PhD programmes/180 ECTS

Overview

• PhD Programme 3 year studies - 180 ECTS
• Open for applications year round

The objective of the PhD programme is to train doctoral candidates for research and teaching careers and other positions which require in-depth scientific training and knowledge. The programme is  designed to deepen the theoretical and methodological knowledge of PhD candidates in order to qualify them for independent and well-founded research in the field of law.

The PhD students will carry out their research at the RU School of Law for 3-5 years (depending on employment percentage). PhD students at RU have access to doctoral courses in other Nordic countries, including access to the doctoral courses programme at the Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo. A doctoral candidate will generally stay up to six months at a another university during the course of studies.

Admission

The PhD programme at the RU School of Law takes three years of full-time study and corresponds to 180 credits (ECTS).

Applicants shall possess a masters degree in law or a related field and must have demonstrated outstanding performance in their studies and/or work and be viewed as capable of showing initiative in the advancement of academic or professional knowledge.

Applicants should specify their wishes regarding choice of supervisor from the ranks of the permanent faculty members of the Reykjavik University School of Law, and the application and research proposal should be approved by this person. 

Tuition

Information on tuition, amounts and dates. 

Fields

We are currently only inviting applications in the following fields of law:

• Tort Law, Insurance Law and Maritime Law
  For further information contact dr. Guðmundur Sigurðsson, Professor, email: gudmundur@ru.is
• EEA Law
  For further information contact dr. Margrét Einarsdóttir, Professor, email: margreteinars@ru.is
• EU Law
  For further information contact dr. Gunnar Þór Pétursson, Professor, email: gunnarthor@ru.is
• Public International Law and Icelandic Foreign Relations Law
  For further information contact dr. Bjarni Már Magnússon, Professor, email: bjarnim@ru.is
• Constitutional Law and History, Comparative Constitutional Law
  For further information contact dr. Ragnhildur Helgadóttir, Professor, email: ragnhildurh@ru.is
• Administrative Law
  For further information contact dr. Margrét Vala Kristjánsdóttir, Associate Professor, email: margretvala@ru.is
• Capital Market Law, Financial Market Law and Company Law
  For further information contact dr. Andri Fannar Bergþórsson, Associate Professor, email: andrib@ru.is

Applications should be submitted in electronic form to the Reykjavík University School of Law. The application should be accompanied by official transcripts of diplomas, a curriculum vitae and list of publications, together with a draft research proposal.

Applicants should specify their wishes regarding choice of supervisor from the ranks of the permanent faculty members of the Reykjavik University School of Law, and the application and research proposal should be approved by this person.  

For further information please contact dr. Andri Fannar Bergþórsson, the chairman of the Department of Law's Research Council, at andrib@ru.is 

On administrative issues please contact Benedikta G. Kristjánsdóttir, Administrative Director, Department of Law by calling +354-599-6265 or by email:  benediktak@ru.is

Length of study

The PhD programme constitutes the equivalent of three years of full-time study and corresponds to 180 ECTS credits. The length of study may be expected to be four years if the candidate is concurrently engaged in teaching or other work.  Each of the two PhD students admitted in the academic year of 2010-2011 has the option of the four years study programme alongside employment at the School of Law.  The employment consists of a 25% position as an external lecturer/assistant at the School of law.  The teaching duty involved amounts to the equivalent of 0,5 courses pr. academic year plus one month's worth of teaching/research assistant work.            

PhD students will be obliged to conduct their research at the Reykjavík University School of Law and be resident in its vicinity for 18 months during their course of study.  As a main principle, they will also be required to spend up to 6 months at a University abroad.

Courses

Reykjavík University does not offer a regular programme of PhD courses. Instead, such courses are organised on an ad hoc basis or offered in cooperation with other Universities or academic networks. Each student and supervisor will design the individual PhD course programme, whether it will be at Reykjavík University, at other collaborative Universities or offered by international/Nordic academic networks.                  

For additional information on the PhD programme, please refer to the programme description.