Goldsmiths Law PhD candidates are given outstanding opportunities to explore modern legal phenomena in their rapidly changing socio-political, cultural, and economic context.

• Our forward-looking, cosmopolitan, and distinctive Law department draws on, and has further strengthened, Goldsmiths’ rich heritage of social awareness and engagement, and its unique ability to foster radical, critical, and creative thinking, facilitated by cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration.
• Goldsmiths is known for its academic strengths in the creative arts, humanities, and social sciences; its unique focus on public and community engagement; the outstanding alumni from every generation of students; and its ground-breaking multi-disciplinary research. Our PhD programme follows this tradition.

Working independently and with others

We aspire for our PhD candidates to be fully integrated into the Department of Law’s innovative approach to legal studies and legal research, and are passionate about connecting students with our network of leading scholars and professionals, including:

• Our renowned visiting professors
• The dynamic organisations with which we work, whose aim is to make a real impact on policy, the law, and communities
• Academic staff and doctoral researchers in other Goldsmiths departments (e.g. in the departments of Politics, Psychology, Sociology, Media, Communications and Cultural Studies, History, Art, Design, Institute of Management Studies, and others) with intertwined research interests
• Our activist research centres and think tanks
• The scholars and legal professionals with whom we collaborate in our Law and Policy Clinics

PhD candidates are offered opportunities to contribute to our research and public engagement activity that will develop their skills to work in and beyond academia upon graduation, including growing confidence in public speaking, and using modern technologies to communicate research outputs.

Careers

In addition to pursuing traditional career paths in academia and postdoctoral research, graduates of our PhD programme are also encouraged to consider future career opportunities in the third sector, government organisations, or legal practice. Integration of theory and practice, and the embedding of a wide range of career skills in the PhD programme, will have exposed candidates to such opportunities and allowed them to create connections with relevant legal professionals and networks.