dissertation for law degree

HLS Dissertations, Theses, and JD Papers

S.j.d. dissertations, ll.m. papers, ll.m. theses, j.d. papers, submitting your paper to an online collection, other sources for student papers beyond harvard, getting help, introduction.

This is a guide to finding Harvard Law School (“HLS”) student-authored works held by the Library and in online collections. This guide covers HLS S.J.D Dissertations, LL.M. papers, J.D. third-year papers, seminar papers, and prize papers.

There have been changes in the HLS degree requirements for written work. The library’s collection practices and catalog descriptions for these works has varied. Please note that there are gaps in the library’s collection and for J.D. papers, few of these works are being collected any longer.

If we have an S.J.D. dissertation or LL.M. thesis, we have two copies. One is kept in the general collection and one in the Red Set, an archival collection of works authored by HLS affiliates. If we have a J.D. paper, we have only one copy, kept in the Red Set. Red Set copies are last resort copies available only by advance appointment in Historical and Special Collections .

Some papers have not been processed by library staff. If HOLLIS indicates a paper is “ordered-received” please use this form to have library processing completed.

The HLS Doctor of Juridical Science (“S.J.D.”) program began in 1910.  The library collection of these works is not comprehensive. Exceptions are usually due to scholars’ requests to withhold Library deposit. 

• HLS S.J.D. Dissertations in HOLLIS To refine these search results by topic or faculty advisor, or limit by date, click Add a New Line.
• Hein’s Legal Theses and Dissertations Microfiche Mic K556.H45x Drawers 947-949 This microfiche set includes legal theses and dissertations from HLS and other premier law schools. It currently includes about 300 HLS dissertations and theses.
• Hein's Legal Theses and Dissertations Contents List This content list is in order by school only, not by date, subject or author. It references microfiche numbers within the set housed in the Microforms room on the entry level of the library, drawers 947-949. The fiche are a different color for each institution.
• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses @ Harvard University (Harvard login) Copy this search syntax: dg(S.J.D.) You will find about 130 SJD Dissertations dated from 1972 to 2004. They are not available in full text.
• DASH Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard Sponsored by Harvard University’s Office for Scholarly Communication, DASH is an open repository for research papers by members of the Harvard community. There are currently about 600 HLS student papers included. Unfortunately it is not possible to search by type of paper or degree awarded.

The Master of Laws (“LL.M.”) degree has been awarded since 1923. Originally, the degree required completion of a major research paper, akin to a thesis. Since 1993, most students have the option of writing the LL.M. "short paper."  This is a 25-page (or longer) paper advised by a faculty supervisor or completed in conjunction with a seminar.  Fewer LL.M. candidates continue to write the more extensive "long-paper." LL.M. candidates holding J.D.s from the U.S. must write the long paper.

• HLS Written Work Requirements for LL.M. Degree The current explanation of the LL.M. written work requirement for the master of laws.

The library generally holds HLS LL.M. long papers and short papers. In recent years, we require author release in order to do so. In HOLLIS, no distinction is made between types of written work created in satisfaction of the LL.M. degree; all are described as LL.M. thesis. Though we describe them as thesis, the law school refers to them solely as papers or in earlier years, essays. HOLLIS records indicate the number of pages, so at the record level, it is possible to distinguish long papers.

• HLS LL.M. Papers in HOLLIS To refine these search results by topic, faculty advisor, seminar or date, click Add a New Line.

HLS LL.M. Papers are sometimes available in DASH and Hein's Legal Dissertations and Theses. See descriptions above .

The HLS J.D. written work requirement has changed over time. The degree formerly required a substantial research paper comparable in scope to a law review article written under faculty supervision, the "third year paper." Since 2008, J.D. students have the option of using two shorter works instead.

Of all those written, the library holds relatively few third-year papers. They were not actively collected but accepted by submission from faculty advisors who deemed a paper worthy of institutional retention. The papers are described in HOLLIS as third year papers, seminar papers, and student papers. Sometimes this distinction was valid, but not always. The faculty deposit tradition more or less ended in 2006, though the possibility of deposit still exists. 

• J.D. Written Work Requirement
• Faculty Deposit of Student Papers with the Library

HLS Third Year Papers in HOLLIS

To refine these search results by topic, faculty advisor, seminar or date, click Add a New Line.

• HLS Student Papers Some third-year papers and LL.M. papers were described in HOLLIS simply as student papers. To refine these search results, click "Add a New Line" and add topic, faculty advisor, or course title.
• HLS Seminar Papers Note that these include legal research pathfinders produced for the Advanced Legal Research course when taught by Virginia Wise.

Prize Papers

HLS has many endowed prizes for student papers and essays. There are currently 16 different writing prizes. See this complete descriptive list with links to lists of winners from 2009 to present. Note that there is not always a winner each year for each award. Prize winners are announced each year in the commencement pamphlet.

The Library has not specifically collected prize papers over the years but has added copies when possible. The HOLLIS record for the paper will usually indicate its status as a prize paper. The most recent prize paper was added to the collection in 2006.

Addison Brown Prize Animal Law & Policy Program Writing Prize Victor Brudney Prize Davis Polk Legal Profession Paper Prize Roger Fisher and Frank E.A. Sander Prize Yong K. Kim ’95 Memorial Prize Islamic Legal Studies Program Prize on Islamic Law Laylin Prize LGBTQ Writing Prize Mancini Prize Irving Oberman Memorial Awards John M. Olin Prize in Law and Economics Project on the Foundations of Private Law Prize Sidney I. Roberts Prize Fund Klemens von Klemperer Prize Stephen L. Werner Prize

• Harvard Law School Prize Essays (1850-1868) A historical collection of handwritten prize essays covering the range of topics covered at that time. See this finding aid for a collection description.

The following information about online repositories is not a recommendation or endorsement to participate.

• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses HLS is not an institutional participant to this collection. If you are interested in submitting your work, refer to these instructions and note that there is a fee required, which varies depending on the format of submission.
• EBSCO Open Dissertations Relatively new, this is an open repository of metadata for dissertations. It is an outgrowth of the index American Doctoral Dissertations. The aim is to cover 1933 to present and, for modern works, to link to full text available in institutional repositories. Harvard is not one of the institutional participants.
• DASH Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard

Sponsored by Harvard University’s Office for Scholarly Communication, this is an open repository for research papers by members of the Harvard community. See more information about the project. 

Some HLS students have submitted their degree paper to DASH.  If you would like to submit your paper, you may use this authorization form  or contact June Casey , Librarian for Open Access Initiatives and Scholarly Communication at Harvard Law School.

• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (Harvard Login) Covers dissertations and masters' theses from North American graduate schools and many worldwide. Provides full text for many since the 1990s and has descriptive data for older works.
• NDLTD Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations Union Catalog Worldwide in scope, NDLTD contains millions of records of electronic theses and dissertations from the early 1900s to the present.
• Law Commons of the Digital Commons Network The Law Commons has dissertations and theses, as well as many other types of scholarly research such as book chapters and conference proceedings. They aim to collect free, full-text scholarly work from hundreds of academic institutions worldwide.
• EBSCO Open Dissertations Doctoral dissertations from many institutions. Free, open repository.
• Dissertations from Center for Research Libraries Dissertations found in this resource are available to the Harvard University Community through Interlibrary Loan.
• British Library EThOS Dissertation source from the British Library listing doctoral theses awarded in the UK. Some available for immediate download and some others may be requested for scanning.
• BASE from Bielefeld University Library Index of the open repositoris of most academic institutions. Includes many types of documents including doctoral and masters theses.

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• Last Updated: Sep 12, 2023 10:46 AM
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Legal Dissertation: Research and Writing Guide

About this guide, video on choosing a topic, tools on westlaw, lexis and bloomberg, circuit splits, research methodologies, additional methodology resources, conducting a literature review, beginning research, writing style guides, citation guides, ask a librarian.

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About This Page

Choosing a topic can be one of the most challenging aspects of writing an extensive paper. This page has resources to help you find topics and inspiration, before you get started on the in-depth research process.

Related Guides

Citation and Writing Resources

Legal Research Tutorials

Secondary Sources for Legal Research

Methods of Finding Cases

Methods of Finding Statutes

Current Awareness and Alerting Resources

Compiling State Legislative Histories

Locating International and Foreign Law Journals

This guide contains resources to help students researching and writing a legal dissertation or other upper-level writing project. Some of the resources in this guide are directed at researching and writing in general, not specifically on legal topics, but the strategies and tips can still be applied.

The Law Library maintains a number of other guides on related skills and topics that may be of interest:

The Wells Library also maintains guides. A few that may be helpful for managing research can be found here:

Choosing a Topic

This video discusses tips and strategies for choosing a dissertation topic.

Note: this video is not specific to legal dissertation topics, but it may still be of interest as an overview generally.

The Bloomberg/BNA publication United States Law Week can be a helpful resource for tracking down the major legal stories of the day.  Log into Bloomberg Law, in the big search box, start typing United States Law Week and the title will appear in the drop down menu beneath the box. This publication provides coverage of top legal news stories, and in-depth "insight" features.

If you have a general idea of the area of law you wish to write about, check out the Practice Centers on Bloomberg. From the homepage, click the Browse link in the top left-hand corner. Then select Practice Centers and look for your area of law. Practice Centers are helpful because they gather cases, statutes, administrative proceedings, news, and more on the selected legal area.

Bloomberg has other news sources available as well. From the homepage, click the Browse link in the top left-hand corner. Then select News and Analysis, then select News or Analysis, and browse the available topics.

If you know what area of law you'd like to write about, you may find the Browse Topics feature in Lexis Advance helpful for narrowing down your topic. 

Log into Lexis Advance, click the Browse Topics tab, and select a topic.  If you don't see your topic listed, try using the provided search bar to see whether your topic is categorized as a sub-topic within this list. 

Once you click on a topic, a box pops up with several options.  If you click on Get Topic Document, you'll see results listed in a number of categories, including Cases, Legislation, and more.  The News and Legal News categories at the right end of the list may help you identify current developments of interest for your note.  Don't forget about the filtering options on the left that will allow you to search within your results, narrow your jurisdiction, and more.

Similar to Lexis Advance, Westlaw Edge has a Topics tab that may be helpful if you know what area of law you'd like to write about.

Log onto Westlaw Edge, and click on the Topics tab.  This time, you won't be able to search within this list, so if you're area is not listed, you should either run a regular search from the main search bar at the top or try out some of the topics listed under this tab - once you click on a topic, you can search within its contents.

What is great about the Topics in Westlaw Edge is the Practitioner Insights page you access by clicking on a topic.  This is an information portal that allows you quick access to cases, legislation, top news, and more on your selected topic.

