How long does a PhD take in Law?

I'm so confused as to how long PhDs take!
I've read multiple threads as to how long they take, with some people saying they can take as long as 6 years full-time. :s-smilie:

I was just wondering if anyone knows roughly how long Law PhDs take to complete please and also maybe the cost from 2012 onwards? Thank you. :biggrin:

Reply 1

Durham_

Any law PhD full time in the UK is 3 years. Sometimes there is a need in going longer...but that will be a few months and it has to be approved by the faculty.

6 years is part time.

Reply 2

lizolove

Original post by Durham_

Any law PhD full time in the UK is 3 years. Sometimes there is a need in going longer...but that will be a few months and it has to be approved by the faculty.

6 years is part time.

Thank you for clarifying. :smile:

I know that 6 years is part-time, but I read somewhere that an Engineering person (in the UK) did a PhD for 6 years full-time, strange. :confused:

Reply 3

hobnob

Original post by lizolove

Thank you for clarifying. :smile:

I know that 6 years is part-time, but I read somewhere that an Engineering person (in the UK) did a PhD for 6 years full-time, strange. :confused:

Not all that strange. *Theoretically* a full-time PhD is supposed to take 3 years from start to finish, but in practice it usually takes 4. 6 years is uncommon, but it's not totally unheard of. Normally it means that something unexpected happened along the way and the PhD student in question had to start again from scratch, i.e. he hit a complete dead-end halfway through his research, his supervisor died and he couldn't find a successor who was happy to supervise the project he had already started on, he got distracted by lots of side-projects that were thrown at him, private sponsors weren't happy with the direction his research was taking, etc.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 4

lizolove

Original post by hobnob

Ah, right ok! Thank you for the clarification. :smile:

Reply 5

nulli tertius

Original post by lizolove

I'm so confused as to how long PhDs take!
I've read multiple threads as to how long they take, with some people saying they can take as long as 6 years full-time. :s-smilie:

I was just wondering if anyone knows roughly how long Law PhDs take to complete please and also maybe the cost from 2012 onwards? Thank you. :biggrin:

I would be surprised about this length for full-time law. English Lit is fairly notorious for over-long PhDs

Reply 6

hobnob

Original post by nulli tertius

I would be surprised about this length for full-time law. English Lit is fairly notorious for over-long PhDs

Have you got any statistics about this, by any chance? I've never seen anything subject-specific so far. Or was that just supposed to be a gratuitous swipe against English, even though she specifically said that the person who took 6 years was an engineer? :confused:

Anyway, all I've heard is that the overall completion rate after four years is just over 70%, and then there's a big drop, after which the completion rate gradually edges towards 75%. Which basically means that the majority manage to finish their PhD within four years - but most of those who haven't finished after four years never finish.

Reply 7

lizolove

Original post by nulli tertius

I would be surprised about this length for full-time law. English Lit is fairly notorious for over-long PhDs

Oh right, thank you! :smile:

Reply 8

nulli tertius

Original post by hobnob

I am not aware of any UK statistics that go to a greater level of precision then "humanities" so my opinion is anecdotal but I believe widely held.

Reply 9

hobnob

Original post by nulli tertius

I am not aware of any UK statistics that go to a greater level of precision then "humanities" so my opinion is anecdotal but I believe widely held.

Ah, fair enough, then. In that case I'm not sure if it's justified to perpetuate it, though. I mean yes, it caters to the stereotype of lazy layabout humanities students etc, but if there are no actual statistics to back up this claim, who knows if it's even true?

Reply 10

Durham_

Original post by nulli tertius

I would be surprised about this length for full-time law. English Lit is fairly notorious for over-long PhDs

There is no debate to engage.

Look at the websites of most UK law schools.

A full time PhD in law is 3 years. If by any reason you are delayed in writing up your thesis a further period can be agreed with the faculty for that extension to be granted.

A part time PhD in law is normally 6 years. Again if more time is required then this may be agreed at discretion of the faculty.