The Law unit of assessment unit of assessment includes the work of the School of Law and the Transitional Justice Institute as well as the Ulster University Law Clinic and the Legal Innovation Centre.
We welcome applications in specified thematic areas including human rights and transitional justice.
Examples of proposals in this area include
Gender and human rights; CEDAW; Domestic protection of human rights through Bills of Rights; human rights and conflict; national human rights institutions;
Philosophy and history of Human Rights, including relationship of human rights to democracy and participation; postcolonial theory; Minority and vulnerable groups; Equality and socio-economic rights; International Human Rights Law; Health and Human Rightsl Regional human rights systems (Africa, Latin America, Europe); human rights and development.
Peacebuilding and peace processes; Truth, truth recovery and truth commissions; Enforced disappearances; Justice, accountability and amnesty; Reparations, psychosocial support, victims and survivors; Guarantees of non-repetition, including institutional reform, transformative justice, socioeconomic rights, land reform; Memory and memorialisation; Transitional justice in democratic and in ongoing conflicts; Gender and transitional justice, including sexual violence, masculinities, sexual and gender minorities; Transitional justice in Northern Ireland; Regional perspectives on transitional justice including African and Latin American perspectives; Transitional justice and constitutional change; Postcolonial perspectives and critiques of transitional justice
The following staff are interested in supervising in these areas:
Applicants are encouraged to contact potential supervisors in good time to discuss draft research proposals.
For general enquiries please contact the Research Director for Law Prof Rory O’Connell or one of our PhD coordinators, Prof Cath Collins, Dr Thomas Hansen.
Allocation of supervisors will be made during the selection process. The supervisory team will depend on the proposal. We list a number of named supervisors on the web pages for contact purposes but please note they may or may not be included on any supervision team.
We welcome interdisciplinary research proposals and may appoint supervisors from outside the law unit of assessment.
A sound research proposal should be about 2000-3000 words. Please see our guide to putting a proposal together. It should have the following headings:
1) A tentative title
2) Research question(s) and any related hypotheses
3) Literature review/survey of existing scholarship
4) Methodology
5) Contribution of the conclusions
6) Assessment of feasibility
Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.
We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.
In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.
The University offers the following levels of support:
Full award (full-time PhD fees + DfE level of maintenance grant + RTSG for 3 years).
This scholarship will cover full-time PhD tuition fees and provide the recipient with £18,000 (tbc) maintenance grant per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).
This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.
Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.
Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.
Part award (full-time PhD fees + 50% DfE level of maintenance grant + RTSG for 3 years).
This scholarship will cover full-time PhD tuition fees and provide the recipient with £8,000 maintenance grant per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance). This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.
Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.
Fees only award (PhD fees + RTSG for 3 years).
This scholarship will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance). This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.
Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.
The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £18,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).
This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.
Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living
Submission deadline
Monday 27 February 2023
04:00PM
Interview Date
TBC April 2023
Preferred student start date
18 September 2023
Telephone
Contact by phone
Email
Contact by email