In United States federal courts, a circuit split occurs whenever two or more circuit courts of appeals issue conflicting rulings on the same legal question. Circuit splits are ripe for legal analysis and commentary because they present a situation in which federal law is being applied in different ways in different parts of the country, even if the underlying litigants themselves are otherwise similarly situated. The Supreme Court also frequently accepts cases on appeal that involve these types of conflicted rulings from various sister circuits.

To find a circuit split on a topic of interest to you, try searching on Lexis and Westlaw using this method:

in the search box, enter the following: (circuit or court w/s split) AND [insert terms or phrases to narrow the search]

You can also browse for circuit splits on Bloomberg. On the Bloomberg homepage, in the "Law School Success" box, Circuit Splits Charts appear listed under Secondary Sources.

Other sources for circuit splits are American Law Reports (ALR) and American Jurisprudence (AmJur). These publications provide summaries of the law, point out circuit splits, and provide references for further research.

"Blawgs" or law-related blogs are often written by scholars or practitioners in the legal field.  Ordinarily covering current events and developments in law, these posts can provide inspiration for note topics.  To help you find blawgs on a specific topic, consider perusing the ABA's Blawg Directory or Justia's Blawg Search .

Research Methodology

Types of research methodologies.

There are different types of research methodologies. Methodology refers to the strategy employed in conducting research. The following methodologies are some of the most commonly used in legal and social science research.

Doctrinal legal research methodology, also called "black letter" methodology, focuses on the letter of the law rather than the law in action. Using this method, a researcher composes a descriptive and detailed analysis of legal rules found in primary sources (cases, statutes, or regulations). The purpose of this method is to gather, organize, and describe the law; provide commentary on the sources used; then, identify and describe the underlying theme or system and how each source of law is connected.

Doctrinal methodology is good for areas of law that are largely black letter law, such as contract or property law. Under this approach, the researcher conducts a critical, qualitative analysis of legal materials to support a hypothesis. The researcher must identify specific legal rules, then discuss the legal meaning of the rule, its underlying principles, and decision-making under the rule (whether cases interpreting the rule fit together in a coherent system or not). The researcher must also identify ambiguities and criticisms of the law, and offer solutions. Sources of data in doctrinal research include the rule itself, cases generated under the rule, legislative history where applicable, and commentaries and literature on the rule.

This approach is beneficial by providing a solid structure for crafting a thesis, organizing the paper, and enabling a thorough definition and explanation of the rule. The drawbacks of this approach are that it may be too formalistic, and may lead to oversimplifying the legal doctrine.

Comparative

Comparative legal research methodology involves critical analysis of different bodies of law to examine how the outcome of a legal issue could be different under each set of laws. Comparisons could be made between different jurisdictions, such as comparing analysis of a legal issue under American law and the laws of another country, or researchers may conduct historical comparisons.

When using a comparative approach be sure to define the reasons for choosing this approach, and identify the benefits of comparing laws from different jurisdictions or time periods, such as finding common ground or determining best practices and solutions. The comparative method can be used by a researcher to better understand their home jurisdiction by analyzing how other jurisdictions handle the same issue. This method can also be used as a critical analytical tool to distinguish particular features of a law. The drawback of this method is that it can be difficult to find material from other jurisdictions. Also, researchers should be sure that the comparisons are relevant to the thesis and not just used for description.

This type of research uses data analysis to study legal systems. A detailed guide on empirical methods can be found here . The process of empirical research involves four steps: design the project, collect and code the data, analyze the data, determine best method of presenting the results. The first step, designing the project, is when researchers define their hypothesis and concepts in concrete terms that can be observed. Next, researchers must collect and code the data by determining the possible sources of information and available collection methods, and then putting the data into a format that can be analyzed. When researchers analyze the data, they are comparing the data to their hypothesis. If the overlap between the two is significant, then their hypothesis is confirmed, but if there is little to no overlap, then their hypothesis is incorrect. Analysis involves summarizing the data and drawing inferences. There are two types of statistical inference in empirical research, descriptive and causal. Descriptive inference is close to summary, but the researcher uses the known data from the sample to draw conclusions about the whole population. Causal inference is the difference between two descriptive inferences.

Two main types of empirical legal research are qualitative and quantitative.

Quantitative, or numerical, empirical legal research involves taking information about cases and courts, translating that information into numbers, and then analyzing those numbers with statistical tools.

Qualitative, or non-numerical, empirical legal research involves extracting  information from the text of court documents, then interpreting and organizing the text into categories, and using that information to identify patterns.

Drafting The Methodology Section

This is the part of your paper that describes the research methodology, or methodologies if you used more than one. This section will contain a detailed description of how the research was conducted and why it was conducted in that way. First, draft an outline of what you must include in this section and gather the information needed.

Generally, a methodology section will contain the following:

• Statement of research objectives
• Reasons for the research methodology used
• Description and rationale of the data collection tools, sampling techniques, and data sources used, including a description of how the data collection tools were administered
• Discussion of the limitations
• Discussion of the data analysis tools used

Be sure that you have clearly defined the reasoning behind the chosen methodology and sources.

• Legal Reasoning, Research, and Writing for International Graduate Students Nadia E. Nedzel Aspen (2004) A guide to American legal research and the federal system, written for international students. Includes information on the research process, and tips for writing. Located in the Law Library, 3rd Floor: KF 240 .N43 2004.
• Methodologies of Legal Research: Which Kind of Method for What Kind of Discipline? Mark van Hoecke Oxford (2013) This book examines different methods of legal research including doctrinal, comparative, and interdisciplinary. Located at Lilly Law Library, Indianapolis, 2nd Floor: K 235 .M476 2013. IU students may request item via IUCAT.
• An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research Lee Epstein and Andrew D. Martin Oxford University Press (2014) This book includes information on designing research, collecting and coding data, analyzing data, and drafting the final paper. Located at Lilly Law Library, Indianapolis, 2nd Floor: K 85 .E678 2014. IU students may request item via IUCAT.
• Emplirical Legal Studies Blog The ELS blog was created by several law professors, and focuses on using empirical methods in legal research, theory, and scholarship. Search or browse the blog to find entries on methodology, data sources, software, and other tips and techniques.

Literature Review

The literature review provides an examination of existing pieces of research, and serves as a foundation for further research. It allows the researcher to critically evaluate existing scholarship and research practices, and puts the new thesis in context. When conducting a literature review, one should consider the following: who are the leading scholars in the subject area; what has been published on the subject; what factors or subtopics have these scholars identified as important for further examination; what research methods have others used; what were the pros and cons of using those methods; what other theories have been explored.

The literature review should include a description of coverage. The researcher should describe what material was selected and why, and how those selections are relevant to the thesis. Discuss what has been written on the topic and where the thesis fits in the context of existing scholarship. The researcher should evaluate the sources and methodologies used by other researchers, and describe how the thesis different.

The following video gives an overview of conducting a literature review.

Note: this video is not specific to legal literature, however it may be helpful as a general overview.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few suggestions for digging into sources once you have selected a topic.

Research Guides

Research guides are discovery tools, or gateways of information. They pull together lists of sources on a topic. Some guides even offer brief overviews and additional research steps specifically for that topic. Many law libraries offer guides on a variety of subjects. You can locate guides by visiting library websites, such as this Library's site , the Law Library of Congress , or other schools like Georgetown . Some organizations also compile research guides, such as the American Society of International Law . Utilizing a research guide on your topic to generate an introductory source list can save you valuable time.

Secondary Sources

It is often a good idea to begin research with secondary sources. These resources summarize, explain, and analyze the law. They also provide references to primary sources and other secondary sources. This saves you time and effort, and can help you quickly identify major themes under your topic and help you place your thesis in context.

Encyclopedias provide broad coverage of all areas of the law, but do not go in-depth on narrow topics, or discuss differences by jurisdiction, or  include all of the pertinent cases. American Jurisprudence ( AmJur ) and Corpus Juris Secundum ( CJS ) have nationwide coverage, while the Indiana Law Encyclopedia focuses on Indiana state law. A number of other states also have their own state-specific encyclopedias.

American Law Reports ( ALR ) are annotations that synopsize various cases on narrow legal topics. Each annotation covers a different topic, and provides a leading or typical case on the topic, plus cases from different jurisdictions that follow different rules, or cases where different facts applying the same rule led to different outcomes. The annotations also refer to other secondary sources.  

Legal periodicals include several different types of publications such as law reviews from academic institutions or organizations, bar journals, and commercial journals/newspapers/newsletters. Legal periodicals feature articles that describe the current state of the law and often explore underlying policies. They also critique laws, court decisions, and policies, and often advocate for changes. Articles also discuss emerging issues and notify the profession of new developments. Law reviews can be useful for in-depth coverage on narrow topics, and references to primary and other secondary sources. However, content can become outdated and researchers must be mindful of biases in articles. 

Treatises/Hornbooks/Practice Guides are a type of secondary source that provides comprehensive coverage of a legal subject. It could be broad, such as a treatise covering all of contract law, or very narrow such as a treatise focused only on search and seizure cases. These sources are good when you have some general background on the topic, but you need more in-depth coverage of the legal rules and policies. Treatises are generally well organized, and provide you with finding aids (index, table of contents, etc.) and extensive footnotes or endnotes that will lead you to primary sources like cases, statutes, and regulations. They may also include appendices with supporting material like forms. However, treatises may not be updated as frequently as other sources and may not cover your specific issue or jurisdiction.

