PGR Opportunities
Study for a PhD in law or LLM by Research. Find out about our academic support, facilities and academic expertise, and learn about possible career opportunities with a research degree.
The School of Law at the University of Aberdeen is a strong and thriving research community that dates back to 1495, when Law was one of the original subjects taught at the founding of our university.
Now in its sixth century, our School of Law has a large body of students and staff members to bring many diverse voices and perspectives to our research and learning activities. We have staff and students from across the globe, we have a wide array of religions and faith present, and we invite applications and accept students with all kinds of identities and backgrounds.
If you are passionate about legal research, we encourage you to apply for our PhD or LLM by Research.
Name | Thesis Topic | Supervisors | ||
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Patrick Achor | A Critical Analysis of the Legal Framework Governing Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Regulation of Nigeria's Emerging Wind Sector: Lessons from the United Kingdom |
John Paterson Eddy Wifa |
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Alanoud Albargan | Institutional Challenges for The Privatisation of Saudi Aramco IPO Governance Within Saudi Vision 2030: A Critical Legal Analysis. | John Paterson | ||
Mohammed Alfalhi | Corporate Personality: A Comparative analysis between the KSA and the UK laws |
John Paterson Justin Borg Barthet |
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Hala Altarawneh | The Puzzling Negative Effect of the Competence-Competence Doctrine and the Divergent Approaches of Its Application by National Courts at the Pre-Arbitral Award Stage: An Analytical Comparative Study |
Patricia Zivkovic Gloria Alvarez |
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Darmashakthini Arujunan | A decolonial Indic critique to facilitate the integration of due diligence policies pursuant to Article 5 of the European Union’s Proposal Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (the Proposal Directive). |
John Paterson Edouard Fromageau |
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Ahmet Ferhat Baran | Third World Approaches to International Law and International Centre for Investment Disputes Jurisdiction: An Equilibrating Critical Examination |
Gloria Alvarez Edouard Fromageau |
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Aysu Baser | Investment Arbitration: A Tool for Security of Energy Supply |
Gloria Alvarez Daria Shapovalova |
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Muhammed Nurullah Benli | The Principles of Sovereignty and Non-Intervention in Cyberspace |
Irene Couzigou Edouard Fromageau |
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Marie-Edmée De Massary | Post-Decommissioning Residual Liability and CSRD Reporting: Legal Challenges and Financial Implications for the Offshore Petroleum Sector |
Greg Gordon Eddy Wifa |
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James Dodge | A comparative analysis of the effectiveness and useability of laws providing victims of human trafficking with financial compensation |
Clare Frances Moran Graeme Brown |
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Gabriel Emeasoba | Electronic Letters of Credit: Rethinking The Framework for Electronic Presentation with Standards for Electronic Trade Documentation. |
Alisdair MacPherson Peter Cserne |
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Babajide Evboren | Conflicting Policies across Insolvency and other areas of Law: Squaring the Circle? |
Abbe Brown Catherine Ng |
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Dennis Favaro | An inter-faith analysis of how the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam intersect to promote faith-based dispute resolution principles and methodologies as preferable alternatives to dispute resolution mechanisms in secular contexts. |
Derek Auchie Leon Van Ommen (Divinity) |
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Tayo Elizabeth Gbemi |
Designing a Harmonised Licensing Regime For Wind Energy Generation in Nigeria: Exemplars Within the Danish – Chinese context. |
Eddy Wifa Anne-Michelle Slater |
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Lahiru Jayamanne | A Study to Establish the Mens Rea Behind Autonomous Weapons to Prosecute War Crimes Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court and to Draft a Prosecutorial Framework |
Clare Frances Moran Zeray Yihdego |
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Yingying Ji | Protection of Minority Shareholders' Interests: Based on China's National Conditions |
Alisdair MacPherson John Paterson |
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Olamiposi Jinadu |
International Arbitration for Renewable Energy Disputes Under the Ecowas Treaty: Lessons from the European Union -- a Nigerian Perspective |
Gloria Alvarez Edouard Fromageau |
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Muhammed Kerem Korkut | Regulation of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations in the UKCS: Recent Developments in the Last Decade and Their Legal Implications for the Relationship Between the State and Operators |
Daria Shapovalova Greg Gordon |
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Martin Kpebu | A Comparative Study of the Legal Regime on Decomissioning of Offshore Oil and Gas Installations in Ghana, The UK and the USA. |
Greg Gordon Mitchell Lennan |
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Michael Kudebong | Intellectual Property Rights, Covid-19 Vaccine Inequity, and Universal Health Coverage (UHC); A reflection of sustainable development Goal 3 (SDG3) within the context of trips waiver in an era of a pandemic. |
Abbe Brown Titilayo Adebola |
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Beverley Lamenya |
Strategic Petroleum Reserves' Potential for Reducing Energy Insecurity Vulnerability in Africa; the Case of Kenya |
