PhD - Aston Law School

At Aston Law School our PhD programme is designed to train Doctoral students who aspire to become future academics or professional industry researchers. 

Please note that each year there are two enrolment points and associated application deadlines:
 

  • January enrolment (application deadline 15th September)
  • October enrolment (application deadline 1st June)
Course type
Full-time

Course format

No placements

Duration

3 years

UCAS code(s)

N/A

Start date

Overview
Research at Aston Law School
Amaka Orji

2nd year PhD Student at Aston Law School

"Aston University is special because of the welcoming environment it offers. Its staff are friendly and supportive. It also has excellent facilities that makes studying easy and enjoyable. Another special feature is its diversity and the equal opportunities given to its students. It enables students to meet with blue chip companies in the UK and beyond. This gives students an edge when applying for jobs as it gives them an insight into what they require from potential employees or in business associations."

Read more of Amaka's story

    About

    Research at Aston Law School addresses a wide variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary themes.

    Aston Law School welcomes applications for PhD study. We have a strong record of PhD completions. Our staff have the expertise and enthusiasm to supervise PhD study across a range of areas. Recent topics have included:

    • international labour rights
    • international dispute resolution
    • proprietary restitution
    • reliance-based private law claims


    The topics being studied by our current PhD students include:

    • constitutional law
    • corporate governance law


    To view some of our main areas of supervision, please look at the research theme tabs on our Research page. For more detailed information, you can click on the Staff tab which links to the research interests and publications for individuals at Aston Law School.

    If you are interested in PhD study, please contact Professor Simon Lee for informal advice and guidance on applying for the PhD in Aston Law School (s.lee19@aston.ac.uk). He is the Research Convenor for research degrees in law and is happy to discuss proposals before you make an application.

    Research environment

    PhD students who are studying at Aston Law School become part of an exciting and vibrant research environment. At Aston Law, our approach is to develop strong connections between supervisors and PhD students, which is integral for the development of a successful PhD. Ultimately, each PhD project will be different and unique to each student, but students will have the support they need to develop as a researcher and successfully to defend their PhD. Our PhD students will also have the opportunity to study and form relationships with the wider community of PhD students across the College of Business and Social Sciences. A number of events are organised, both academic and social, which help to ensure that our PhD students are engaged and motivated throughout the duration of their PhD journey.

    The BSS PhD Hub offers our doctoral researchers the opportunity for further training skills development from experts across the College.

    All students can access up to £1,500 for presenting at academic conferences and to help further develop their research knowledge, skills, abilities and professional development. 

    Programme structure

    Year 1

    In the first year students will undertake four ESRC approved taught Research Methods modules. These modules are designed to provide students with the necessary skills to both successfully complete their PhD, and to develop as a well-rounded researcher.

    In line with ESRC initiatives, the Research Methods course is taught by experts across the College of Business and Social Sciences and involves modules on (1) Philosophy of Social Science Research, (2) Research Design, Practice and Ethics, (3) Fundamentals in Quantitative Research Methods, and (4) Foundations in Qualitative Research Methods.

    During year one students will also work towards completing their Qualifying Report, the content of which should be determined by the nature of their project.

    Students who are engaging with doctrinal research and secondary materials will have the opportunity to refine their project and to get feedback on early drafts of their chapters. In previous years, students who engaged with doctrinal research have focused on developing at least one chapter to showcase their PhD and wider arguments. In contrast, students who are engaged with empirical research will normally spend the first year refining their methodology and the design of their project.

    All students, whether studying doctrinal or empirical research, will submit their Qualifying Report at the end of the first year. It is assessed through a viva voce oral examination involving two academic examiners, one of whom will be familiar with the subject area. Upon successful completion of this examination, the student is confirmed on the PhD programme.

    Year 2

    The second year provides an opportunity to incorporate or respond to changes or suggestions provided from the Qualifying Report, and this should also provide a better insight into the next steps for developing the PhD.

    In previous years, PhD students have also applied to present at external conferences such as the Society of Legal Scholars conference. Students engaging in empirical research will typically concentrate on obtaining ethical approval for their research, before focusing on data collection and analysis.

