Dickson Poon School of Law School Studentship
This is a fully funded studentship that includes 3 years of fees + a maintenance stipend at the UKRI level.
How to apply: All candidates who apply for the PhD programme by the application deadline for Round 1 will automatically be considered for this studentship. Consideration is based upon your academic merit and proposed research.
Deadline: Apply by 1st December 2022
Centre of European Law Studentship
This is a fully funded studentship that includes 3 years of fees + a maintenance stipend at the UKRI level.
The subject area of proposed legal research for the studentship must relate to European Law or European Law as broadly understood.
Please apply via the Centre of European Law: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/europeanlaw/study
Deadline: Apply by 1st December 2022
King’s-China Scholarship Council PhD Scholarship programme (K-CSC)
This opportunity supports students from China who are seeking to study an MPhil/PhD degree at King's College London.
Eligibility: Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the People’s Republic of China. Please check further criteria on the link below.
Award Value: Full international tuition fees covered by King’s College London. From the CSC you will receive an annual living allowance (currently set at a rate of £1200-1350 per month) plus overseas student health cover, return airfare to London and visa application fees. The Scholarships are valid for up to 4 years.
Application deadline & how to apply: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study-legacy/funding/kings-china-scholarship-council-phd-scholarship-programme-k-csc
King’s College London Postgraduate Funding
There may be opportunities which suit individual candidates on the King’s College Postgraduate Funding Database or International Student Research Funding list.
London Arts & Humanities Doctoral Training Partnership (LAHP DTP)
King’s College London is one of eight Higher Education Institutions (HEI) partnered with the AHRC-funded London Arts & Humanities Doctoral Training Partnership. These are studentships that normally cover fees and maintenance allowance (stipend).
You may apply for this award upon your first year of entry to the programme, or, if you have already commenced doctoral study, you may apply for funding for the remainder of your study, providing that, at the start of the AHRC award you will have at least 50% of the period of study remaining (excluding the ‘writing-up period’).
For information sessions and details on how to apply please visit LAHP’s website on how to apply for an open studentship.
Opens: each November
Application deadline: each January
*You may only submit ONE application to LAHP for a studentship. Although you may apply to more than one partner institution for research study, you must decide which of your chosen PhD programmes you will name on your LAHP application. If you wish to use your LAHP studentship at King’s, then the first named supervisor on your LAHP application must be from King’s College London.
London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS DTP)
LISS DTP awards ESRC-funded postgraduate research studentships in the social sciences at three partner institutions – King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, and Imperial College London.
ESRC studentships are only available for projects that fall substantially (>50%) within the broad social and behavioural science remit of the ESRC. Please check the criteria on their website listed below.
This funding is offered for either a 1+3 studentship (1-year Masters degree followed by a 3-year PhD) or a +3 studentship (3-year PhD). All studentships are available full-time or part-time (50%). Full-time students receive a stipend of £17,285 per annum, and their fees are paid. (Fees for International students may not be paid in full.) Additional funding for research costs of around £750 per annum is also available.
Opens: every October, check website for open date
Application deadline: every January, check website for exact deadline
More information: https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/applying-to-liss/open-competition/
Modern Law Review Scholarships
Each year the School of Law supports the nomination of two current PhD students for the Modern Law Review (MLR) scholarship.
To be eligible for nomination, students must have completed the first year of their PhD research and passed any necessary upgrades to PhD status at the time of the award (though not necessarily the time of application).
Scholarships are usually in the amount of £5000, but this is at the discretion of the MLR.
Applications are made each May and submitted by the department after a shortlisting process based on the MLR application criteria.
Criteria and eligibility can be found here on the Modern Law Review website.
Base campus
Strand Campus
Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.
The Dickson Poon School of Law provides the training to help our researchers achieve excellence, world class facilities in which to do so and the opportunity to contribute to teaching at King’s
Our researchers are an integral part of the King’s community and fully participate in the life of the School. They join our academic staff in the premises in Somerset House East Wing. In addition to dedicated hot desking spaces, our doctoral researchers have access to the Maughan Library, British Library of Economics and Political Science and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. Our dedicated Information Specialist for Law helps to ensure that each of our researchers has access to the materials they need to complete their projects.
The Dickson Poon School of Law has over fifty academic staff members as well as visiting professors and lecturers with practical experience. Each of our doctoral researchers is assigned two supervisors – a primary supervisor who oversees the research project and a second supervisor who provides complementary expertise.
Research students are invited to attend and participate in staff seminars. The Graduate Legal Research Society represents the students and organises educational and social events. Research students have access to the Maughan Library where they have a dedicated work space. Students also have access to the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library, Senate House Library, and the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics. Our facilities are aimed at supporting research at the highest level.
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Key information
Award:
MPhil
PhD
Study mode:
Full time
Part time
Campus:
Strand Campus
Law Research Team
Use the links below to email us if you require guidance or have queries; explore and contact supervisors; or submit your application when you are ready to apply.
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