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PhD Programmes at the School of Law, NUI Galway

The School of Law offers the following PhD programmes:

• PhD (Law) full-time Module Code:GYK00 
• PhD (Law) part-time Module Code: GYK01
  

These PhD Programmes are based in the School of Law (as opposed to the Irish Centre for Human Rights or the Centre for Disability Law and Policy). The information on this page applies to this PhD programme in the School of Law. There is also the possibility of completing an LLM by research, either full-time or part-time, with the School of Law.

If you need further information on the PhD or Research LLM programme please contact:

• Des McSharry, Administrative Officer for the School of law, des.mcsharry@nuigalway.ie

Irish Centre for Human Rights

• PhD (Human Rights) full-time Module Code: GYK04
• PhD (Human Rights) part-time Module Code: GYK05

If you are interested in doing a PhD under the supervision of a staff member in the Centre for Human Rights you should contact Dr Shane Darcy (shane.darcy@nuigalway.ie).
More information on this PhD Programme is available here: http://www.nuigalway.ie/human_rights/Programmes/phd.html

Centre for Disability Law and Policy

• PhD (Disability Law and Policy) full-time  Module Code: GYK06
• PhD (Disability Law and Policy) part-time Module Code: GYK07

If you are interested in doing a PhD in the Centre for Disability Law and Policy you should contact Professor Gerard Quinn (gerard.quinn@nuigalway.ie).
More information on this PhD Programme is available here: http://www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp/programmes.html

University Guidelines for Postgraduate Research

Current and prospective doctoral students should familiarise themselves with the University Guidelines for postgraduate research, available here: http://www.nuigalway.ie/graduatestudies/Current_Students_2/guidelines.html

Application Process

Applicants should prepare a proposal describing in some detail the area of their research as well as a brief literature survey on the area. This material should then be sent directly to the applicant’s potential supervisor selected from within the School of Law. Once the proposal has been provisionally approved by a potential supervisor, a formal application should be made to enter the doctoral programme online via the Postgraduate Applications Centre (PAC): http://www.pac.ie//main.php?inst=gy&ln=e. 

Please note that applications are not to be sent directly to the Law School.

The code for the full-time PhD programme is GYK00 and for the part-time PhD programme is GYK01. There is no deadline for applications, though the process usually takes between 4-6 weeks to complete. Your application is logged in the Postgraduate Admissions Office, then forwarded to the Law School. At this stage, the Admissions panel undertakes an assessment of the candidate on the basis of a) past academic record; b) viability of the proposal; c) ability to provide adequate supervision. The decision of the Admissions panel of the Centre is then put forward to the Law School and College of Business, Public Policy and Law for verification, and it is only upon the validation of the credential and recommendation of the Law School and College that an offer can be made. This offer will be communicated to the candidate by the Postgraduate Admissions Office.

PhD Supervision

Your supervisor is the person who is responsible for providing guidance on your research. You may have co-supervisors for interdisciplinary or co-operative projects or where one of your supervisors holds an Adjunct post. In the case of co-supervision, one of the supervisors is named as the primary supervisor. The primary supervisor takes full responsibility for the overall management of your training and research project, and for relevant administrative matters.

If you are unsure who is available to supervise your thesis, the PhD Coordinator, TBA, will assist you in this regard. Please email with an outline of your research proposal or idea, or to query whether a particular supervisor is available. If a supervisor is available you will then be put in direct contact with that individual. Alternatively, if you wish you may contact a potential supervisor directly. Some supervisors will be happy to talk to you informally if you have an idea for a thesis but not a detailed proposal. However, others will expect a more detailed proposal before they will meet you. In either case, supervisors will assist you with the final stages of the preparation of your application.

For more information on the role of the Supervisor, see the University Guidelines for Postgraduate Research, Section 3.

Entry requirements

To be eligible to enter on a course of study and research for the degree of Ph.D., a candidate must have obtained a high honours standard at the masters degree level, or presented such other evidence as will satisfy the Head of School  of his/her suitability.
For more information on the entry requirements, see the University Guidelines for Postgraduate Research, Section 5.1.

PhD Fees

For candidates from the European Union the fee is €4,275 for 2010-2011 for the full-time PhD programme. The fee for full time students is €2,250. For candidates from outside the European Union the fee is €13,000.00 per annum. However, for candidates who do not reside in the European Union a limited number of fee concessions are awarded to candidates each year when the supervisor writes to the Registrar applying for the granting of such a fee concession. The Registrar reviews each application and a decision is made on a case by case basis.
More information on fees is available here:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/courses/fees-and-funding/

Funding Opportunities

Candidates may seek assistance from a range of outside sources. There is limited funding available within the University, but there is no guarantee that this will be available and students should attempt to secure external funding where necessary. Your supervisor and the PhD Coordinator will help you apply for funding and draw your attention to funding sources.
For more information on funding see:

• http://www.nuigalway.ie/courses/fees-and-funding/funding.html
• http://www.nuigalway.ie/careers/students/funding_research.html
• http://www.nuigalway.ie/careers/students/funding_ireland.html
• http://www.nuigalway.ie/human_rights/funding_opportunities.html

Programme Duration

In the case of a full-time candidate you must register for a period of four years . This period may be reduced where the thesis has been approved for examination prior to the end of the four-year period, provided, however, that the minimum period of registration for candidates with a Masters’ qualification is not less than two years and not less than three years for all other candidates. Fees will be applied until the end of the semester in which the thesis is submitted.

In the case of a part-time candidate, you must register for a period of six years and attend such a programme of study as may be prescribed by Regulations. The relevant College may reduce this period where the thesis has been approved for examination prior to the end of the six-year period. Fees will be applied until the end of the semester in which the thesis is submitted.

For more information on programme duration, see the University Guidelines for Postgraduate Research, Section 5.1.

Graduate Research Committees

Each student has a "Graduate Research Committees", comprising of at least 3 people, one of whom can be your supervisor. You may wish to consider who may be interested in being on this Committee, as it can include people in other faculties who may have a particular expertise in this area. Your supervisor and the PhD Coordinator will assist in putting together this Committee.
The committee’s roles include the following:

• Acting in an advisory capacity to the student and as an additional source of encouragement
• Acting in an advisory capacity to the supervisor on academic/technical/ethical/safety matters that arise during the course of the project
• Being available for consultation by the student on any project-related matters
• Acting, in the first instance in a supportive informal way, to facilitate the clarification and resolution of student/supervisor problems at an early stage, and, in the event of a persistent or intractable problem, engages in a more formal way (perhaps with extra external inputs) to find a resolution
• Advising the College when action is deemed necessary because of issues raised by the student or the supervisor(s)
• Acting to ensure the continuity of the research project if the supervisor becomes incapacitated, retires or resigns

For more information, see the University Guidelines for Postgraduate Research, Section 4.

Current Ph.D. Students

• Doctoral Candidates in the School of Law
• Doctoral Candidates in the Irish Centre for Human Rights
• Doctoral Candidates in the Centre for Disability Law & Policy

 

 

 

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