PhD Studentship: Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality & Law

Southampton University Law School invites applicants for a fully-funded PhD studentship within the Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality and Law, commencing in September 2025.

The studentship runs for a period of three years and includes an annual stipend in line with UKRI levels (£19,237 in 2024/25, updated annually) and tuition fees (UK/Overseas). The successful applicant will also have the opportunity to gain teaching experience through our PGR teaching programme, with remuneration provided in accordance with the demonstrator rate of the University.

Southampton Law School is a global Law School, firmly rooted in the UK with a mission to respond to the greatest global challenges that humanity faces. We have a robust internationalisation agenda and as a Law School in a Russell Group University (QS world ranked 80th) we are committed to research-driven legal education as well as engaged, innovative and impactful scholarship. Southampton Law School was ranked 16th in the UK in REF2021 for outputs. This places us in the top 25% of Law Schools in the UK, with 81% of all outputs submitted considered to be “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”. Our triple helix approach (people, education, research and enterprise) accentuates the value of our people and exemplifies our constant pursuit of solidarity and social cohesion among staff members, who comprise a diverse international cohort of renowned leading as well as early career researchers.

The Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality and Law is one of eight research centres within the School which serve as essential clusters for our research. The Centre was launched in 2018 with a generous donation from Southampton Law School alumnus, Mr Stefan Cross KC. The goal of the Centre is to increase understanding and awareness of discrimination against women and girls, investigate the causes of this discrimination and seek effective solutions to gendered inequalities.

Successful applicants will be assigned two supervisors and will join the Stefan Cross Centre and contribute to its continued success. They will be part of and help develop the School’s vibrant PhD community. In addition, the successful applicant will have the opportunity to gain teaching experience through our PGR teaching programme. We offer supportive mechanisms to PhD students to equip them to deliver high-quality teaching, in conjunction with the University of Southampton’s Doctoral College.

We are keen to foster the Equality Law scholars of the next generation and are interested in proposals to work on legal topics related to women and equality in the broadest sense. However, we particularly welcome research proposals that address intersections of women’s equality and the law with the following areas:

• Work and employment
• AI/new technologies
• Human rights
• Sustainability and the environment
• Criminal justice

Enquiries about prospective applications and proposals may be addressed to:

Dr Joe Atkinson (J.R.Atkinson@soton.ac.uk).

How to apply

Closing date: 28 February 2025.

Please apply for the PhD Law by clicking the ‘Apply’ button above, and specify in the funding section of the on-line application that you wish to be considered for the Stefan Cross Centre studentship.

If you have questions about the application process please contact the School of Law lead on PGR admissions, Dr Jonathan Turner at J.N.Turner@soton.ac.uk.

We are an equal opportunity employer and applicants from backgrounds underrepresented in academia are encouraged to apply. Applicants do not need to have a Masters/LLM degree to be eligible for the studentship.

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