Greg Gordon Eddy Wifa |
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Xuan Tung Le | A Critical Evaluation on Protection of Children through the Implementation of the Hague Convention 1996 of Selected States: What Vietnam can learn from International experiences |
Katarina Trimmings Michiel Poesen |
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Sartika Nanda Lestari | A Critical Analysis of Intellectual Property Rights in Indonesia: Towards Effective Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions Regimes |
Titilayo Adebola Catherine Ng |
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Bashman Mohammed | Legal Impediements and Opportunities in Worker Participation on Corporate Boards in Nigeria:A Cross Country Comparison with the UK and Germany. |
John Paterson Alisdair Macpherson |
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Liam Moorhouse | The commercialisation of biometric and health data under European data protection law: what we can learn from intercultural theories of privacy |
Rossana Ducato Patricia Zivkovic |
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Lizeth Moreno Marquez | The Developing of Standard Parameters to Regulate Conscientous Objection in Healthcare. A Comparative Study Between Mexico and the UK. |
Matyas Bodig Tamas Gyorfi |
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Nnennaya Jennifer Nwali | Enabling a Just Transition in Nigeria through Law: Lessons from other Jurisdictions |
Eddy WIfa Daria Shapovalova |
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Ibim Owabeleman | Nigeria's Legal Regime on Low Carbon Energy Transition: An Instrument for Sustainability in the Mitigation of Climate Change. |
Thomas Muinzer Eddy Wifa Greg Gordon |
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Ayşenur Zeynep Özmen | Beyond the Pilot: Integrating Civil Liability and Safety Regulations for the Control of Unmanned Aircraft and Ship Sectors |
Roy Partain Burcu Yuksel Ripley |
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Anika Rafah | Protection of traditional medical knowledge in Bangladesh: A comparative analysis |
Titilayo Adebola Abbe Brown |
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Justin Reid | The law of liferents in Scotland |
Roddy Paisley Andrew Simpson |
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Sayumphu Ros | Applying the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) on the World Sea Constitution (UNCLOS) |
Zeray Yihdego Mitchell Lennan |
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Leonard Sebucensha |
Decarbonising the East African Community Energy Sector for Sustainable Development Through Carbon Pricing: A Legal and Institutional Analysis |
Thomas Muinzer John Paterson |
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Daopu Samoni | Facilitating Just Energy Transition Through Carbon Capture, Utilisation And Storage (CCUS): The Inevitability Of A Regulatory Pathway For Nigeria |
John Paterson Daria Shapovalova |
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Ilya Sukhanov | What are the Legal Principles Underpinning and the Legal Parameters of the Transfer of the State Powers to the Private Sector? A comparative Analysis of the UK, the US and the Russian Federation |
John Paterson Roddy Paisley |
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Ijud Tajudin | Comparative Legal Analysis of Sentencing Guidelines and Judicial Independence: A Study of Theory and Practices Across England, Scotland, USA, Malaysia, and Indonesia |
Graeme Brown Roy Partain |
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Stephanos Theodorou | A Path to Strengthening the European Energy Union through the Easter Mediterranean |
John Paterson Daria Shapovalova |
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Boglarka Vincze | Shaping Economic Viability and Autonomy: An Analysis of Structural and Cultural Mechanisms within the UK's constitutional Framework, with a Focus on Wales. |
Erin Ferguson Tamas Gyorfi |
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Andrew Walters |
Exploratory Analysis of the Intersection of Multi-Dimensional Systems of Governance as it is Applied to the Long-Term Management of Radioactive Waste. |
John Paterson Anne-Michelle Slater |
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Charles Williams | A Critical Analysis of the Legal Aspects of Operators' Functions in Exploring and Exploiting Oil and Gas |
John Paterson Mike Igiehon |
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Yijia Yuan | China's legal construction of offshore methane hydrate: Challenges and Approaches |
Roy Partain Qiang Cai |
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Magdalena Zabrocka | Citizenship by Investment in the European Union: In Search of Routes for a Legal Intervention at EU Level |
Justin Borg Barthet Rossana Ducato |
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Dawn Zaiter | Rethinking Institutional Investor Stewardship in an Evolving World |
John Paterson Burcu Yuksel Ripley |
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Liliyana Kalinova |
Environmental Protections Beyond Earth (but from Earth): A Collection of Critical Essays on the Challenges Presented by Space-Based Activities that Risk Celestial Environments |
Roy Partain Daria Shapovalova |
Name | Thesis Topic | Supervisors | ||
Courtney Crilly | The Concept of Trauma: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Conceptual Innovation in Law and Society |
Isla Callander Matyas Bodig |
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Pierre De Gioia Carabellese | Trust in Scots and Italian Law: A Comparative Analysis |
Roddy Paisley Alisdair Macpherson |
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Blessing Ukachikara | How can laws and regulations enable renewable energy provision and Net Zero carbon emission in Nigeria |
Eddy Wifa Tomi Akanle |
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We welcome research applications from candidates in any area of legal expertise of the Law School.