    For some students this will involve travel to external research sites where data is collected. Towards the end of Year 2, students are required to communicate and defend their research progress. This is either through:

    1. An oral presentation of all, or part, of the research.
    2. The write up of all, or part, of the research in the form of a chapter that would constitute part of the thesis.
    Year 3

    By year three, students should have draft versions of most of their chapters. It is often the case that developments in later chapters will require earlier chapters to be revisited, and in some areas of law the fast-moving nature of law also means that new legal developments need to be incorporated.

    If they have not done so at this stage, we would also encourage all students to submit to important academic conferences in order to communicate their research to an external audience and to develop their research profile.

    For those seeking to pursue a career in academia, students are also encouraged to consider sending work for publication such as case notes or shorter articles.

    At the end of the final year, students will submit their thesis and will have a formal viva voce examination, where their finished PhD is examined by one internal and one external examiner.

    Entry requirements

    Qualifications

    A Masters degree in business, management, or the social sciences (or related disciplines) with a Merit overall (or equivalent) with a dissertation/research element, PLUS a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (or an equivalent qualification from an overseas institution).

    Entry may be allowed to exceptional candidates who can demonstrate the required knowledge and capabilities for Doctoral level study, but do not fulfil all of the above criteria. These will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

    Language proficiency

    For applicants who are not from majority English speaking countries, it is necessary to meet our English language requirements. For details of the language requirements please view our English language requirements webpage.

     

    Fees

    UK students (2024/5)

    Annual full-time fees: £4,786

    Overseas students (2024/5)

    Annual full-time fees: £15,800

    Home students, including EU students with settled or pre-settled status, living in England may be eligible for a non-means tested, low interest, loan towards tuition costs and living expenses. Find out more about the Doctoral Loans Scheme.

    Further information on fees and funding can be found here.


    PhD Scholarships

    BSS PhD Studentships

    Each year the College of Business and Social Sciences advertises a number of PhD studentships.

    Please follow this link for further information:

    Funded Studentships

     

     

    How to apply

    Entry dates

    The PhD programme recruits students to start in either October or April and, depending on the desired start point, applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible to avoid delays.

    Please note, we cannot review individual eligibility before you apply, and there may be earlier closing dates for your application should you wish to be considered for funding.

    How to apply

    For full instructions on how to apply, click here.

    Making your application

    Making an application can be split into the following steps:

    1. Use the 'Select Online Application Form' below to access the online application form. Then click "Apply for selected Degree Programme" (this will open in a new window)
    2. Complete the online application form, uploading the necessary documents
    3. We'll review your application and contact you if we require any additional information/documents
    4. If you have applied for one of our research projects, and your application is successful, the supervisor will contact you to arrange an interview.
    5. If you have submitted your own project, and your application is successful, a supervisor who is interested in your project will contact to arrange an interview.

       

    Application Form

     

    Application guidance notes

    The following guidance notes will aid you in completing the online application form. We advise keeping this page open while you apply as a useful point of reference.

    Making your online application

    When progressing through the application form please use the hyperlinks/buttons at the bottom of each page and not your web browser back and forward buttons.

    Existing Aston Students: Please note: You will need to Create a New Account to start a new application please do not log in with your student username and password.

    When creating your new account please ensure that you provide us with a valid and accurate email address as most of the correspondence from Aston will be sent via email.

    You will be automatically logged in after this and be able to start your application immediately.

    You can elect to 'Save and Return Later' at any point of the process, at which point you will be emailed details on how to return to your application later.

    Sponsored Students

    You are a sponsored student if all or part of your tuition fees will be paid by an external organisation. This may be an employer, government body or embassy (not a family member). On receipt of an official letter purchase order, the University will send a tuition fee invoice directly to your sponsor.

    Please specify in your application that you are a sponsored student. To confirm your sponsorship, please follow the instructions here: Tuition Fee Sponsorship | Aston University

    Completing the online form

    There are guidance notes available through out the application to assist you in completing the form.

    Names
    Please input your first names and family name as stated in your passport or other official documentation. 

    E-mail addresses
    E-mail address. This is your personal email address - the email address used to register an online application account with Aston University.

    Alternative contact E-mail address. If you are an Educational Agent, working on behalf of an applicant, please insert the Educational Agent email address in this box.

