CRiL offers a dynamic and intellectually stimulating environment for graduate research in Law. We welcome applications by candidates with strong research potential from the UK, EU and other overseas jurisdictions.

As an MPhil/PhD student at CRiL, you will pursue original research and have the opportunity to make a distinct contribution to your chosen field of study. You will become a member of our research community and have opportunities to engage with colleagues, academic staff and distinguished visiting academic guests and practitioners.

All our MPhil/PhD candidates benefit from the research skills training programme offered by the Business and Management Research Institute (BMRI), and are encouraged to take part in the seminars, conferences and other research events organised by CRiL. To foster your academic development, funds are available to assist you with the costs of conferences and other research activities.
CRiL fellows offer supervision across a wide range of research areas and will support you in developing your research skills and academic profile.

Writing a Research Proposal

As part of the application process, all candidates should submit a research proposal. A clear and well-written research proposal will allow the admission panel to assess both the originality and relevance of the proposed research and whether it is a suitable for study at the doctoral level. The initial proposal also normally provides a clear insight into the proponent’s research potential.

In addition, the clearer you are in your explanation of what you intend to do, and why and how you intend to study that particular topic, the easier it is for us to assess whether your proposed topic fits into any of our research areas.

It is a matter of personal style how a research proposal is structured and presented. However, a good proposal will normally address all of the following aspects:

• What is the title of your proposed research?
• What is the specific topic/area which you are proposing to explore?
• Why it is worth researching this area as a research degree topic? Explain what is the academic, societal, commercial and/or industrial importance of your proposed topic.
• What is the overall objective of your research? What are you trying to find out/demonstrate? Are you planning to be make suggestions in relation to a particular area of law/practice? Remember that research at doctoral level is not merely descriptive. You need to have an original idea which you want to develop/test through your research.
• How is your research original? You need to explain how your proposed topic goes further than previous research in the overall area.
• What are the key academic ideas within the area of your proposed topic? Provide supporting references and explain how your research relates to these ideas.
• What will be your general research approach and specific research methods? Explain why you are intending to use such an approach. Research in law does not necessarily require the researcher to carry out empirical research. However, if you are planning to collect primary data (e.g. through interviews/questionnaires/focus groups, etc.), you should explain why this is important and detail how you will gain access to the intended participants. How do you intend to interpret or analyse the data, once collected?

Remember that your proposal is a piece of academic writing. You should fully reference all the sources used to prepare your proposal. Please use footnotes and not endnotes or Harvard style references. The research proposal should include a bibliography.