Here you will find a step-by-step guidance through the various phases of application process. Once you are ready, you can begin your online application here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pgap/login.php
You are expected to hold:
In the School of Law, we use the University’s ‘postgraduate higher’ standards for English proficiency, find more information here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/requirements-pg-266.php
The application process is free, no payment is required. In order to submit your application, you have to upload the following documents:
In addition, you can also submit:
For our School of Law, you do not need to find your own PhD supervisor, nor do you need to write to one of them for their support. We will develop an advising team for you once we review your application. Please do make sure that our researchers have expertise in the subject area(s) of your research proposal.
Your application should be accompanied by a detailed research proposal. This tells us about what you want to research, why it is important that the topic be researched, and how your research will be likely to make an original contribution to the legal literature or legal science.
The full proposal should include at least the following elements:
Please be aware that your research proposal may be passed through originality checking software.
Candidates admitted to PhD study will not be strictly bound by the proposal that accompanies their application. Its purpose is to reveal something of the applicant’s preparation and insight. During the first months of work doctoral students often adjust their proposals in consultation with their supervisors and in conjunction with the research training offered by the School.
We strongly welcome students who need alternative pathways to a PhD in Law. Please consider our options and their combinations!
We offer an on-campus programme that includes training and seminars across all three years of the PhD experience. First year seminars cover a wide array of substantive legal specialities, training in various research methodologies, and exposure to a variety of legal traditions, cultures, and histories. Second year seminars focus on training each PhD student to imporve their research, writing, teaching, and communication skills. Third year seminars focus on interview abilities, as needed for both the viva voce (‘dissertation defence’) and for job searches.
We also offer an off-campus version of our PhD programme. This is a programme designed for researchers with established publication records or those with strong evidence of legal research and writing skills, so that they can become successful with less day-to-day guidance. This is not an online programme per se, but rather a more traditional approach wherein the PhD student and their advisers agree to their own modes of communication and meetings, which could engage a wide array of technology choices. Off-campus students are invited to our on-campus training whenever feasible for the student and will have full access to our online training and support.
We also offer the PhD programme on a part-time basis. You may be able to convert from full-time to part-time, or vice versa, at a later date, if your personal circumstances change. The options and flexibility are designed to meet a range of needs and circumstances. Be sure to contact us if you are not sure which path is best for you.
After you apply, and your portfolio of documents passes initial screening, we will handle each application by a multi-stage process that invites experts in the research proposal’s specialty area to review and advise on the overall application. That panel’s advice will be reviewed by our School in its consideration to admit. You may be invited to a video interview to allow our team to learn more about your research and career goals. Once we make an admission decision, we create a supervisory team for each student. We do take student requests for specific advisers into consideration, but we also balance out other issues as we make those advising team decisions.
Our School of Law doesn’t just let you earn a PhD in Law, we ensure that you receive three years of classroom-based training beyond your research project. From broadening your legal education to training you to become a modern teacher and lecturer and on to mock training for your viva voce and job interviews, we will train and support you throughout your PhD.
We also offer each PhD student a minimum of two academic supervisors to guide you on your research project. As seen above, we have experts in many legal specialties, so we can create a bespoke team of advisers for you.
The School of Law is supported by the University Postgraduate Research School providing additional support and training and providing the opportunity for networking with PhD students across all academic Schools.
In the first year, the seminars provide a broad range substantive, methodological, and professional training for PGR students. The teaching goal of the seminars is to provide first-year PGR students with a range of educational materials and training experiences to better enable successful outcomes in their PGR programme.
During the first year, students will assemble a literature survey in alignment with their research project. This will help them to ensure that their research project will make an original contribution to legal literature and to better enable them to become confident experts in their research areas.