    Addresses
    Please provide information on your address. The permanent address is usually your home address. This is the address we will use to contact you unless you specify a correspondence address. 

    If the correspondence address given is temporary, please ensure that you notify the relevant Admissions Office of any changes.

    Disability/additional support needs
    This section is included for the purposes of monitoring equal opportunities and to ensure that students with a disability know about and have access to appropriate facilities and services. Applications are judged solely on academic merit. The University is committed to equal opportunities in its admissions policy and considers applications from candidates with disabilities on the same academic grounds as apply to all candidates.

    Find out more information about the facilities and support available contact:

    The Enabling Team
    Aston University
    Aston Triangle
    Birmingham
    B4 7ET
    UK

    Telephone: +44 (0) 121 204 4700
    E-mail: enablingteam@aston.ac.uk


    If appropriate, please choose the code most relevant to you from the drop down menu, when completing the online application form. Please also give any details of any special requirements or additional support needs you might have.

    Educational details
    Please include all qualifications obtained or anticipated (post compulsory education only).

    Please make sure that the names of the educational institutions are written in full and not abbreviated to initials – also state the country in which the institution is located. Please indicate the type of award for which you have studied e.g. BA, BSc or MA and the title used on the degree certificate/transcript. Give the grades you obtained e.g. degree classification, Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) score and state what it is out of i.e. 80/100.

    Please note that the authenticity of your qualifications will be checked by Aston with the awarding institution/examination board and that submission of fraudulent documents will disqualify you from studying in the UK.

    Professional Qualifications
    Please enter any professional qualifications received or memberships of professional institutions that are relevant to your application e.g. the Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Diploma or any other non-academic qualification e.g. GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test).

    Your Academic Qualifications, to a maximum of 14
    The most important qualification to include is the qualification you are currently studying, or if you have completed all qualifications, the highest qualification that you have achieved.

    English
    All applicants are required to provide evidence of their ability in English. The minimum English language requirement varies between schools - please refer to the English Language Requirements page for the individual programme requirements.

    Relevant Work Experience
    Please include any relevant work experience to support your application by ticking the box and completing all the mandatory fields.

    Please note that relevant work experience is a requirement for some programmes; please refer to the course entry requirements for further information.

    Finance Details
    Please provide as much information as possible about how you will be funding your postgraduate studies. If you have been awarded a grant/scholarship for all or part of your costs please send us a copy of the letter of the award you have received from the grant-awarding body. This can be uploaded at the beginning of your application.

    Personal Statement
    You are required to complete a personal statement.

    The statement should add any further information which you think is relevant to your application e.g. personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, further description of relevant employment experience etc. Also include information about your leisure activities and interests.

    Please do not include symbols in your text as the system may not recognise them.

    Research proposal
    A good research proposal is one of the most important aspects of your application to the Research Degrees Programme. When the University receives your research proposal, we use it to confirm the quality of your ideas, your ability to think originally and critically, to ensure that you really have understood the depth of investigation that your doctoral research will entail, and that you have a good understanding of the key theories and literature. Research Proposals should be in sufficient detail to enable the relevant research group or supervisor to decide if your experience is appropriate and if your proposed topic is relevant to existing research themes at Aston. The outline should be a substantial document, typically 6 to 12 pages in length. Please refer to ‘How to Apply’ section on the programme page for programme-specific requirements. If applying for an advertised project or studentship, please refer to the advert for research proposal requirements.

    References
    You must provide two official references. Members of your family or friends cannot provide references. At least one of your referees should be from the institution where you studied your last University degree. References must be provided on headed-paper and/or stamped by the institution and must be signed by the referee.

    If you choose to enter an email address for either of your referees they will be automatically e-mailed to ask them to provide you with a reference if the ‘Email this referee on application submission?’ box is ticked. The referee’s email address must originate from the referee’s official university/professional e-mail address. Private e-mail references will not be accepted.

    The referees will receive full instructions on how to complete the references and where to send once they have completed the reference. PLEASE NOTE: If you apply for more than one course at Aston but are using the same referee you do not need to tick the ‘Email this referee on application submission?’ box, for your second or any subsequent applications.

