The School of Law has a diverse and vibrant research community which is actively involved with the wider legal, policy and business communities. We have invested in developing extensive support to enable our academic and research staff to lead pioneering, ambitious projects that will benefit the communities with which we work.
The School of Law supports our academic and research staff through a range of avenues, including formal mentoring, our Early Career Researcher Network, two active staff seminar series in the Department and at CCLS, WIP sessions within Research Centres, specialist seminar series and other initiatives, including a Working Papers Series and journals, research awaydays and retreats. In addition, the Department and CCLS Directors of Research and the School’s two Research Managers offer dedicated support for grant application development, annual research reviews, circulating research news and opportunities, and supporting training and interdisciplinary collaborations. We also have dedicated School finance, marketing, and events teams to support colleagues with managing funded projects and hosting research events at Queen Mary. At the Faculty-level the H&SS Research Manager leads strategic research initiatives, Faculty seed funding, and oversees general training and networking sessions open to all staff.
In addition to central support, the School’s Centres and Institutes serve as research hubs to support the independent and collaborative research endeavors of their members. Many of our Centres and Institutes work closely with professional, government, civil society and industry contacts, further strengthening the School’s research impact and policy engagement. The School is committed to investing significantly in supporting the public engagement, outreach and impact activities of its Centres and Institutes both through direct funding and by providing administrative and professional support.
We have around 150 research students on the PhD programme at the School of Law who are a vital part of our research culture. Our research students edit and contribute to our journals, assist academics with their research outputs, and organise and speak at events. We also host a Postgraduate Legal Research Conference every year, giving students a chance to present their doctoral research in traditional paper and poster sessions, as well as an exciting ‘soapbox’ session. Find out about the current cohort.
The Department hosts five Global Professors. Our Global Professors, all of whom also hold a position abroad, support the development of an international research culture during their 5-year term, for example by leading international conferences and workshops, offering PhD masterclasses and research seminars, and collaborating on publications and grant applications. Our current Global Professors are:
Since 2014, the School has also been successful at securing funding for sixteen Distinguished Visiting Professorship positions, funded by the Faculty via a competitive process. These shorter-term positions bring diverse perspectives to our research community, as well as also delivering lectures (to specialists and the public) and masterclasses, and cross-Faculty seminars to interdisciplinary audiences.
We also offer a responsive Visiting Researcher scheme for researchers at all levels, including doctoral researchers. Overseen by the School Research and Staff Development Committee, we provide office space, library access, and administrative support, with an expectation that visitors will contribute to our research community via collaboration, research papers, and participation in Research Centre and Institute activities and seminar series.
Queen Mary is a partner in the London Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (LISS; ESRC), which offers doctoral and postdoctoral opportunities each year. We also run annual calls for applicants for the British Academy and Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship schemes, through which we help support ECRs in applying for their first independent Fellowship. Outside of this, we welcome enquiries and applications from potential postdoctoral fellows.