Citation and Writing Style

• Legal Writing in Plain English Bryan A. Garner University of Chicago Press, 2001. Call # KF 250 .G373 2001 Location: Law Library, 3rd Floor Provides lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars with sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The leading guide to clear writing in the field, this book offers valuable insights into the writing process: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. This guide uses real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through decades of teaching experience. Includes sets of basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section.
• The Elements of Legal Style Bryan A. Garner Oxford University Press, 2002. Call # KF 250 .G37 2002 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Reference This book explains the full range of what legal writers need to know: mechanics, word choice, structure, and rhetoric, as well as all the special conventions that legal writers should follow in using headings, defined terms, quotations, and many other devices. Garner also provides examples from highly regarded legal writers, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Clarence Darrow, Frank Easterbrook, and Antonin Scalia.
• Grammarly Blog Blog featuring helpful information about quirks of the English language, for example when to use "affect" or "effect" and other tips. Use the search feature to locate an article relevant to your grammar query.
• Plain English for Lawyers Richard C. Wydick Carolina Academic Press, 2005. Call # KF 250 .W9 2005 Location: Law Library, 3rd Floor Award-winning book that contains guidance to improve the writing of lawyers and law students and to promote the modern trend toward a clear, plain style of legal writing. Includes exercises at the end of each chapter.
• The Chicago Manual of Style University of Chicago Press, 2010. Call # Z 253 .U69 2010 Location: Law Library, 2nd Floor While not addressing legal writing specifically, The Chicago Manual of Style is one of the most widely used and respected style guides in the United States. It focuses on American English and deals with aspects of editorial practice, including grammar and usage, as well as document preparation and formatting.
• The Chicago Manual of Style (Online) Bryan A. Garner and William S. Strong The University of Chicago Press, 2017. Online edition: use the link above to view record in IUCAT, then click the Access link (for IU students only).
• The Bluebook Compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal. Harvard Law Review Association, 2015. Call # KF245 .B58 2015 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Circulation Desk The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is a style guide that prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. The Bluebook is taught and used at a majority of U.S. law schools, law reviews and journals, and used in a majority of U.S. federal courts.
• User's Guide to the Bluebook Alan L. Dworsky William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2015. Call # KF 245 .D853 2015 Location: Law Library, Circulation Desk "This User's Guide is written for practitioners (law students, law clerks, lawyers, legal secretaries and paralegals), and is designed to make the task of mastering citation form as easy and painless as possible. To help alleviate the obstacles faced when using proper citation form, this text is set up as a how-to manual with a step-by-step approach to learning the basic skills of citation and includes the numbers of the relevant Bluebook rules under most chapter subheadings for easy reference when more information is needed"--Provided by the publisher.
• Legal Citation in a Nutshell Larry L. Teply West Academic Publishing, 2016. Call # KF 245 .T47 2016 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Circulation Desk This book is designed to ease the task of learning legal citation. It initially focuses on conventions that underlie all accepted forms and systems of legal citation. Building on that understanding and an explanation of the “process” of using citations in legal writing, the book then discusses and illustrates the basic rules.
• Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (Online) Peter W. Martin Cornell Legal Information Institute, 2017. Free online resource. Includes a thorough review of the relevant rules of appellate practice of federal and state courts. It takes account of the latest edition of The Bluebook, published in 2015, and provides a correlation table between this free online citation guide and the Bluebook.
• Last Updated: Oct 24, 2019 11:00 AM
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Law thesis and dissertation collection

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Presented here is a selection of theses and dissertations from the School of Law. Please note that this is not a complete record of all degrees awarded by the School.

This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

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Out of place and out of time: older prisoners in chile , mind the gap: an empirical study of terrorism offences, law-making, and discretion , challenges and limitations of granting legal personality to distributed/decentralized autonomous organizations , development of international shipping standards under the auspices of the imo and their implementation in practice: a case study of thailand , adequacy of the ex post armed attack framework of the jus ad bellum in relation to the evolving means and methods of warfare , governing disputed maritime areas , what we say when we criminalise: a metanormative inquiry , testamentary law in england, c. 1450-1540 , sovereign immunity from execution of foreign arbitral awards in the 21st century , conceptualizations of addiction in harm reduction strategies for effective and ethical uk drug policy , liminality and the lived experience of law in medicine: the legal consciousness of physicians in encounters with people living as undocumented migrants , contested citizenship and statelessness in question: an anlysis of cases of overseas taiwanese people and tibetan exiles in taiwan , eternity and the constitution: the promise and limits of eternity clauses , hate speech in the british press: a theoretical and practical assessment of the case for broader regulation , liberty versus security under illiberal constitutionalism: the legality of criminalising humanitarian assistance in hungary and greece , operationalising ‘publicness’ in data-intensive health research regulation: an examination of the public interest as a regulatory device , worldmaking powers of law and performance: queer politics beyond/against neoliberal legalism , development of law of the sea by unclos dispute settlement procedures: towards a coherent jurisprudence , evaluating the european union's response to online misinformation and disinformation: how to address harm while maximising freedom of expression , reconciling reverse burdens of proof with the presumption of innocence: a new approach .

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Law dissertations : a step-by-step guide

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• Introduction
• Finding and perfecting your topic
• From a topic to a question
• Creating a good research project
• Planning the project
• Creating a research plan
• Online research
• Methodology
• Empirical research
• Processing literature
• Literature review
• Writing the dissertation
• Referencing
• Structuring the dissertation
• Navigating supervision
• Obtaining a first and avoiding fails
• Preparing for submission.

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Access to theses and dissertations from other institutions and from the University of Cambridge

This guide provides information on searching for theses of Cambridge PhDs and for theses of UK universities and universities abroad. 

For information and guidance on depositing your thesis as a cambridge phd, visit the cambridge office of scholarly communication pages on theses here ., this guide gives essential information on how to obtain theses using the british library's ethos service. .

On the last weekend of October, the British Library became the victim of a major cyber-attack. Essential digital services including the BL catalogue, website and online learning resources went dark, with research services like the EThOS collection of more than 600,000 doctoral theses suddenly unavailable. The BL state that they anticipate restoring more services in the next few weeks, but disruption to certain services is now expected to persist for several months. For the latest news on the attack and information on the restoration of services, please follow the BL blog here:  Knowledge Matters blog  and access the LibGuide page here:  British Library Outage Update - Electronic Legal Deposit - LibGuides at University of Cambridge Subject Libraries

A full list of resources for searching theses online is provided by the Cambridge A-Z, available here .

University of Cambridge theses

Finding a cambridge phd thesis online via the institutional repository.

The University's institutional repository, Apollo , holds full-text digital versions of over 11,000 Cambridge PhD theses and is a rapidly growing collection deposited by Cambridge Ph.D. graduates. Theses in Apollo can be browsed via this link . More information on how to access theses by University of Cambridge students can be found on the access to Cambridge theses webpage.   The requirement for impending PhD graduates to deposit a digital version in order to graduate means the repository will be increasing at a rate of approximately 1,000 per year from this source.   About 200 theses are added annually through requests to make theses Open Access or via requests to digitize a thesis in printed format.

Locating and obtaining a copy of a Cambridge PhD thesis (not yet available via the repository)

Theses can be searched in iDiscover .  Guidance on searching for theses in iDiscover can be found here .   Requests for consultation of printed theses, not available online, should be made at the Manuscripts Reading Room (Email:  [email protected] Telephone: +44 (0)1223 333143).   Further information on the University Library's theses, dissertations and prize essays collections can be consulted at this link .

Researchers can order a copy of an unpublished thesis which was deposited in print form either through the Library’s  Digital Content Unit via the image request form , or, if the thesis has been digitised, it may be available in the Apollo repository. Copies of theses may be provided to researchers in accordance with the  law  and in a manner that is common across UK libraries.  The law allows us to provide whole copies of unpublished theses to individuals as long as they sign a declaration saying that it is for non-commercial research or private study.

How to make your thesis available online through Cambridge's institutional repository

Are you a Cambridge alumni and wish to make your Ph.D. thesis available online? You can do this by depositing it in Apollo the University's institutional repository. Click here for further information on how to proceed.    Current Ph.D students at the University of Cambridge can find further information about the requirements to deposit theses on the Office of Scholarly Communication theses webpages.

UK Theses and Dissertations

Electronic copies of Ph.D. theses submitted at over 100 UK universities are obtainable from EThOS , a service set up to provide access to all theses from participating institutions. It achieves this by harvesting e-theses from Institutional Repositories and by digitising print theses as they are ordered by researchers using the system. Over 250,000 theses are already available in this way. Please note that it does not supply theses submitted at the universities of Cambridge or Oxford although they are listed on EThOS.

Registration with EThOS is not required to search for a thesis but is necessary to download or order one unless it is stored in the university repository rather than the British Library (in which case a link to the repository will be displayed). Many theses are available without charge on an Open Access basis but in all other cases, if you are requesting a thesis that has not yet been digitised you will be asked to meet the cost. Once a thesis has been digitised it is available for free download thereafter.

When you order a thesis it will either be immediately available for download or writing to hard copy or it will need to be digitised. If you order a thesis for digitisation, the system will manage the process and you will be informed when the thesis is available for download/preparation to hard copy.

See the Search results section of the  help page for full information on interpreting search results in EThOS.

EThOS is managed by the British Library and can be found at http://ethos.bl.uk . For more information see About EThOS .

World-wide (incl. UK) theses and dissertations

Electronic versions of non-UK theses may be available from the institution at which they were submitted, sometimes on an open access basis from the institutional repository. A good starting point for discovering freely available electronic theses and dissertations beyond the UK is the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) , which facilitates searching across institutions. Information can also usually be found on the library web pages of the relevant institution.

The DART Europe etheses portal lists several thousand full-text theses from a group of European universities.

The University Library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses  (PQDT) database which from August 31 2023 is accessed on the Web of Science platform.  To search this index select it from the Web of Science "Search in" drop-down list of databases (available on the Documents tab on WoS home page)

PQDT includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations, representing 700 leading academic institutions worldwide from 1861 to the present day. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The University Library only subscribes to the abstracting & indexing version of the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database and NOT the full text version.  A fee is payable for ordering a dissertation from this source.   To obtain the full text of a dissertation as a downloadable PDF you can submit your request via the University Library Inter-Library Loans department (see contact details below). NB this service is only available to full and current members of the University of Cambridge.

Alternatively you can pay yourself for the dissertation PDF on the PQDT platform. Link from Web of Science record display of any thesis to PQDT by clicking on "View Details on ProQuest".  On the "Preview" page you will see an option "Order a copy" top right.  This will allow you to order your own copy from ProQuest directly.

Dissertations and theses submitted at non-UK universities may also be requested on Inter-Library Loan through the Inter-Library Loans department (01223 333039 or 333080, [email protected] )

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Law Dissertation Topics

Published by Owen Ingram at January 9th, 2023 , Revised On May 29, 2024

Law dissertations can be demanding because of the need to find relevant regulations, cases, and data to address the research problem successfully. It is of utmost importance to critically examine facts before framing the  research questions .

Selection of the most appropriate legal terms and legal authorities, whether online or in print, can be challenging, especially if you have not tackled a law dissertation project before.

To help you select an intriguing law  dissertation  topic,  our expert writers have suggested some issues in various areas of law, including trust law, EU law, family law, employment and equality law, public law, tort law, intellectual property rights, commercial law, evidence, and criminal law, and human rights and immigration law.

These topics have been developed by PhD-qualified writers of our team , so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

Review the step-by-step guide on how to write your own dissertation  here.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the topic,  research question , aim and objectives ,  literature review  along the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted.  Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation examples to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

Review the full list of dissertation topics for 2024 here.

Law Dissertation Topics & Ideas

Topic 1: the role of international criminal laws in reducing global genocide.

Research Aim: This study aims to find the role of international criminal laws in reducing global genocide. It will be an exploratory study identifying the explicit and implicit effects of international criminal laws on the worldwide genocide. It will analyse different incidents of international genocide and find out how international criminal laws played a positive role in reducing these incidents. Lastly, it will recommend possible changes in international criminal laws to effectively mitigate global genocide. And it will be done by comparing criminal laws of world-leading powers to reduce genocide.

