Law

Westminster Law School’s PhD programme is set within a vibrant and supportive research environment in the heart of Central London. Westminster Law School has an outstanding reputation as a pioneer in socio-legal research, in experimental research in Legal Theory, the Legal Profession and Legal Education, as well as Entertainment Law. It is also particularly well-known for its cutting-edge research in International Law, Criminal Justice,  Law and Technology, and Comparative and European Union Law.

The Law School hosts doctoral students across these areas of research and is well placed within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to provide doctoral students with opportunities to network and develop an interdisciplinary approach to research. Both the School and the College provide a range of attractive activities for doctoral students, including research seminars, conferences, publication avenues, a nationally recognised training programme aimed at developing world-class researchers, regular research retreats and away days, and teaching opportunities.

How to apply

For informal inquiries about our admissions process, and for guidance on potential supervisors, please contact Dr Alexandra Fowler at [email protected]

We offer PhDs in a number of different areas, contact our academic staff for supervision possibilities as indicated below.

You can find more information about study options on our Mode of study page.

PhD via MPhil 

The majority of students will apply via the PhD via MPhil route. You can read more about the application process and entry requirements on our How to apply page. 

PhD by published work

If you intend to apply for a PhD by Published Work please refer to the information on our PhD by published work page as the application process differs from the normal MPhil/PhD. Before applying, you should first make contact with the relevant academic for an informal discussion of your publications. You should only submit a formal application at this stage.

Apply now

Apply for the following subjects

• Law

Apply to our research degrees using the links below. 

You'll be able to select your subject area in the 'Supporting Information' section of the application form. 

January 2025 start 

September 2025 start

Studentships

The Graduate School and each of the academic schools at the University of Westminster are committed to doctoral programmes which encourage and make possible excellent research. As part of this, we are committed to offering a range of studentships. 

Find out about current studentships being offered across the university on our Studentships page.

Research Centres and Groups

Find out more about research based in the School of Law:

• Centre for Law, Gender, Race and Sexuality
• Centre for Law, Society and Popular Culture
• Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Sustainability
• International Law at Westminster
• Law, Development and Conflict Research Group
• Westminster Law and Technology Hub
• Westminster Law and Theory Lab

Areas in which PhDs are available

Please get in touch with us to explore research and supervision possibilities within any of the following fields.  You can find information about academic staff working in these areas here. If your proposed research relates to another field of law, please submit a general enquiry.

• Business and human rights/environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)
• Company and commercial law
• European Union Law
• Human rights law
• International law
• Law, entertainment and popular culture
• Law and the environment
• Law and the family
• Law, gender and sexuality
• Law, geography and development
• Law and psychology
• Law and religion
• Law and technology
• Legal education and the legal profession
• Legal theory
• Policing; criminal justice; and criminology
• Public, constitutional and administrative law

Find out more about our academic staff working in these areas for supervision possibilities.