    Those applicants who have chosen not to have their referees automatically emailed will need to contact the relevant PGR Admissions Office for more information on manually sending the references for your application. Please include the Application Reference Number, emailed to you separately, on all correspondence.

    If you are applying for an advertised Studentship please state the reference code. This can be found on the advertisement.

    Please note that the authenticity of your qualifications will be checked by Aston with the awarding institution/examination board and that submission of fraudulent documents will disqualify you from studying in the UK.

    Professional qualifications
    Please enter any professional qualifications received or memberships of professional institutions that are relevant to your application e.g. the Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Diploma or any other non-academic qualification e.g. GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test). 

    Your academic qualifications, to a maximum of 14
    The most important qualification to include is the qualification you are currently studying, or if you have completed all qualifications, the highest qualification that you have achieved.

    English
    All applicants are required to provide evidence of their ability in English. The minimum English language requirement varies between schools - please refer to the Postgraduate prospectus for the individual programme requirements.  These usually include:  GCSE / ‘O’ Level English language, IELTS, Pearson Test of English (PTE) or TOEFL, although there are other acceptable qualifications.  Please note that IELTS and TOEFL results are only valid for 2 years. Applicants who have already successfully completed, or are successfully completing, a full time university degree in the UK and other English-speaking countries may be exempt from these requirements. Applicants with less than the minimum English Language requirement may be rejected or asked to retake the relevant examinations. Alternatively, they may need to successfully complete one of the English language courses at Aston University before starting their programme of study. Applicants will be notified at the point of offer of any such conditions.

    Relevant work experience
    Please include any relevant work experience to support your application by ticking the box and completing all the mandatory fields.

    Please note that relevant work experience is a requirement for some programmes; please refer to the programme listed in the prospectus or the website for further information.

    Finance details
    Please provide as much information as possible about how you will be funding your postgraduate studies.  If you have been awarded a grant/scholarship for all or part of your costs please send us a copy of the letter of the award you have received from the grant-awarding body. This can be uploaded at the beginning of your application.

    Personal statement
    You are required to complete a personal statement.
     
    The statement should add any further information which you think is relevant to your application e.g. personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, further description of relevant employment experience etc. Also include information about your leisure activities and interests.

    Please do not include symbols in your text as the system may not recognise them.

    Research proposal
    A good research proposal is one of the most important aspects of your application to the Research Degrees Programme. When the University receives your research proposal, we use it to confirm the quality of your ideas, your ability to think originally and critically, to ensure that you really have understood the depth of investigation that your doctoral research will entail, and that you have a good understanding of the key theories and literature. Research Proposals should be in sufficient detail to enable the relevant research group or supervisor to decide if your experience is appropriate and if your proposed topic is relevant to existing research themes at Aston. The outline should be a substantial document, typically 6 to 12 pages in length. Please refer to ‘How to Apply’ section on the programme page for programme-specific requirements. If applying for an advertised project or studentship, please refer to the advert for research proposal requirements.

    References
    You must provide two official references.  Members of your family or friends cannot provide references.  At least one of your referees should be from the institution where you studied your last University degree. For Research Applicants: If you have completed your first Degree at a different University to your Masters Degree please provide a reference from both Institutions. References must be provided on headed-paper and/or stamped by the institution and must be signed by the referee.

    If you choose to enter an email address for either of your referees they will be automatically e-mailed to ask them to provide you with a reference if the ‘Email this referee on application submission?’ box is ticked. The referee’s email address must originate from the referee’s official university/professional e-mail address. Private e-mail references will not be accepted.

    The referees will receive full instructions on how to complete the references and where to send once they have completed the reference. PLEASE NOTE: If you apply for more than one course at Aston but are using the same referee you do not need to tick the ‘Email this referee on application submission?’ box, for your second or any subsequent applications.

    Those applicants who have chosen not to have their referees automatically emailed will need to contact the relevant Admissions Office for more information on manually sending the references for your application. Please include the Application Reference Number, emailed to you separately, on all correspondence.

    If you are applying for an advertised Studentship please state the reference code. This can be found on the advertisement.

    What happens next?

    Once you have completed your application you will be automatically logged out from the system and emailed with confirmation that your application has been received.

