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Find out more about fees, funding and scholarship opportunities for the MPhil/PhD programme at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws.

Fees and finance

Tuition fees cover all elements of your tuition, registration and examination. If applicable, any additional research expenses will be specified on your formal offer of admission.

Full details of the tuition fees for each academic year can be found under the fee scheduleÌýpages of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Current Students website.

Tuition fees for subsequent years are subject to increase. You should make provision for such increases and this is implicit in accepting the offer of a place at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾.

You must pay at least 50% of your tuition fee before or at enrolment to be fully enrolled, or provide a letter of sponsorship indicating who should be invoiced for your fee.

Tuition fees for 2025Ìýentry

UK students

(As a guide) Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøվ’s tuition fees for UK students registered on graduate research programmes at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws for 2024-25Ìýare £6,035Ìýfor full-time students, and £3,015Ìýfor part-time students.Ìý These will likely increase for 2025-26.

International students

(as a guide) Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøվ’s tuition fees for international students registered on graduate research programmes at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws are £25,900 for full-time students and £12,950Ìýfor part-time students for the academic year 2024-25.ÌýÌýThese will likely increase for 2025-26.

Tuition fees for 2025-26Ìýmay increase. Further information relating to on tuition fees can be found in the fees and fundingÌýsection of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Current Students website.

Living costs

As well as your tuition fees, you will also need to think about how you are going to meet your living costs – accommodation, food and travel, as well as other costs associated with your studies and everyday life.

Find more information about living costs and managing your money on the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Prospective Students website.

Funding and scholarships

There are a number of different scholarships available to fund your PhD. All are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and are competitive.Ìý An application for a place on the PhD programme should precede any application for funding.

Each requires a different application process and deadline so please do read the following information carefully and adhere to the deadlines specified. No late applications will be accepted.

Please see also the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ guidance on Funding for students on postgraduate researchÌýcourses, which provides information on other possible funding sources.ÌýÌý

Annual Scholarship opportunities

Faculty Research Scholarships

These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, research potential and research area. Candidates must have an outstanding academic track record, an excellent research proposal and strong references as competition for these scholarships is high. Financial need is not an essential criterion but will be taken into account in tie-break cases, namely when there are two equally well qualified candidates on the basis of academic excellence.

A Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws FRS covers the cost of tuition fees, plus a maintenance stipend per annum for full time study. The annual stipend for 2024-25Ìý(as a guide)Ìýis £21,337. Costs are pro-rated for part-time students.

Awards are made initially for one year but will be renewed for a second year, subject to satisfactory completion of studies during your first year. They will be renewed for a third year, provided the student has been upgraded to full PhD status and continues to make satisfactory progress in the programme.

How To Apply:
Ìý

All successful applicants to the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws PhD programme areÌýautomatically consideredÌýfor our prestigious Faculty Research Scholarships (FRS), awarded directly by the Faculty. There is no separate application form that needs to be completed.

To be considered for the scholarship candidates mustÌýapply for the PhD programme by 18th November 2024. Further details about applications are available here.Ìý

Four Faculty Research Scholarships, named after distinguished legal figures associated with the Faculty, are typically available each year:

• Orme Scholarship:ÌýEliza Orme was the first woman to earn a law degree in England, graduating from Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ with an LLB in 1888. This followed Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøվ’s groundbreaking decision to become the first UK university to permit women on an equal footing to men, in 1878. While women at the time were not permitted to qualify as a barrister or solicitor, Orme made a career drafting legal documents from her office in Chancery Lane. She was also involved in the National Society for Women’s Suffrage.
• Lawrence Scholarship:ÌýReina Lawrence was London’s first woman councillor. After receiving her LLB from Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ in 1893, Lawrence served on the Hampstead Distress Committee, helping the unemployed, before the Qualification of Women Act 1907 opened the way for female candidates in council elections. Lawrence stood for Hampstead Borough Council and was elected for the Belsize Ward with a large majority.
• Clarke Scholarship:ÌýEllis Clarke graduated from Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws in 1940, being called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn the following year. Clarke returned to his native Trinidad and Tobago and served as a lawyer and, following that country’s independence from Britain, in a number of government posts including Ambassador to the United States and Ambassador to the UN. Knighted in 1963, Sir Ellis was instrumental in drafting a new republican constitution for Trinidad and Tobago and following its adoption was appointed President, serving in that capacity from 1976 to 1987.
• Elias Scholarship:ÌýTaslim Olawale Elias graduated from Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ with an LLB in 1946, being called to the bar at the Inner Temple the following year. Elias completed his LLM and PhD at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾, becoming the first African to earn a PhD in Law from the University of London in 1949. In the run up to Nigerian independence in 1960, Elias played a key role in drafting the constitution and on its adoption was appointed Attorney General and Minister of Justice. In 1972 he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and served in a number of important international roles including Chairman of the UN International Law Commission, and helping to draft the Constitutions of the Congo and the Organisation of African Unity (forerunner to the African Union). In 1976 he was appointed a judge at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, becoming its President in 1982.

Ìý

Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws Research Opportunity Scholarship

The Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Faculty of Laws offersÌýÂ鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws Research Opportunity Scholarships. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, research potential and research area. Candidates must have an outstanding academic track record and excellent research proposal. Financial need is an essential criterion for this award. It is a condition for eligibility for these scholarships that candidates qualify for ‘UK fee status’ as defined here by Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾, and are domiciled in the UK.

A Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws Research Opportunity Scholarship covers the cost of tuition fees, plus a maintenance stipend per annum for full time study. The annual stipend for 2024-25Ìý(as a guide)Ìýis £21,237. Costs are pro-rated for part-time students.

Awards are made initially for one year but will be renewed for a second year, subject to satisfactory completion of studies during your first year. They will be renewed for a third year, provided the student has been upgraded to full PhD status and continues to make satisfactory progress in the programme.Ìý

How To Apply:

There is not a separate application form for this scholarship, and all applicants successful at interview will be given the option to provide financial information in order to be considered for the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws Research Opportunity Scholarship.

To be considered for the scholarship candidates mustÌýapply for the PhD programme by 18th November 2024. Further details about applications are available here.

Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws BAME Research Opportunity Scholarship

The Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Faculty of Laws offers Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws BAME Research Opportunity Scholarships. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, research potential and research area. Candidates must have an outstanding academic track record and excellent research proposal.Ìý

Financial need is an essential criterion for the scholarship. It is a condition for eligibility for these scholarships that candidates qualify for ‘UK fee status’ as defined here by Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ and are domiciled in the UK.ÌýThe scholarship is only available to ethnic groups currently underrepresented as academic staff members in Law Schools at Russell Group Universities. The Faculty will make an assessment of which groups are currently underrepresented using the latest HESA and National Census data.Ìý

A Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws Research Opportunity Scholarship covers the cost of tuition fees, plus a maintenance stipend per annum for full time study. The annual stipend for 2024-25Ìý(as a guide)Ìýis £21,237. Costs are calculated pro rata for part-time students.

Awards are made initially for one year but will be renewed for a second year, subject to satisfactory completion of studies during your first year. They will be renewed for a third year, provided the student has been upgraded to full PhD status and continues to make satisfactory progress in the programme.

How To Apply:
Ìý

There is not a separate application form for this scholarship, and all applicants successful at interview will be given the option to provide the personal information requiredÌýin order to be considered for the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws BAME Research Opportunity Scholarship.

To be considered for the scholarship candidates mustÌýapply for the PhD programme by 18yh November 2024. Further details about applications are available here.Ìý

IBIL Intellectual Property PhD Scholarship

The Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws Institute of Brand and Innovation Law is offering a scholarship in 2025-26. The scholarship will fund one PhD student to undertake research in the field of Intellectual Property, and will provide a stipend ofÌýat leastÌý£21,237Ìýper year for 3 years. Fees at the HomeÌýrate are covered (the scholarship is open to international students as well; if successful, an international student would receive a discount on the international fees equivalent to the value of the Home fees, and would need to cover the difference with their own funds).

The Institute of Brand and Innovation Law would like to thank its sponsors for their generosity, which has made this scholarship possible. Details of IBIL's sponsors can be found on our website.

How To Apply:
Ìý

All applicants to the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws PhD Programme in the field of Intellectual Property will be considered for the scholarship. There is no separate application form.

To be considered for the scholarship candidates mustÌýapply for the PhD programme by 18th November 2024. Further details about applications are available here.

Joseph Hume Scholarship

One scholarship worth £1,000 is available for prospective or current MPhil/PhD research students at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws. This scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and research potential, taking into account the availability of other sources of funding.

How To Apply:

All successful applicants to the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Laws PhD programme areÌýautomatically consideredÌýfor the Joseph HumeÌýScholarship, awarded directly by the Faculty. There is no separate application form.

To be considered for the scholarship, candidates mustÌýapply for the PhD programme by 18th November 2024. Further details about applications are available here.Ìý

Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Research Excellence Scholarships

Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Research Excellence Scholarships (RES) aim to attract high-quality students to undertake postgraduate research at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾. The university usually awards approximately 40 Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ RES annually to prospective and current Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ research students from any country.ÌýThese are highly competitive scholarships and are awarded only to the most outstanding potential and existing research students from all Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ departments and faculties.

The scholarships consist of tuition fees (for home or overseas students) plus a maintenance stipend of at least £21,237Ìýfor full-time study (benefits are calculated 'pro rata' for part-time students). The scholarship also includes additional support for research costs of up to £1,200 per year for the stated duration of the programme. Awards are normally tenable for years 1, 2, and 3 of a full-time research degree programme (or years 1-5 of a part-time programme), subject to annual review and renewal.Ìý

How To Apply:
Ìý

All further information and required materials for application can be found online here. There is a separate application form which must be sent to phd-law@ucl.ac.uk.ÌýYou must also have applied to the PhD programmeÌýby 18th November 2024. The RES application documents can be submitted later though - by a date to be confirmed in January 2025. Further details about applications are available here.Ìý

London Arts & Humanities Partnership (LAHP) and Arts & Humanities Research Council Studentship

We are partnered with the AHRC-funded London Arts & Humanities Doctoral Training Partnership. These are studentships thatÌýnormally cover fees and maintenance allowance (stipend).Ìý

Candidates should be aware that the studentship competition is a twin-track process, and they will need to:

1. Apply first for a place on the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Faculty of Laws PhD programme by 18th November 2024; and
2. Apply separately and directly to LAHP to their .

The application window for LAHP Studentships opens in December 2024 (precise date tbc).The application process for these StudentshipsÌýis run entirely by LAHP.Ìý Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾'s Faculty of Laws is not involved in the process at all. If you are intending to apply for an LAHP studentship, please make note of this on your online application form when you apply for a place on the PhD programme.Ìý