Topic 2: Impact of Anti-Racism Employment Laws on Organisational Culture- A Comparative Study on the Anti-Racism Employment Laws in the US and Canada

Research Aim: This research aims to find the impact of anti-racism employment laws on the organisational culture in the US and Canada in a comparative analysis. It will identify the change in employees’ behaviour after implementing anti-racism laws. Moreover, it will find whether employees gleefully welcomed these laws or showed resistance. And how do these laws affect the organisations’ performance that strictly implemented them?

Topic 3: Globalisation, international business transactions, and commercial law- A perspective from literature.

Research Aim: Students and practitioners can find the law of international business transactions as a subfield within a broader field of international commercial law to be somewhat amorphous.

This study will explain the impact of globalisation on international business transactions and commercial law by establishing some necessary links between the study of transnational business law and related fields of international studies. This study also aims to address theories about foreign business regulation, such as the idea that it is free of power politics. For the collection of data existing literature will be studied. The methodology of this research will rely on existing previous literature.

Topic 4: Investigating the impact of competition law on the businesses in the UK- Post Brexit

Research Aim: This study aims to investigate the impact of competition laws on businesses in the post-Brexit UK. The proposed study will not only analyse the performance of the businesses with the current competition laws. But also analyse the impact of possible changes in competition laws on the businesses in the post-Brexit UK. It will also incorporate the possible difference of changes in competition laws in deal, no-deal, hard deal, and soft deal scenarios. This way of individually analysing the difference in competition laws due to the status of the UK’s deal with the EU will give better insights into how businesses will be affected by these laws in the post-Brexit UK.

Topic 5: A comparison between Islamic and contemporary laws against rape. Which law is the most effective in preventing this horrific crime?

Research Aim: For several years, marital and non-marital relations in Muslim-majority countries have been a source of controversy. Under Islamic law, it is strictly forbidden for a Muslim, or even non-Muslim, to engage in illicit sexual relations with the opposite gender under any situation. The current study will help us understand the concepts presented in Islamic laws about rape cases. In this context, a comparative analysis of Islamic and contemporary law will be explained. It will also identify efficient and effective strategies to prevent this horrific crime.

Law Dissertation Topics for the COVID Crisis

Topic 1: the legal implications of the covid-19 pandemic on canadian immigration and the way forward..

Research Aim: This study will focus on how the Canadian government benefits from resources accrued from immigration, the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian Immigration, the current legislation on immigration, the effects of COVID-19 on the immigration law, the possible amendments that could help cushion the impact and the way forward.

Topic 2: Effect of COVID-19 on the United States Immigration policies; an assessment of International Legal agreements governing pandemic disease control and the way forward.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the pandemic’s effect on immigration policies in the United States. It also suggests the required steps based on the laws that regulate government acts during an outbreak of a pandemic.

Topic 3: Creating legal policies in preparedness for the global pandemic; lessons from COVID-19 on Canadian immigration policies.

Research Aim: This research will focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and how most countries seemed unprepared. Historical background of the flu pandemic can also be made to assess how the world overcame the pandemic. And the need for the Canadian government or any other country you wish to choose can prepare for a global pandemic by creating legal policies that could help prepare ahead for such a period, such as policies on scientific research and funding.

Topic 4: The need for uniformity of competition law and policy in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; An approach to the European Union standard.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the Gulf Cooperation Countries and their current legislation on competition law and its implications. Countries under the European Union’s competition law, the legal implications, and the need to consider such a part.

Topic 5: The need for competition law and policy enforcement; An analysis of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries.

Research Aim: This research focuses on the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries’ competition laws and their enforceability. It analyses the benefits of enforcing the competition law and looks at the European Union’s uniformed laws and their benefits. It looks into the various countries, how the competition law currently works, and how it can affect each country’s economy in a better way or adequately enforced.

Topic 6: Provisions of the law on rape, the need to expand its coverage on the misuse of its provisions, and false accusations.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the law’s present provisions on rape and rape victims and the recent false accusations.

Topic 7: Summary dismissal of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal implications under the labour law, and the way forward. The Case Study of Nigeria

Research Aim: This research will focus on the statistics of people who were summarily dismissed during the COVID-19 pandemic based on natural occurrences, provisions of the law against summary dismissal, and its enforcement, and how this can be cushioned against future events. The labour law needs to be expanded to cover similar situations to protect workers.

Topic 8: A legal assessment of the settlement of international disputes through the peaceful process and its effectiveness

Research Aim: This research focuses on the mode of dispute settlement in the international community, assessment of international laws and treaties on peaceful settlement of conflicts among countries of member states, the methods of dispute settlements, its strengths and weaknesses, and the need to improve the current mechanisms of peaceful settlement in the international community.

Topic 9: The protection of minority shareholders and the majority shareholders' power in Companies, a critical analysis of the Nigerian Companies and Allied Matters Act provisions.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the law’s provisions for protecting minority shareholders in companies and the majority shareholders’ power. How effective are these provisions in protecting the minorities against the management of the majority shareholders, and what is the way forward

More Law Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: world bank developmental projects and greater accountability.

Research Aim: Examine communities impacted by development operations under the World Bank Development project schemes using the project law model to understand the lack of participation and successful influence of these communities to improve accountability and good governance.

Topic 2: The right to bear arms: Rethinking the second amendment

Research Aim: Gun control and the right to bear arms has been an ever-evolving web discourse in the United States. The research aims to analyse how gun control laws have changed in the USA since specifically focusing on the 2nd Amendment and its original framework.

Topic 3: Rethinking the international legal framework protecting journalists in war and conflict zones.

Research Question: Is the current legal framework still appropriate for protecting journalists in today’s conflict zones? Research Aim: The primary body of law that is set out to protect journalists includes the Geneva Conventions and their additional Protocols. However, since the time they were drafted and decades after, there have been conspicuous changes to the way warfare is conducted. It is imperative to examine this body of law in order to improve it, as journalists have now become prime targets in war zones and conflict areas because of their profession.

Topic 4: A critical analysis of the employment law of disabled individuals in the UK and what new policies can be integrated to increase its efficiency.

Research Aim: Employment or labour law has always been under the limelight. Many critiques and researchers have proposed different amendments to the existing law pertaining to labour and employees. The main aim of the research is to critically analyse the employment law of disabled individuals in the UK along with effective recommendations that need to be made in order to make the existing law more efficient and effective.

Topic 5: A critical evaluation of racial discrimination laws in developed countries and how they impact the workplace environment

Research Aim: Racial discrimination has always been a controversial issue in almost every part of the World. However, many developed countries (companies) face severe racial discrimination issues that directly impact their name and brand value. Therefore, this research provides a critical evaluation of racial discrimination laws, particularly in developed countries. Moreover, the research will focus on how racial discrimination laws are impacting the workplace environment.

Topic 6: A comparative analysis of legislation, policy, and guidelines of domestic abuse between the UK and the USA.

Research Aim: Domestic laws basically deal with and provide criminal rules for punishing individuals who have physically or emotionally harmed their own family members. It has been found that many domestic cases of abuse are not reported to the concerned authority. Due to this reason, the main focus of the research is to conduct a comparative analysis of legislation, policy, and guidelines of domestic abuse between the UK and the USA and how effective both countries have been in minimising domestic abuse.

Topic 7: Analysing the negative impact of technology in protecting the intellectual property rights of corporations.

Research Aim: Intellectual property has gained significant importance after the emergence of counterfeit products coming from different parts of the world. It has been found that many factors have motivated the sale of counterfeit products. Therefore, this research aims to analyse the negative impact of technology in protecting the intellectual property rights of products and corporations.

Topic 8: A critical assessment of the terrorism act of 2010 and its impact on Muslims living around the globe.

Research Aim: Since the incident of 9/11, the entire world has been under the pressure of terrorism activities, especially Muslims living around the world. Therefore, this research intends to critically assess the terrorism act of 2010 and its impact on Muslims living around the globe.

Trust Law Dissertation Topics

The trust law requires the settler to meet the three certainties, including the object, intention, and subject matter. As posted to a moral obligation or mere gift, confidence of choice can be best described as clarity of purpose. Some interesting dissertation topics in the field of trust law  are listed below:

• To investigate the attitude of the courts to trusts supporting political agendas.
• To identify and discuss principles on which half-secret and full-secret trusts are enforced. Does a literature review highlight circumstances where it is essential to consider whether such beliefs are constructive and expressive?
• The role and impact of trust law as asset portioning and fiduciary governance
• From law to faith: Letting go of secret trusts
• Critical analysis of the statement “Traditionally, equity and the law of trusts have been concerned with providing justice to balance out the rigour of the common law” regarding modern equity development/operation.
• Should the assumption of resulting trusts and progression be abolished in this modern age? A critical review of the literature
• A critical examination of the courts’ concern of financial reward in the context of “trustee powers of investment.”
• Does the doctrine of cypress do justice to the intentions of the testator?
• The impact of the decision of Harrison v Gibson on the law of the clarity of intention.
• The approval of trustees in the Zimbabwean law of trusts

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ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service!

European Law Dissertation Topics

European law has recently attracted wide attention from the academic world, thanks to the growing influence of European Law on administrative law in EU members. It should be noted that every aspect of life in European states is significantly affected by European law, and therefore, this area of research has gained tremendous popularity. Some exciting and specific research areas are given below:

• A critical review of the European anti-discrimination Law
• To investigate the economics and history of European Law.
• An investigation of the European human rights law
• Investigating the impact of “Freedom of Speech” on the German economy
• Investigating the impact of immigration laws on the German economy
• How the French parliamentary sovereignty has been affected by the European Union
• Uniform interpretation of European patent law with a unique view on the creation of a standard patent court
• The impact of European consensus in the jurisprudence of the European court of Human Rights.
• The impact of the European convention on human rights on international human rights law
• A critical analysis of the tensions between European trade and social policy
• To investigate the European Union’s enforcement actions and policies against member countries.
• European Laws amidst the Brexit process

Read this Article.

