Law

The School of Law is respected internationally for its legal, socio-legal and criminological research. Our academic staff carry out a wide range of research using a variety of methods. Their research outcomes include academic publications, workshops and conferences, material to better inform their teaching and a variety of wider impacts on society beyond the University. The School has a strong track record of informing policy processes through research and advisory work for government departments, public agencies and regional, national and international bodies.

Why choose to study a Research Degree?

• A PhD is the foundation of a career in academia, and is also a significant advantage to your employability in other career paths where research skills are highly valued.
• We have over 50 research students in the School, and now achieve a 100% success rate for PhD completions within the 4-year limit required by the UK Research Councils.
• We pride ourselves in the support and guidance we offer our research students. Students are usually allocated two supervisors with appropriate subject knowledge and research experience, who they meet with regularly.
• There is further support available from the  Director of Postgraduate Research and our dedicated Research Support Office team.
• Research students in the School can look forward to having access to their own research study space, including workstations, printer access and secure storage, and there are various other shared facilities available more widely in the Faculty and the University.
• Our research students are a vital part of the School's wider research community, but also form a close community of their own. All research students belong to one or more of the School's research clusters, and are encouraged to take an active part in cluster activities - these include a variety of seminars, workshops and conferences.

Our main areas of research

Centre for Criminological Research

Criminology and criminal justice; Desistance; The informal economy; Comparative criminal justice; Restorative justice; Socio-spatial/environmental criminology; Internet crime; Media and crime; Victimology and victimisation; Community penalties and offender management; Policing and police custody; Policing drugs and drugs policy; Prisons and penal policy; Penal history and theory; Colonial and post-colonial law and justice.

Centre for the Study of Law in Society

Constitutional and administrative law; EU law and society; Human rights law; Crime and popular culture; Medical and healthcare law; Socio-legal approaches to property; Administrative justice, ombudsman and dispute resolution; Legal theory.

Sheffield Institute of Corporate and Commercial Law

Many aspects of Corporate and Commercial law, including Corporate governance; Corporate social responsibility; Aspects of intellectual property including trade marks and copyright; Finance and banking; Theories of money; Law and economics; Regulation; Relational contract; E-commerce; Commercial property; Internet privacy; Financial Markets.

Sheffield Centre for International and European Law

International law; European Union law; Human rights law; The use of force in international law; International humanitarian law; International criminal law; Refugee and migration law; Law of international organisations; International legal theory; United Nations law; Cyber security; EU foreign, security and defence policies; International economic law; Transnational corporations and social responsibility; Private security and military companies; Fragile and post conflict states.

Sheffield Institute of Biotechnology, Law and Ethics

International bioethics and human rights; UK and EU regulation of the life sciences; Data protection, genetic privacy and biobanking; Patient Confidentiality and Public Interest Access to Medical Records; Medical law; Reproductive technologies; Global health law; Comparative health law; European Patent Law, Intellectual Property and Human Rights; EU regulation of stem cell research and patents; International Biomedical Law; Information Governance; Health Information and Genetic Data; Relationship between Law and Morality; Pharmaceutical Law; Regulating New Health Technology; Property Ownership in the Human Body (Commercial & IP); Health Law and policy in trans-national contexts; Discrimination Law and social rights; aspects of medical law and the tort of negligence.

Requirements

• You will normally need a first degree that is equivalent in standard to a UK classification of Upper Second-Class Honours or better, as well as a good Masters level qualification or equivalent experience. Your studies at Masters level must include a dissertation.
• In certain circumstances, we will consider students with other qualifications where these provide reassurance of the capacity to undertake high quality research.
• Professional qualifications, such as exceptional PG Dip or LPC results, can be influential in our decision-making but will rarely be considered an adequate substitute for a Masters degree because they do not ordinarily provide evidence of research skills.
• If your first language is not English and you have not studied at degree level in English before, we will require a qualification in English such as IELTS minimum of 7.0 (with a minimum of 6.0 in each component).
• The decision to offer an award takes into account the quality of the research proposal, the applicant's qualifications, references and, importantly, the availability of two supervisors with relevant expertise, interest and capacity to supervise
• Develop your research proposal
• Proof of your previous qualifications.
• Academic references (Two).
• English language certificate (EU and Overseas applicants).
• A supporting statement.
• Curriculum vitae/Resume.

Scholarships

• University Prize Scholarships
• University of Sheffield Research Resource Scholarships