These seminars provide a broad range of substantive, methodological, and professional training for second year PhD students. The teaching goal of the course is to provide second-year PhD students with a range of educational materials, and training opportunities and experiences to better enable successful outcomes in their PhD programme. In particular, this course delivers to PhD students the skills necessary for preparing and delivering research focussed classroom teaching, for presenting at research conferences, for large hall presentations, and for public testimony at legislative or ministerial events.
This series of seminars will train third year PhD students how to master the art of small room interviews, such as for viva voce and job interviews. These seminars build on the first two years of training to focus on intensive viva skills, interview skills, and job search skills. The seminars will also cover the theory and practice of academic CVs and how to search for an academic job, to better ensure post-graduation success. In this year of training, each PhD student will get to try mock job interviews and practice viva voce techniques.
The LLM by Research is a master’s degree path that allows you to improve your research skills and conduct independent investigation on any legal topic of your choice. The main requirement is to write a dissertation of 40,000 words (maximum).
This LLM Program is offered on a full-time (12 months) and part-time basis (24 months). You can start the LLM by Research in September or January of each year.
The application process is free, no payment is required. In order to submit your application, you have to upload the following documents:
In addition, you can also submit:
Your application should be accompanied by a research proposal. This tells us about what you want to research and why it is important that the topic be researched.
The full proposal should include the following elements:
Please be aware that your research proposal may be passed through originality checking software.
Postgraduate research Scholarships and Funding Opportunities
The legal research at our School of Law is cutting-edge and first class. Our academics publish at all the top publishing houses, such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and MIT Press. They also publish in a wide array of premier law journals across Africa, Australia, East Asia, Europe, and North America and they also publish in many different languages.
When you start your research at our School of Law, you are opening doors around the world to explore new and exciting legal ideas.
Our School of Law has developed five focal Research Centres:
Each of these Research Centres invites PhD students to join them as full members, so you can be engaged in our research from the very first day on campus.
Our scholars are active in many legal fields and can offer you supervision in the following areas:
Why should you study with us? Because you are looking for the best chance to develop your full research potential.
The School of Law has a long history of creating great legal scholars. Our graduates go on to teach at globally leading universities.
But the real reason to study with us …
There are many reasons to come to the School of Law at the University of Aberdeen to achieve your LLM by Research or your PhD in Law. We hope you find several good reasons listed here. For more good reasons, email us to be begin a conversation on how our School of Law can be a great solution for your PhD hopes and plans.
Whatever your reason to study with us we promise to support you all the way. Our PhD Programme office has multiple staff and faculty who can help you at every step of your PhD adventure.
The AHRC offers funding for research LLMs and PhDs. Candidates for the doctoral award are expected to have or be close to completing a masters level qualification.
Aberdeen Alumni may apply for a 20% fee discount, which is applied to one year's fees of further academic study at the University of Aberdeen.
The Carnegie Trust awards PhD scholarship awards to graduates of a Scottish University wishing to undertake a PhD also at a Scottish University. If you have not yet completed your undergraduate studies, you can still apply, but may receive an award conditional upon obtaining a first class honours degree. The closing date for applications is usually in March each year.
The Clarke Foundation provides partial funding for research degrees in any aspect of Scots law and/or its relationship with other legal systems or institutions within the European Community. The deadline for applications is normally the end of March in the year in which you wish to commence study. The scheme is administered by Shepherd and Wedderburn, a firm of solicitors. You can email them for an application form at clarkfoundation@shepwedd.co.uk
Commonwealth Scholarships are available to Commonwealth nationals under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowships Plan (CSFP).
The CB Davidson Fund provides limited financial support for graduates in law from outside the UK to undertake postgraduate study in Aberdeen. Awards, except in exceptional circumstances, will not exceed £2,500 and in most instances will be less. The closing dates for applications to the CB Davidson Fund are 31st March and 30th September each year.
This page is supplementary to the information given by the Student Recruitment and Admissions Service.
Please search our Funding Database for an extensive list of current opportunities.
Many go into academic life, finding jobs as faculty members around the world. Many are already faculty members when they arrive, so they return to their home universities after they complete their PhDs.
Other students go on into ministerial and similar posts in NGOs; serving the public with their legal expertise. Some students have gone on to found law firms or consultancy firms.
There are many exciting potential opportunities for a PhD graduate; feel free to email us to learn more!
Many of our students come from outside of the UK and will need visas, please find more information here about those issues: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/visa-information.php