Family Law Dissertation Topics

A wide range of topics are covered under the field of family law and the law of children. Essentially, this area of law takes into consideration the registration of marriages, statutory rights concerning marriage, the effects of a decree, void and voidable marriages, the impact of the Human Rights Act, the legal stature of unmarried and married individuals, and the case for reform of UK family law . Other research areas include enforcing financial responsibilities in the Magistrates court, enforcing the arrears of maintenance payments, the award of maintenance, enforcing financial obligations to children or a child, financial orders for children, and the Child Support Act. An extremely intriguing area of law that has gained tremendous popularity in the modern era, some specific  dissertation topics  in this area of law studies are listed below:

• Investigating therapeutic and theoretical approaches to deal with spouse abuse in light of the UK government’s latest research on domestic violence
• Unmarried fathers’ access to parental responsibility – Does the current law enforce rights and responsibilities towards children?
• To study the criminal justice process involving a child witness.
• The children’s right to participation – Rhetoric or Reality? – A critical review of literature from the past two decades
• To study the position of unmarried fathers in the UK.
• Does the UK Family law need a major reform?
• A critical review of the rights of married women in real estate
• Child welfare and the role of local authorities
• To study the legal and social foundations of parenting, civil partnership, and marriage.
• To examine whether the Child Support Act has positively influenced child maintenance.

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Employment Law Dissertation Topics

Employment and equality law governs the relationship between the government, trade unions, employers, and employees.  Employment and equality law in the UK is a body of law that prevents bias and negative attitudes towards someone based on their ethnicity or race rather than work skills and experience. Some interesting dissertation topics  in this area of law are below:

• A critical investigation of the right to fair labour practices in the United Kingdom
• To determine the job’s inherent requirements as a defence to unfair discrimination or a claim – A comparison between the United Kingdom and Canada.
• The role of the South African Labour Relations Act in providing unhappy staff sufficient protection against unfair dismissals and discrimination at the workplace
• To investigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on employees’ lives with a focus on unfair dismissal and discrimination.
• To assess ethnic discrimination in the European Union: Derogations from the ban on discrimination – Sexual harassment – Equal pay for equal value work.
• To study the international employment contract – Regulation, perception, and reality.
• To identify and discuss challenges associated with equality at work.
• A study of the legal aspects of the relationship between employer and employee
• How influential is the role of trade unions in English employment law?
• A critical review of discrimination policies in the UK

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Commercial Law Dissertation Topics

Commercial law, also known as business law, is the whole body of substantive jurisprudence applicable to the conduct, relations, and rights of sales, trade, merchandising, and businesses and persons associated with commerce. Important issues of law covered by commercial law include real estate, secured transactions, credit transactions, bankruptcy, banking, and contracts. An intriguing area of law within the UK, specific topics for your law dissertation are listed below:

• The impact of legislation for the regulation of investment services with EU economic area on the EU financial services market
• Handling regulatory involvement incorporates organisational structure and strategy.
• A study of convergence and complementarities concerning international corporate governance
• How drafting and diffusion of uniform norms can help to harmonise the law of international commercial arbitration?
• Convergence and adaption in corporate governance to transnational standards in India
• A critical review of the international commercial arbitration system
• Analysing the international commercial law on risk transfer
• The role of the tripartite financial system in the UK on economic development
• A comparative analysis of European contract law, international commercial contracts law, and English commercial contracts law
• Is the European contracts law meeting the needs of the commercial community?
• A critical review of anti-corruption legislation in the UK
• The problems of director accountability in the UK and the impact of soft and hard law on corporate governance

Criminal and Evidence Law Dissertation Topics

Criminal law  can be defined as a system of law dealing with the punishment of criminals. Criminal evidence, on the other hand, concerns evidence/testimony presented in relation to criminal charges. Evidence can be presented in various forms in order to prove and establish crimes. A wide array of topics can be covered in this subject area. To help you narrow down your research focus, some  interesting topics  are suggested below:

• The politics of criminal law reform with a focus on lower-court decision-making
• To understand and establish the historical relationship between human rights and Islamic criminal law
• Investigating the rights of victims in internal criminal courts
• The efficacy of the law of rape in order to prevent misuse by bogus victims and to protect rightful victims
• To assess the criminal law’s approach to Omissions
• To investigate the issues associated with the identification of the distribution, extent, and nature of the crime
• A critical review of the Bad Samaritan laws and the law of omission liability
• How international criminal law has been significantly influenced by the “war on terrors”?
• The efficacy of modern approaches to the definition of intention in International criminal law
• The efficacy of the law of corporate manslaughter

Company Law Dissertation Topics

Company law, also known as the  law of business associations , is the body of law that deals with business organisations and their formation, registration, incorporation, governance, dissolution, and administration. Some suggestions for company law dissertation topics are listed below:

• Developing equity markets in growing economies and the importance of corporate law
• A critical review of English company law and its effects on member workers and creditors
• To investigate the essential aspects of corporate law.
• To study business responsibilities for human rights.
• Identifying disparities in corporate governance – Theories and Realities
• The external relations of company groups in Zambian Corporate law
• To study corporate governance practices concerning minority stakeholders.
• Establishing and evaluating arguments for and against “stakeholder theory.”
• The importance of non-executive directors in the British corporate legal system
• Investigating the regulation of the UK public company

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Intellectual Property and Tort Law Dissertation topics

All forms of legal injury are dealt with under the subject area of tort law. Essentially, tort law helps to establish the circumstances whereby a person may be held responsible for another person’s injury caused by either accident or intentional acts. On the other hand, intellectual property covers areas of law such as copyright, patents, and trademarks. Trademark dissertation topics trademark directive, trademarks act, infringement of trademarks such as revocation, invalidity, and the use of similar marks. Some interesting dissertation ideas and topics  of tort law and intellectual property are suggested below to help your law studies.

• The efficacy of intellectual property rights in the UK under the influence of European Law
• The efficacy of UK copyright law concerning the needs of rights users and holders
• The impact of intellectual property rights on economic development.
• To investigate the right of confidence in the UK
• Does the trademark law ensure sufficient protection in England?
• The impact of European Law on intellectual property rights in the UK
• The end of the road for loss of a chance?
• To assess the success ratio of psychiatric injury claims in the UK
• Should a no-fault system be implemented into UK law, or should the law of negligence apply to personal injury claims?
• A critical review of economic loss in 21st-century tort law

Human Rights and Immigration Law

The primary objective of human rights and immigration law is to ensure and protect human rights at domestic, regional, and international levels. With the world becoming a global village, human rights and immigration laws have attracted significant attention from academicians and policymakers. Some interesting law dissertation topics in this subject area are suggested below:

• To assess the efficacy of the common European Asylum system in terms of immigration detention.
• A historical analysis of Britain’s immigration and asylum policies
• A critical analysis of immigration policy in Britain since 1990
• A critical analysis of the right of the police and the public right to protest under PACE 1984
• The right of prisoners to vote under the European law of human rights
• Arguments for and against the death penalty in English Law with a focus on human rights treatise
• A critical analysis of the right to private life and family for failed asylum seekers
• The impact of UK immigration policies on the current education industry
• How beneficial the points system has really been in regards to creating a cap in the British immigration system
• To study the impact of privatisation on immigration detention and related functions in the UK.

More Human Rights Law Dissertation Topics

Pandemic Law Dissertation Topics

Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has become the most trending topic in the world since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic that started in China. Here are some interesting Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic Law topics that you can consider for your law dissertation.

• Co-parenting in the coronavirus pandemic: A family law scholar’s advice
• How San Diego law enforcement operated amid Coronavirus pandemic
• Pandemic preparedness in the workplace and the British with disabilities act
• Why, In a pandemic, rumours of martial Law fly despite reassurances
• Investigating About the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and COVID-19
• Resources to support workers in the UK during the Coronavirus pandemic
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic:
• A legal perspective
• Navigating the Coronavirus Pandemic
• Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) and employment laws in the UK going forward
• Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) and employment laws in the US going forward
• Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) and employment laws in Australia going forward

More Examples of Law Dissertation Topics

• A critical analysis of the employment law of disabled individuals in the UK and what new policies can be integrated to increase its efficiency
• A critical evaluation of racial discrimination laws in developed countries and how it impacts the workplace environment
• A comparative analysis of domestic abuse with the legislation, policy, and domestic abuse guidelines between the UK and USA.
• Analysing the negative impact of technology in protecting the intellectual property rights of corporations.
• A critical assessment of the terrorism act of 2010 and its impact on Muslims living around the Globe.
• Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Legal Practice
• The Rise of Blockchain Technology in Contract Law
• The Legal Implications of Gene Editing Technology
• Data Privacy in the Age of Social Media Surveillance
• The Impact of Automation on Employment Law
• The Regulation of Cryptocurrency and its Legal Challenges
• Cybercrime Investigations and International Cooperation
• Ethical Concerns of The Use of Big Data in Criminal Profiling
• The Effectiveness of Rehabilitation Programs for Young Offenders
• The Legal Challenges of Policing Protests and Demonstrations
• The Rise of Hate Speech and the Limits of Free Expression
• The Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in a Globalised World
• Climate Change Litigation and the Rise of Eco-Justice
• The Regulation of Microplastics and its Environmental Impact
• The Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Protection
• Marine Protected Areas: Balancing Conservation and Economic Interests
• The Legal Challenges of Sustainable Development
• The Role of International Environmental Law in Addressing Climate Change
• The Regulation of Fintech and its Disruptive Potential
• The Rise of Mergers and Acquisitions in a Globalised Economy
• The Legal Challenges of Cross-Border Business Transactions
• Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Age
• The Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Businesses
• The Legal Implications of Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
• Surrogacy Arrangements and the Rights of All Parties Involved
• The Changing Face of Family Structures and the Law
• Child Custody Agreements in International Parental Disputes
• The Use of Mediation in Family Law Disputes
• The Rise of Populism and its Challenges to Democratic Institutions
• The Role of Judicial Review in Holding Governments Accountable
• The Regulation of Lobbying and its Influence on Policymaking
• National Security Laws and the Balance Between Security and Liberty

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Uk’s best academic support services. how would you know until you try, important notes:.

As a law dissertation student looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing law dissertation theories – i.e., to add value and interest to the topic of your research.

The field of law dissertation is vast and interrelated to many other academic disciplines like civil engineering ,  construction ,  project management , engineering management , healthcare , mental health , artificial intelligence , tourism , physiotherapy , sociology , management , project management , and nursing . That is why it is imperative to create a project management dissertation topic that is articular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic based on your fundamental research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your case wrong: your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in writing your dissertation as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

While developing a research topic, keeping our advice in mind will allow you to pick one of the best law dissertation topics that fulfils your requirement of writing a research paper and add to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalising your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample law dissertation topics to get an idea for your dissertation.

How to Structure Your Law Dissertation

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review : This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature available on the chosen research topic to address research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths while identifying any research gaps. Break down the topic, and binding terms can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology : The data collection and analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes research design , research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods and data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis : Findings of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include graphs, charts and tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and Conclusion : The researcher presents his interpretation of the results in this chapter, and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is establishing the link between the products and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References : Make sure to complete this according to your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices : Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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How to find law dissertation topics.

