MRes (Law) and MRes (Law & Society)
About MRes (Law) and MRes (Law & Society)
Courses duration: 1 year full-time/2 years part-time Courses start: October
Masters of research courses in law at the University of Reading equip graduates with a sound and thorough understanding of the ways that law and legal knowledge form a part of the political, cultural and economic fabric of local, regional and international entities. They aim to provide you with advanced skills in legal research, the ability to undertake high level analysis of law and legal issues, a grasp of the research methods that underpin the discipline and its places in the humanities and the social sciences, and a grounding in legal research methods. They will be especially suited to candidates who wish to undertake professional or postgraduate research in law and the administration of justice.
These two degree courses share common ground in their focus on developing high level research skills but have different orientations.
M Res (Law and Society) will provide you with an excellent grounding in social science research methods and their application, and has a strong emphasis on socio-legal research. You will be closely involved with the activities of the Graduate School and the Social Sciences research methods training programme. The social science research skills acquired are especially suitable for candidates who wish to pursue career opportunities in socio-legal and social science fields generally.
M Res (Law) provides a wider scope for choice of modules and will be especially suited for candidates with a strong interest in doctrinal, theoretical and contextual approaches to law.
MRes courses content
M Res (Law and Society)
You will complete compulsory modules in Research Methods in in Law (30 credits) and Legal Knowledge & Legal Writing (10 credits). The remaining 80 credits will be chosen from the School of Law's masters level modules or Graduate School research methods modules. Some of the Law modules may be taken as research-based modules where a project is driven primarily by a candidate's research interests. The Graduate School's social science research methods modules offer advanced training in social science research design, interviewing and observation-based research, language and text analysis. You will also complete a dissertation worth 60 credits on a topic you develop in the area of socio-legal studies.
M Res (Law)
You will complete compulsory modules in Research Methods in in Law (30 credits) and Legal Knowledge & Legal Writing (10 credits). The remaining 80 credits will be chosen from the School of Law's masters level modules. Some of these may be taken as research-based modules where a project is driven primarily by a candidate's research interests. You will also complete a dissertation worth 60 credits on a topic that you develop.
Staff teaching on this MRes law course include:
- Dr Stephen Banks
- Dr Samia Bano
- Dr Robert Barnidge Jr.
- Dr Alison Bisset
- Professor Sandy Ghandhi
- Dr James Green
- Professor Christopher J. Hilson
- Dr Ioannis Kokkoris
- Dr Anne Thies
- Dr Aleardo Zanghellini
Career prospects for MRes law graduates
With an emphasis upon legal research skills and independent research, these courses are particularly suited to those who are thinking of entering the legal profession, pursuing career paths in research-based positions in national or international government or non-government institutions, or who wish to pursue a PhD in law or related areas. They will provide an especially strong foundation for careers involving the conduct or analysis of empirical research, including careers in the administration of justice.