    After this point, admissions staff at Aston will communicate with you via the email address you have provided regarding the outcome of your application and you will not need to log in to the Online Application form again.

    If you have any supporting documents which you need to send to us please send these to pgr_admissions@aston.ac.uk.
     

    Notification of decision

    The University will make a decision based on the information you have provided and you will be advised of the decision within a few weeks. (If you do not hear anything after 6 weeks and you have completed your online application and provided all required supporting documentation, you can email the PGR Admissions Office as stated on your receipt of application email. Your query can be processed quicker if you can provide your Reference Number, as provided on the email sent you when you submitted your application form).

    You will be contacted by the university with a decision to invite you to an interview, or that your application has been unsuccessful.

    Following a successful interview, the offer of a place will be made. This may be subject to certain conditions which you have to meet before your admissions can be confirmed (conditional offer). You must satisfy these conditions by sending further evidence or completing additional documentation to the University.

    If you have any more questions about the application process or the information you will need to provide the University, please contact us.

    Technical problems

    This section provides you with some simple solutions to technical problems that you might have whilst completing the online Application Form.

    I can’t create a new account, what should I do?
    If you are unable to create a new account, please ensure that you are using a supported web browser (listed below) and that you are completing all of the required fields on the new account page.

    You are unable to create an account twice with the same email address. If you need to apply for a second Degree Programme at Aston, you can use your existing account details to log in. If you have forgotten your original password, please follow the instructions below to receive a reminder of your password.

    If (after verifying that you are using a supported web browser and that you do not already have an account in the system) you are still unable to create an account please contact our technical support staff at it_helpdesk@aston.ac.uk

    I haven’t received any emails from the application form, why is this?
    Normally, you will receive an email once you choose to ‘save and return Later’ to your current application or when you complete an application form. You may not receive these emails if:
    Your email software or provider has marked the emails as Junk or Spam. Please check your Junk / Spam folder to see if any emails have been directed there.  Additionally, please ensure that you add ‘aston.ac.uk’ to your email account safe list so that any further emails sent to you by the Admissions team are received quickly and safely. You may also have entered your email address incorrectly when creating your account. If this is the case, please contact our technical support staff at it_helpdesk@aston.ac.uk with your name, date of birth and email address.

    How do I get a reminder of or reset my password?
    To have your password reset visit this webpage on MAP. You will be asked to provide the email address, surname and date of birth that you entered when you originally created your account. If these are accepted by the system, your password will be reset to a random value and emailed to you.

    If you are unable to retrieve your password this way, please contact our technical support staff at it_helpdesk@aston.ac.uk

    The application form doesn’t look right or doesn’t work properly on my computer, what can I do?
    The Aston application form has been tested to work with the following web browsers:
    Internet Explorer 8 Firefox Google Chrome Safari You will also need to ensure that Javascript is enabled on your internet browsing software. This is usually enabled by default.
    If you are using one of these web browsers and are still experiencing issues, please contact our technical support staff at it_helpdesk@aston.ac.uk

    I’ve made some mistakes on my application form or supporting documentation, what do I do?
    If you haven’t submitted your application form, you can change any of the documents you have uploaded and any of the information you have entered simply by logging into your application and making the necessary changes.

    If you have submitted your application form, please contact the relevant Admissions Office as stated on your receipt of application email  with details of any changes you wish to make, along with any supporting documentation if applicable

    How do I log back into an uncompleted application form once I have chosen to ‘Save and Return Later’?
    You can access any existing application form by simply logging back into your application.

    You can log in using the email address and password you used to create your account. However you cannot use this to start a new application.

    Additional advice for international students

    If you are an overseas student and require a student visa to come to the UK, you must also allow sufficient time to submit your visa application form to your local British Embassy/High Commission.

    For some of our courses you may also be required to apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate, which can take up to 4 weeks to be issued, please allow sufficient time for this.

    If you are applying as an international student, you should note that the terms and conditions of entry into the UK usually prevent you registering for a part-time programme. For more information, please refer to www.gov.uk/student-visa or www.ukcisa.org.uk

    Contact us

    If you require any additional advice before you wish to submit your application, please contact us at pgr_admissions@aston.ac.uk