To find law dissertation topics:

• Research recent legal developments.
• Explore unresolved issues or debates.
• Analyse gaps in existing literature.
• Consider societal or technological influences.
• Consult professors and peers.
• Select a topic aligning with your passion and career aspirations.

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If you are a student of sports law at a university, you are familiar with the tension that comes with writing a dissertation due to the difficulty of choosing a topic.

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Sep 20, 2019

Written By Billy Sexton

LLB Law Dissertation

So, you've picked your final modules, consolidated your favourite library seat, and are finally feeling like a big fish in the university pond. But you've got one more challenge on the horizon—the dissertation... 

The final year of your LLB is here, which means it’s time to put together a lovely 10,000 or so word law dissertation.

Gone are the days of first year where a casual 2,000-word essay would be enough to secure 50% of your module marks. Even the tougher second-year essays, where word counts were raised up to 3,500 words, now seem like a walk in the park when faced with the mammoth dissertation.

Many law students before you have faced this, so don’t worry. If they do it, you can too!

A dissertation is a marathon, not a sprint (so no last minute late nights) and working on your dissertation should be treated like eating salami (bear with us on this). You wouldn’t eat a whole salami at once as it’s much tastier in thinner slices.

Therefore, you shouldn’t do your whole dissertation at once. Put it together bit-by-bit, and it will be a much stronger piece of work!

Law dissertation ideas

What you base your law dissertation on is entirely your choice… to a certain extent. You will need to find a supervisor for your dissertation so you won’t be able to do a dissertation on a specific issue if there’s no lecturer at your university who specialises in that topic!

However, presuming there is a lecturer to guide you along the long and bumpy dissertation path, you have free choice over what you’d like to study. Usually, first class dissertations carry originality and research depth.

If you’re stuck for ideas or broad topic areas, let us help you out. We can’t cover every individual area of law  but here are ideas for some of the core areas:

Contract Law – The influence of the EU on contract law, including anti-discrimination directives, a comparison of contract law in different jurisdictions or penalty clauses in contracts.

Criminal Law – Philosophical issues surrounding criminal law, human rights in criminal procedure or social dimensions of crime.

EU Law – Immigration and the law, the law of the European Convention for Human Rights and how this affects human rights within national borders or the impact of the EU on environmental legislation.

Public Law – Public understanding or law and education, state responsibility or historical developments in public law.

These are just a handful of suggestion and may or may not tickle your fancy. It’s best to talk to a range of potential supervisors to get a feel for how they could help you. Start looking early though, as supervisors get snapped up pretty quickly!

Law dissertation structure

Your university should tell you how to structure your dissertation, but usually an introduction highlighting the objectives of the dissertation should also put forward any issues or knowledge the reader will need to be aware of in order when they progress.

Next up is your methodology and literature review. This basically means pointing out what you’re going to research and how and summarising the key arguments already out there.

Then comes the juicy bit—the evidence. This should be what you discovered from your research and a detailed analysis of this.

Finally, the conclusion should outline what you discovered and your conclusion of this.

Writing a law dissertation can be stressful and it’s highly likely you might lose a bit of sleep over it. But at the same time it’s a great opportunity to stick your teeth into a subject you’re really passionate about and gain some good marks that will contribute significantly toward your overall degree mark. 

Next article:  Post LLB: applying for the LPC vs a training contract

If you're currently on the hunt for a  Training Contract  or  Vacation Scheme , head over to our  Law Jobs section.

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Stanford Law School's Theses and Dissertations Collection

• Early Thesis and Dissertation of Stanford Law School, 1929 to 1956
• Theses and Dissertations of Stanford Law School,1970-1995
• Stanford Program in International Legal Studies’ Theses, 1996 to 2010
• Stanford Law School’s Dissertations, 1996 to 2010
• Stanford Program in International Legal Studies Theses, 2011 to 2025

Title: Stanford Law School’s Dissertations, 1996 to 2010

Title: Stanford Law School’s Dissertations Inclusive Dates: 1996 to 2010

Access Restrictions: None Copyright Restriction:  Property rights reside with Robert Crown Law Library Special Collection.  Copyrights are retained by the creator of the records or their heirs.

Series Description:

This series consists of dissertations produced by Stanford Law School’s candidates in the Doctor of the Science of Law or the Doctor of Jurisprudence programs during the years of 1996 to 2010.  Each dissertation is original research that each individual submit to a committee of Stanford law professors to prove that they add substantial original scholarly works.  Subject matter that Dissertation covers is diverse in nature. This series is arranged by call number and author's last name. 

Extent: 3 linear feet (textual) Location(s) : GS-SU-06-02-01 to GS-SU-06-01-06

3781 1996 C - Environmental Protection Under and After Socialism: A Study of Poland  3781 1996 C - Riverrun: Three Essays about the Uses of History in Legal Problems Concerning Native Americans  3781 1996 D - Do you Speak Genomics?: Patenting Biotechnology "Translation" Inventions and Other Macromolecules  3781 1996 S - Corporate Governance in Quasi Public Corporations: A New Perspective in Cameroon   3781 1997 B - Innovation Market Concept: A Model for European Merger Control?  3781 1997 E - The Dispute Settlement System in the Egyptian Capital Market and Economic Development  3781 1997 H - Private Property, Culture, and Ideology: Israel's Supreme Court and the Jurisprudence of Land Expropriation 3781 1997 Y - Medical Malpractice in Taiwan: Myth and Reality  3781 1997 Z - A Critical Analysis of the Ethical Duty of Confidentiality in the American law 3781 1998 B - The accommodation of Interests in Freedom of the Press and Protection of Reputation in the Constitutional Doctrine of the United States and Spain   3781 1998 C - Differential Treatment in International Law: A New Framework for the Realisation of Sustainable Development   3781 1998 C - International Tax Policy Under NAFTA: The Impact of National Tax Differences on Capital Flows under Regional Trade and Investment Integration   3781 1998 C - Telecommunications Reform in Mexico: Challenges for Entering the Global Digital Economy  3781 1998 H - Rethinking the Legal Structure of Bank Securities Powers: "Universal Banking" vs. the "Glass-Steagall Act" in Taiwan   3781 1998 K - Property Rights and Biodiversity Management in Kenya: The Case of Land Tenure Regimes and Wildlife Management 3781 1998 L - Economic and Sociological Theories of Contingent Employment: Critique and Implications for Law Reform   3781 1998 N - Copyright and a Democratic Civil Society   3781 1998 R - Constitutional Gravity and Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Unitary Theory of Public Civil Dispute Resolution 3781 1998 Y - Embedded Strategies, Corporate Partners, and Markets in the Digital Age  3781 1999 C - Assessing the Impacts of Trade Liberalization on Forests  3781 1999 D - The Impact of Plant Intellectual Property Rights on Thailand's Agriculture: Implications of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)  3781 1999 Y - International Strategic Alliances in High Technology Industries: A Law and Economic Analysis From an Antitrust Perspective  3781 2000 D - Volume 1 Sexual Harassment Law: History, Cases, and Theory  3781 2000 D - Volume 2 Sexual Harassment Law: History, Cases, and Theory  3781 2000 K - Restructuring the Liability Regime in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990  3781 2000 L - Minimal State and Distributive Justice: An Essay on Nozick's Theory with Some Comparative Aspects to Rawls' 3781 2000 O - Law, Gender Relations and Social Change in Nigeria 3781 2000 W - Environmental Pollution in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Case for Direct Equity Participation

