University of Kent

Degrees by Research

Research Degrees at Kent Law School

Rated as the 6th best Law School in the UK in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), Kent Law School has a strong research culture and an excellent research environment.  We encourage postgraduate research and have a vibrant postgraduate research community.

Postgraduate research can take place in any subject area which qualified Law School staff are able to supervise.
Find out more about the research interests of Kent Law School staff and research students.

Research students at Kent Law School are immersed in a research culture which situates legal studies in its historical, social and economic context.  We are particularly proud of our electronic resources and of the training we make available to postgraduate students. 

The Law School has an active and supportive student community, with excellent dedicated postgraduate facilities.

Choosing a Research Topic

Each research project is unique, requiring specialised and individual supervision of the student concerned. Because of the importance of expert supervision of research students, the Law School accepts applications only where it is clear that appropriate supervision can be provided.

Before deciding on a research topic, or finalising the proposal, we recommend that applicants make informal contact with a member of the Law School academic staff with relevant research interests.

The Role of the Supervisor

The supervisor will give guidance about the nature of the research, the standard of work required, and about the relevant literature and sources that should be consulted.  Students are required to meet supervisors periodically to agree upon a schedule of work, and to produce written work for comment and discussion.  We normally appoint a co-supervisor in addition to the principal supervisor, to give additional input and ensure continuity.

The Thesis

LLM in Law & LLM in Socio-Legal Studies

The thesis must show that the candidate is able to conduct an independent study, to understand its relationship to a wider field of knowledge and to organise and present the thesis in an appropriate manner. LLM theses, submitted after a one-year period of registration by full-time candidates, should be not more than 40,000 words.

PhD/MPhil

A PhD thesis should be an original contribution to knowledge or understanding of the field under investigation and be of such scholarly merit that it would justify publication. The thesis has to be between 80,000 and 100,000 words.

Progression from MPhil to PhD

All students who wish to study for a PhD are first registered in the two-year MPhil programme. In order to upgrade to register for a PhD, students make a written and oral presentation to a panel of Law School staff in their second year.  They must satisfy the panel that the research project will successfully lead to an award of a PhD. Following a successful upgrade, the student becomes a 2nd year PhD student.