Postgraduate Research Students

The School of Law is keen to attract students interested in registering for research degrees.

A research proposal should include:

• An outline stating the precise subject area of the proposed research;
• A statement of the methodology to be employed;
• The sources of data that you would need to use;
• A statement of how the proposed research relates to earlier work in the field;
• A bibliography

Your research proposal should indicate that you are familiar with the subject area and that the study has direction. If you have any queries with any part of this, please do not hesitate to contact Rosalind Malcolm, the Postgraduate Research Director for advice.

You will also need to complete the registration form required by the University. Before completing the Application for a Research Degree, you should read the accompanying Guidance notes. You can download this from the bottom of this page, in portable document format.

With very few exceptions, all new research students in the School are registered initially for the Degree of MPhil. During the second year of registration, students have the opportunity to transfer to the PhD programme. Students may register on either a full-time or part-time basis. For further information, you might like to consult the postgraduate prospectus.

The registration form will ask you for the names and addresses of two academic referees to whom we shall write to ask for their opinion of your capacity to complete the proposed research.

Please send your research proposal together with the completed registration form to:

Postgraduate Admissions Office
The Registry
University of Surrey
Guildford
Surrey GU2 7XH
United Kingdom

The School will identify an appropriate supervisor from among its staff. He or she will get in touch with you to discuss further details of your proposal and might invite you to an interview. If your research project is approved and a supervisor is available, the School will complete the registration formalities with the University.

• View/download Application Form and Notes
• Research Student Support Fund Application Form (PDF document)
• Research Student Handbook*
  (* Restricted access)