In addition, applicants must have:
Completed their main PhD/MRes application form (including uploading all required supporting documents)– you should submit this main form prior to the LISS deadline – we recommend you apply no later than 2 December 2024. Applicants should indicate on the QMUL PhD/MRes On-line Application Form, in the ‘Other’ section, that they wish to be considered for ESRC Studentship funding. To notify the School of Law that you wish to apply for the ESRC Studentship award, in response to the question given within this section – ‘Are you applying for a Doctoral Training Programme’ select the ‘Yes’ answer, and then choose ‘LISS’ from the drop-down list of funding options given in the next question ‘Which Doctoral Training Programme are you applying for?’ You will also then need to indicate whether or not you have already submitted the LISS funding application form already. You can apply to the PhD programme without first having completed the LISS funding application form.
*Important* - some of the same documents are required for both the ESRC Funding application and the School of Law PhD programme application – please note, you must duplicate and submit the required documents with both applications.
For information about the LISS DPT ESRC Studentships, please see their webpage (from which you can also complete online the relevant ‘LISS DTP Application Form’
For information on how to make an application to the School of Law PhD programme itself, what the programme’s entry requirements are, and what supporting documentation is required, please see the Queen Mary law PhD programme page.
We advise all applicants to the Law PhD programme to view the information on this webpage before applying, as this web-page, unlike any other on the College web-site, contains information pertaining only to the application process for the School of Law PhD programme specifically.
For information on how to make an application to the relevant School of Law MRes programme, and what the programme’s entry requirements are, and what supporting documentation is required, please see the webpage for the MRes programme you are applying for:
Please note, the International Economic Law MRes specifically covers the areas of international trade law, international investment law and international financial regulation. Additionally, IP law, tax law, competition law and dispute resolution could fall within this remit, but only as long as the proposed research project focuses upon the international governance of these matters.
The LISS DTP Studentship scheme offers funding for either 3 years or 4 years. Which scheme an applicant is eligible to apply for depends upon their academic background.
The ‘+3.5’ funding is open to applicants who have already graduated from and thus hold an MA degree in Law – thus, applicants in this position can apply for doctoral funding only – the 3.5 year award covers your doctoral degree. However, to be eligible, the applicant’s MA degree must have provided research training that covers 75% or more of the ESRC’s key social science perspectives and methods requirements, as set out on the core training requirements webpage.
If you hold an MA degree, but are unsure whether this would make you eligible for the +3 Studentship, please contact liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk to receive guidance.
Your proposed topic of research, as outlined in your research proposal submitted with your main application, must fall within the broad social and behavioural science remit of the ESRC. Further, the proposed research must relate to one of the Research Areas of ESRC research. Please see the web-page on Research Areas - LISS DTP or contact liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk should you want guidance as to whether your proposed topic is DTP-LISS eligible. Generally, areas of law covered by one of the 4 MRes programmes the School of Law offers are eligible areas of research. These are:
For more information, please use the links to the MRes programmes given above.
Applicants are expected to meet the entry requirements of the School of Law PhD programme – these require applicants to gain a ‘Pass with Distinction’ on an LLM or equivalent qualification (or a grade equivalent to a UK ‘Pass with Distinction’ for degrees taken outside of the UK). Other qualifications highly relevant to the proposed area of study, such as prior professional or work-related expertise, may also be considered.
For all applicants not eligible for +3.5 Studentship funding, the remaining route open is the ‘1+3.5’ Studentship. This award is for 4.5 years of funding, and recipients must complete an MRes post-graduate degree in their first year, before then undertaking their doctoral degree.
The School of Law at QMUL offers 4 MRes courses that are ESRC-eligible, and they are listed on this web-page above, in the ‘About this award’ section. To be considered for the 1+3.5 route, an applicant must submit a research proposal that relates to an area of law covered by the MRes course they are applying to. For information on the areas of Law covered, please see the information provided on the web-pages for the MRes programmes given above.
Therefore, 1+3.5 funding applications must submit, as part of their MRes application, a Research Proposal. The expectation is that the proposed research topic will form the basis of both their MRes Dissertation module, and their doctoral research.
Applicants should have a very good first degree (an undergraduate degree, such as an LLB) – at 1st class level (or upper 2nd, with clear evidence of first class work).
Important Note
The LISS application process operates on the basis that applicants will have arranged for an academic to agree to act as their supervisor prior to submitting their formal application for funding by the time of the LISS funding deadline.
The application process for the School of Law PhD programme also encourages applicants, prior to formally submitting their application, to have first contacted an academic and gained their agreement to supervise their proposed research.
However, applicants interested in applying for LISS funding who wish to submit an application prior to having secured supervision interest can do so. They should formally apply no later than early December 2024, so there is time for a supervisor to be appointed who can therefore complete the Supervision Statement Form by the funding deadline date.
After applicants have submitted their MRes/PhD main application (including supporting documents) via the Queen Mary online application system, their ‘ LISS DTP Application Form’ (via the LISS online application system provided on their webpage), their supporting documents (transcripts and reference to lissapplications@kcl.ac.uk) and their proposed supervisor has submitted the ‘Supervisor Statement Form’ (to the appropriate e-mail submission address) by the 24 January 2025, 5pm deadline, the LISS-DTC funding body will then meet and select the candidates to be chosen. The decision should be made and communicated to applicants by March 2024.
When you complete your online PhD or MRes application you must tell us that you wish to apply for ESRC DTP Studentship funding by answering the questions in the ‘Other information’ section. In response to the question: ‘Are you applying for a Doctoral Training Programme (DTP)?’, you need to confirm ‘Yes’ from the drop-down menu. Then, from the next question ‘Which Doctoral Training Programme are you applying for?, you need to select ‘LISS’. Without this notification, you will not be considered as a funding applicant. You will be treated as an applicant to our PhD programme only.
If you wish to apply for other Queen Mary funding awards, you may do so. If you are unable to indicate this on the online application form, please e-mail g.skehan@qmul.ac.uk with notification by the time of the relevant funding deadline.