3 781 2001 C - Self-Censorship and the Struggle for Press Freedom in Hong Kong 3781 2001 H - Administrative Litigation and Court Reform in the People's Republic of China  3781 2001 H - Critical Eating: Genetically Engineered Foods in International Relations: Designing International Bodies on Risk Management in Evolving Science & Technology with Global Impact  3781 2001 R - Counsel for the Indigent Accused in the United States and the Republic of Korea: Constitutional Reflections and Suggestions for Changes in the South Korean Criminal Justice System  3781 2001 R - Strategic Alliances in the United States Microelectronics Industry 3781 2001 W - Four Traces of Michelman and Sunstein's Legal Republicanism: Republican Historiography, Communitarianism, Habermasian Philosophy and Rawlsian Liberalism   3781 2001 W - The Comparison of Prosecutorial Functions in the U.S.A. and in Taiwan 3781 2001 Z - Human Rights Law and Public Interest Lawyering: A Study on the Interdependence of Jurisprudence and the Legal Profession in Israel 3781 2002 C - Environmental Cooperation Institution Building in Northeast Asia 3781 2002 E - Personal Bankruptcy in Israel  3781 2002 L - Custody Decisions in Social and Cultural contexts: The Best Interests of the Child Standard and Judges' Custody Decisions in Taiwan  3781 2002 L - Legal Culture and Social Change: The Case of Taiwanese Family Law Development  3781 2002 M - A Tale of Two Networks: Interconnection in Early Telephony and the Comme[r]cial Internet  3781 2002 M - A Tale of Two Networks: Interconnection in Early Telephony and the Comme[r]cial Internet  3781 2002 R - 2001: A Space Odyssey: Law, Space, and Society in Contemporary Israel  3781 2002 T - The Political Economy of Regulatory Competition: A Diachronic Institutional Theory of Legal Change in an Era of Globalization  3781 2002 W - Crypto Policy and Online Public Forums  3781 2003 B - The Puzzle of Mass Torts: A Comparative Study of Asbestos Litigation  3781 2003 J - Pharmaceutical Differential Pricing: Reality or Wishful Thinking?  3781 2003 S - Constructing Copyright and Literary Creativity in Kenya Cultural Politics and the Political Economy of Transnational Intellectual Property  3781 2003 X - Mediation in China and the United States: Toward Common Outcome  3781 2004 H - Why Do They Not Obey the Law?: A Case Study of a Rural-Urban Migrant Enclave in China  3781 2004 L - Unfinished Business: Challenging Microsoft in Taiwan 3781 2004 M - Kiamas: Rethinking Access to Justice in Domestic Violence Cases in Kenya  3781 2004 N - Commercializing Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings Through the Internet: Copyright Law and Technological Change  3781 2004 P - Balancing in Constitutional Law: A Suggested Analytical Framework Applied to American Constitutional Law  3781 2004 S - An Analysis of the Political Economy of Japanese Fisheries: The Dynamics of Bureaucratic Policymaking in Domestic and International Fisheries 3781 2005 A - An Attempt to Mediate Immigrant Integration: Intercultural Mediators in Catalonia  3781 2005 C - Paying for Nature Conservation with Tax Dollars?: An Evaluation of the Role of Fiscal Policy Reform in Promoting Biodiversity Conservation in Canada through Legal, Economic, Ecological, Fiscal and Political Lenses   3781 2006 A - Banking System in Islamic Countries: Saudi Arabia and Egypt  3781 2006 A - Democratic Deliberation of Trade Legislation in Ghana: Institutions, Interests and Accountability 3781 2006 A - The Legal Culture of the European Court of Human Rights  3781 2006 H - Women's Experience in Court: The Implementation of Feminist Law Reforms in Civil Proceedings Concerning Domestic Violence  3781 2006 L - Divorce and Annulment in San Mateo County, California 1950-1957  3781 2006 N - Toward Better-Balanced Copyright Regulations in the Digital and Network Era: Law, Technology, and the Market in the U.S. and Japan 3781 2006 P - Criminal Investigation and Prosecution in Mexico City: A Case Study of Miguel Hidalgo County and its Ministerio Público  3781 2006 Y - Legal Risk and Investment in India: A Case Study of the Dabhol Power Project  3781 2007 C - Unbundling Path Dependence: A Case Study of Telecommunications Reform in Mexico (1990-2006)  3781 2007 G - All in the Family: The Influence of Social Networks on Dispute Processing: A Case Study of a Developing Economy 3781 2007 H - Social Symmetry: A Theory of Altruism and Cooperation 3781 2007 L - From Imitation to Innovation: The Role of Patent in China's Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries  3781 2007 M - Clientelism, Competition and Corruption: Informal Institutions and Telecommunications Reform in Kenya 3781 2007 W - Legal Framework for the Development of Venture Capital in China: Policy Recommendations for the Establishment of a Growth Enterprise Market ("GEM")        3781 2008 M - Rules and Engagement: A Comparative Qualitative Evaluation of European Union Rule-of-law Promotion in Romania, Turkey, Serbia, and Ukraine  3781 2008 N - The Role of Competition Law and Policy in the Economic Development of Korea 3781 2008 P - "In the Public Interest": Threats to Self-regulation of the Legal Profession in Ontario, 1998-2006   3781 2008 P - The Next Generation of Mexican Lawyers: A Study of Mexico's System of Legal Education and its Law Students  3781 2008 S - Beyond Legalism: The Mexican Supreme Court in the Democratic Era  3781 2009 L - The Neglected Role of Non-Profit Organizations in the Intellectual-Commons Environment  3781 2009 P - The Political-Economy and the Causes of Compliance of Trade and Investment Agreements: NAFTA and the Sweeteners Sector  3781 2009 S - "Outside the Pale of the Law": The Processing of Disputes in Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana  3781 2009 S - Recalcitrant Victims and Refractory Systems: An Exploratory Study of Attrition During the Investigation of rape Complaints in Post-Apartheid South Africa 3781 2009 T - The Design of Micro Credit Contracts and Costs of Credit: A Case Study of Micro Enterprise Finance in Uganda  3781 2010 C - Improving the Business Climate Under the Hot Sun: Do Small Business Associations Make a Difference?: A Study of Four Districts in Nyanza Province, Kenya 3781 2010 F - From Gender Based-Violence to Women's Violence in Haiti  3781 2010 F - From State Street to Bilski: Patent Protection in the Financial Industry 3781 2010 L - Weak Independent Directors, Strong Controlling Shareholders: Do Independent Directors Constrain Tunneling in Taiwan? 3781 2010 M - Access to Justice and Resolution of Criminal Cases at Informal Chiefs' Courts: The Ewe of Ghana 3781 2010 O - Measuring Japan's Nursery Quality Within the UNCRC Framework: International Standards for Young Children's Social Services and Their Implications for Japan   3781 2010 S - How do Principals Deal with Underperforming Teachers?: A Study of How Principals from Secondary Schools in Mexico City Manage Underperforming Teachers   3781 2010 T - Cross-border Enforcement of Patents

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Georgetown Law Library Special Collections

Theses And Dissertations

• Print Generating
• Collection Overview
• Collection Organization
• Container Inventory

Contents Note

This collection contains theses and dissertations produced by students attending Georgetown Law School and Georgetown Law Center. They represent three law degree programs (J.D., LL.M., S.J.D.), and some that only specify Georgetown University. Most of the J.D. and LL.M papers date from 1913-1953. The only current papers are from the S.J.D. Program. The papers exist either in paper, microfiche, or digital form, and some may be available in more than one format. There are two separate listings containing the same entries - the first is a listing by degree type and then by author name, and the second is a listing by date and then author name.

• 1913 - 2022
• Georgetown University. Law Center (Collector, Organization)
• Georgetown University. School of Law (Collector, Organization)

Location of Digital Files

View Theses and Dissertations in Digital Georgetown at https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/1056655

Description of Degree Programs

The Juris Doctor (J.D.) is the first degree in law, as well as the terminal degree for the practice of law. It is required for those who plan to become attorneys, is usually earned in three years, and requires a bachelor's degree for admission. Until 1966, the first degree in law was the LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) and during the 1930s and 1940s, the J.D. was awarded as a graduate level degree. In 1967 the J.D. became the first law degree. The Master of Laws (LL.M.) is the second level professional law degree after the J.D. It is a one-year advanced post-graduate degree program that specializes in a specific area of the law, and requires a J.D. as a prerequisite. The Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) is the highest degree offered by Georgetown Law. It is a Ph.D-level research and academic-based degree primarily designed for those who are interested in becoming law professors, scholars, jurists or public intellectuals.

1.5 linear feet (3 Hollinger boxes)

605 digital file(s)

Language of Materials

• Dissertations, Academic

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Repository details.

Part of the Law Center Archives Repository

Collection organization

Theses And Dissertations, LCA-06-07. Law Center Archives.

Cite Item Description

Theses And Dissertations, LCA-06-07. Law Center Archives. https://aspace.ll.georgetown.edu/public/repositories/4/resources/138 Accessed June 20, 2024.

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• Knowledge Base
• Dissertation

What Is a Dissertation? | Guide, Examples, & Template

A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program.

Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you’ve ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating to know where to begin.

Your department likely has guidelines related to how your dissertation should be structured. When in doubt, consult with your supervisor.

You can also download our full dissertation template in the format of your choice below. The template includes a ready-made table of contents with notes on what to include in each chapter, easily adaptable to your department’s requirements.

Download Word template Download Google Docs template

• In the US, a dissertation generally refers to the collection of research you conducted to obtain a PhD.
• In other countries (such as the UK), a dissertation often refers to the research you conduct to obtain your bachelor’s or master’s degree.

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Table of contents

Dissertation committee and prospectus process, how to write and structure a dissertation, acknowledgements or preface, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review, methodology, reference list, proofreading and editing, defending your dissertation, free checklist and lecture slides.

When you’ve finished your coursework, as well as any comprehensive exams or other requirements, you advance to “ABD” (All But Dissertation) status. This means you’ve completed everything except your dissertation.

Prior to starting to write, you must form your committee and write your prospectus or proposal . Your committee comprises your adviser and a few other faculty members. They can be from your own department, or, if your work is more interdisciplinary, from other departments. Your committee will guide you through the dissertation process, and ultimately decide whether you pass your dissertation defense and receive your PhD.

Your prospectus is a formal document presented to your committee, usually orally in a defense, outlining your research aims and objectives and showing why your topic is relevant . After passing your prospectus defense, you’re ready to start your research and writing.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

The structure of your dissertation depends on a variety of factors, such as your discipline, topic, and approach. Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an overall argument to support a central thesis , with chapters organized around different themes or case studies.

However, hard science and social science dissertations typically include a review of existing works, a methodology section, an analysis of your original research, and a presentation of your results , presented in different chapters.

Dissertation examples

We’ve compiled a list of dissertation examples to help you get started.

• Example dissertation #1: Heat, Wildfire and Energy Demand: An Examination of Residential Buildings and Community Equity (a dissertation by C. A. Antonopoulos about the impact of extreme heat and wildfire on residential buildings and occupant exposure risks).
• Example dissertation #2: Exploring Income Volatility and Financial Health Among Middle-Income Households (a dissertation by M. Addo about income volatility and declining economic security among middle-income households).
• Example dissertation #3: The Use of Mindfulness Meditation to Increase the Efficacy of Mirror Visual Feedback for Reducing Phantom Limb Pain in Amputees (a dissertation by N. S. Mills about the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on the relationship between mirror visual feedback and the pain level in amputees with phantom limb pain).

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo.

Read more about title pages

The acknowledgements section is usually optional and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you. In some cases, your acknowledgements are part of a preface.

Read more about acknowledgements Read more about prefaces

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The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150 to 300 words long. Though this may seem very short, it’s one of the most important parts of your dissertation, because it introduces your work to your audience.

Your abstract should:

• State your main topic and the aims of your research
• Describe your methods
• Summarize your main results
• State your conclusions

Read more about abstracts

The table of contents lists all of your chapters, along with corresponding subheadings and page numbers. This gives your reader an overview of your structure and helps them easily navigate your document.

Remember to include all main parts of your dissertation in your table of contents, even the appendices. It’s easy to generate a table automatically in Word if you used heading styles. Generally speaking, you only include level 2 and level 3 headings, not every subheading you included in your finished work.

Read more about tables of contents

While not usually mandatory, it’s nice to include a list of figures and tables to help guide your reader if you have used a lot of these in your dissertation. It’s easy to generate one of these in Word using the Insert Caption feature.

Read more about lists of figures and tables

Similarly, if you have used a lot of abbreviations (especially industry-specific ones) in your dissertation, you can include them in an alphabetized list of abbreviations so that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

Read more about lists of abbreviations

In addition to the list of abbreviations, if you find yourself using a lot of highly specialized terms that you worry will not be familiar to your reader, consider including a glossary. Here, alphabetize the terms and include a brief description or definition.

Read more about glossaries

The introduction serves to set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance. It tells the reader what to expect in the rest of your dissertation. The introduction should:

• Establish your research topic , giving the background information needed to contextualize your work
• Narrow down the focus and define the scope of your research
• Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
• Clearly state your research questions and objectives
• Outline the flow of the rest of your work

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant. By the end, the reader should understand the what, why, and how of your research.

Read more about introductions

A formative part of your research is your literature review . This helps you gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic.

Literature reviews encompass:

• Finding relevant sources (e.g., books and journal articles)
• Assessing the credibility of your sources
• Critically analyzing and evaluating each source
• Drawing connections between them (e.g., themes, patterns, conflicts, or gaps) to strengthen your overall point

A literature review is not merely a summary of existing sources. Your literature review should have a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear justification for your own research. It may aim to:

• Address a gap in the literature or build on existing knowledge
• Take a new theoretical or methodological approach to your topic
• Propose a solution to an unresolved problem or advance one side of a theoretical debate

Read more about literature reviews

Theoretical framework

Your literature review can often form the basis for your theoretical framework. Here, you define and analyze the key theories, concepts, and models that frame your research.

