Law
The Open University Law School (OULS) provides a supportive, lively and stimulating interdisciplinary research environment for PhD students.
Research activity in the School focuses on the following research clusters:
- Brain Science and Law
- Feminism, Law and Gender
- Law and Humanities
- Law and Religion
- Legal Histories
- The Futures of Legal Education and Practice
The School welcomes interdisciplinary research and members contribute to research networks across the University. Doctoral researchers are fully integrated into the academic community. Your development is supported through discipline-specific and cross-disciplinary research training, and a PhD teaching scheme. By creating a friendly environment for research, the School supports PhD students at every stage of their research journey.
Key facts
- There are around 18 PhD students in the Law School, most of whom study full-time.
- OULS recruits PhD students twice annually (start dates: 1 October and 1 February).
- The School regularly offers fully funded studentships linked to specific areas of research expertise.
- Students are engaged in projects, many of them interdisciplinary, that connect to a wide range of research clusters.
- OULS is a member of the ESRC Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership.
Location
Most of our full-time research students are based at our Milton Keynes campus; for details of residence requirements for different modes of study see Full-time study and Part-time study.
Career prospects
After graduating, OULS PhD students go on to build successful academic careers in the UK or internationally. Other students use the PhD as a platform for continuing professional development in a wide variety of occupations, including professional practice, international, regional and national institutions (including the UN, international courts, the European Union, the Africa Union, etc.) advocacy, and legal consultancy.
Links
The support from my supervisors and the faculty has been exceptional. Coming from a strictly legal background, I wasn’t sure how I’d survive interdisciplinary research. Turns out, with the OU behind you, not only do you survive, but you also enjoy it! The encouragement, flexibility, and genuine interest in my work have made the journey both enriching and fun. It’s a rare academic space where curiosity is truly welcomed – and where a lawyer from Nigeria, or anywhere else, can feel at home.
Gabriel Omachi, PhD Student, OU Law School