Read more about theoretical frameworks

Your methodology chapter describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to critically assess its credibility. Your methodology section should accurately report what you did, as well as convince your reader that this was the best way to answer your research question.

A methodology section should generally include:

• The overall research approach ( quantitative vs. qualitative ) and research methods (e.g., a longitudinal study )
• Your data collection methods (e.g., interviews or a controlled experiment )
• Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
• Any tools and materials you used (e.g., computer programs, lab equipment)
• Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical analysis , discourse analysis )
• An evaluation or justification of your methods

Read more about methodology sections

Your results section should highlight what your methodology discovered. You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses , or themes, but avoid including any subjective or speculative interpretation here.

Your results section should:

• Concisely state each relevant result together with relevant descriptive statistics (e.g., mean , standard deviation ) and inferential statistics (e.g., test statistics , p values )
• Briefly state how the result relates to the question or whether the hypothesis was supported
• Report all results that are relevant to your research questions , including any that did not meet your expectations.

Additional data (including raw numbers, full questionnaires, or interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix. You can include tables and figures, but only if they help the reader better understand your results. Read more about results sections

Your discussion section is your opportunity to explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research question. Here, interpret your results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. Refer back to relevant source material to show how your results fit within existing research in your field.

Some guiding questions include:

• What do your results mean?
• Why do your results matter?
• What limitations do the results have?

If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data.

Read more about discussion sections

Your dissertation’s conclusion should concisely answer your main research question, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your central argument and emphasizing what your research has contributed to the field.

In some disciplines, the conclusion is just a short section preceding the discussion section, but in other contexts, it is the final chapter of your work. Here, you wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you found, with recommendations for future research and concluding remarks.

It’s important to leave the reader with a clear impression of why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known? Why is your research necessary for the future of your field?

Read more about conclusions

It is crucial to include a reference list or list of works cited with the full details of all the sources that you used, in order to avoid plagiarism. Be sure to choose one citation style and follow it consistently throughout your dissertation. Each style has strict and specific formatting requirements.

Common styles include MLA , Chicago , and APA , but which style you use is often set by your department or your field.

Create APA citations Create MLA citations

Your dissertation should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents such as interview transcripts or survey questions can be added as appendices, rather than adding them to the main body.

Read more about appendices

Making sure that all of your sections are in the right place is only the first step to a well-written dissertation. Don’t forget to leave plenty of time for editing and proofreading, as grammar mistakes and sloppy spelling errors can really negatively impact your work.

Dissertations can take up to five years to write, so you will definitely want to make sure that everything is perfect before submitting. You may want to consider using a professional dissertation editing service , AI proofreader or grammar checker to make sure your final project is perfect prior to submitting.

After your written dissertation is approved, your committee will schedule a defense. Similarly to defending your prospectus, dissertation defenses are oral presentations of your work. You’ll present your dissertation, and your committee will ask you questions. Many departments allow family members, friends, and other people who are interested to join as well.

After your defense, your committee will meet, and then inform you whether you have passed. Keep in mind that defenses are usually just a formality; most committees will have resolved any serious issues with your work with you far prior to your defense, giving you ample time to fix any problems.

As you write your dissertation, you can use this simple checklist to make sure you’ve included all the essentials.

Checklist: Dissertation

My title page includes all information required by my university.

I have included acknowledgements thanking those who helped me.

My abstract provides a concise summary of the dissertation, giving the reader a clear idea of my key results or arguments.

I have created a table of contents to help the reader navigate my dissertation. It includes all chapter titles, but excludes the title page, acknowledgements, and abstract.

My introduction leads into my topic in an engaging way and shows the relevance of my research.

My introduction clearly defines the focus of my research, stating my research questions and research objectives .

My introduction includes an overview of the dissertation’s structure (reading guide).

I have conducted a literature review in which I (1) critically engage with sources, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of existing research, (2) discuss patterns, themes, and debates in the literature, and (3) address a gap or show how my research contributes to existing research.

I have clearly outlined the theoretical framework of my research, explaining the theories and models that support my approach.

I have thoroughly described my methodology , explaining how I collected data and analyzed data.

I have concisely and objectively reported all relevant results .

I have (1) evaluated and interpreted the meaning of the results and (2) acknowledged any important limitations of the results in my discussion .

I have clearly stated the answer to my main research question in the conclusion .

I have clearly explained the implications of my conclusion, emphasizing what new insight my research has contributed.

I have provided relevant recommendations for further research or practice.

If relevant, I have included appendices with supplemental information.

I have included an in-text citation every time I use words, ideas, or information from a source.

I have listed every source in a reference list at the end of my dissertation.

I have consistently followed the rules of my chosen citation style .

I have followed all formatting guidelines provided by my university.

Congratulations!

The end is in sight—your dissertation is nearly ready to submit! Make sure it's perfectly polished with the help of a Scribbr editor.

If you’re an educator, feel free to download and adapt these slides to teach your students about structuring a dissertation.

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Dissertation

Where a student can show evidence that he or she is capable of a long dissertation of 12,000 words and wishes to submit such a long dissertation, this may replace two of the electives, subject to agreement on a topic by an MSc in Taxation programme director. A programme director must be satisfied that the dissertation topic is of sufficient scope and depth to be appropriate to replace two courses. The director shall make the decision in consultation with the other directors.

The long dissertation may cover material not covered expressly by any other course on the programme or may build on material covered in another course within the programme provided it has the necessary element of originality, analysis and independent research.  A teacher on the MSc in Taxation must have the suitable knowledge to supervise the dissertation before it can be accepted as an appropriate topic. The topic must, however, be sufficiently different from that chosen for the Tax Research Round Table extended essay to avoid overlap and unfair reduction of burden. It may not be a dissertation, or part of a dissertation, that has been or is being submitted for any other degree in Oxford or elsewhere.

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Degree by Dissertation

The Faculty of Law offers dissertation-only Masters and PhD programmes. While much of the information applies to both levels, each degree type has specific requirements, regulations and guidelines. All of this information is provided at the menu links. 

A full guide for Masters and Doctoral theses is available here and should be read in conjunction with the other downloads provided on the pages relevant to your degree type.

Coursework & Dissertation

In addition to the research-only LLM, MPhil and PhD options, students can consider a coursework-based LLM with a mini-dissertation. This is referred to as a Coursework & Dissertation masters (or C&D). Information is provided at the menu links about rules, regulations and guidelines for mini-dissertations.

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2023-2024 Curricular Recommendations and Degree Requirements

Curricular instruction.

The professional curriculum at Cornell Law School conforms to American Bar Association Standard 302 for Approval of Law Schools.

(1) the substantive law generally regarded as necessary to effective and responsible participation in the legal profession;

(2) legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem solving, and oral communication;

(3) writing in a legal context, including at least one rigorous writing experience in the first year and at least one additional rigorous writing experience after the first year;

(4) other professional skills generally regarded as necessary for effective and responsible participation in the legal profession; and

(5) the history, goals, structure, values, rules and responsibilities of the legal profession and its members

It also offers substantial opportunities for:

(1) live-client or other real-life practice experiences, appropriately supervised and designed to encourage reflection by students on their experiences and on the values and responsibilities of the legal profession, and the development of one’s ability to assess his or her performance and level of competence;

(2) student participation in pro bono activities; and

(3) small group work through seminars, directed research, small classes, or collaborative work.

JD DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Please read the information below to understand the credit and curricular requirements for the Cornell JD degree. Each student is responsible for ensuring that all graduation and bar admission requirements are met. The Registrar and the Director of Student Services and Academic Advising in the Dean of Students Office are available to advise students on requirements.

Summary of requirements for the JD degree.

• Six credits of experiential learning courses.
• A three credit course which satisfies the writing requirement.
• A two-three credit course which deals with issues of professional responsibility.

Students may find courses satisfying these requirements in the Course Catalog by browsing by Course Attributes – Degree Requirements.

*All Students: Please note that you cannot use one course to fulfill multiple requirements. For example, if a course is marked as WR OR EL, you may use it to fulfill the writing requirement or the experiential learning requirement, but not both.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING REQUIREMENT

All students are required to take six credits of experiential learning courses before graduation. Many students already enroll in clinics, externships and simulation classes that will satisfy the requirement. The experiential learning courses are marked as “Experiential Learning” in the Course Catalog .

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENT

All students must complete an upper-class course in professional responsibility before graduation. The professional responsibility courses are marked as “Professional Responsibility” in the Course Catalog.

WRITING REQUIREMENT

All students must satisfy the writing requirement before graduation. The writing requirement is met by satisfactorily completing a three credit course. The course must be taken for a letter grade. Enrollment in colloquiums, problem courses and seminars is limited. The writing courses are marked as “Writing” in the Course Catalog.

CREDIT RESTRICTIONS

A student electing a course outside of the Law School for credit, or otherwise, must also register for at least 9 credit hours in the Law School each term.

Regardless of the number of courses elected outside the Law School, a student must earn 72 of the required 84 credit hours in professional law subjects.

• Students must petition for a course outside of the Law School to count towards their law degree and receive approval from the Dean of Students office.

A law school may not permit a student to be enrolled at any time in coursework that would exceed 20 percent of the total coursework required by that school for graduation. Students in the JD program may not take more than 17 credits in any one semester. Students in the JD-LLM program may take a maximum of 21 credits per semester. The Registrar will provide similar maximum semester credit information for those in various joint degree programs.

During the second and third years, JD students may not register for fewer than 12 hours or more than 17 hours during any one term or fewer than 26 hours in any one academic year. Exceptions to the credit hour requirements must be approved by the Dean of Students. Students must submit an exception to hours form before the end of add/drop.

20 credit rule

Students may take no more than 20 credits outside of regularly scheduled law school classes. For those interested in doing a full-term externship advance planning will be more critical to avoid disappointment.

12 credit rule

A student may take no more than 12 credits outside of the law-school curriculum. This includes all courses taught in other departments on campus and not cross-listed in the Law School.

All externships and directed reading, supervised writing and supervised teaching will be graded S/U. Other courses may have a mandatory S/U grade and will be noted in the Course Catalog under grade pptions as “S/U only.” These classes do not count towards the two classes S/U limit (mentioned below) since these classes are mandatory S/U.

Grading Option

Each JD student, after the first year, may elect to take up to two upper-class courses at Cornell Law School on an S/U basis. Students will be notified when the S/U grading link is available (typically available soon after add/drop ends). If made, the election shall be irrevocable. Students may not make this election in courses that they use to satisfy the law school’s upper-class writing requirement. In addition, instructors may designate specific courses that they teach as not eligible for the S/U election.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

Attendance is required on a regular basis beginning on the first day of the semester. Irregular attendance or neglect of work may result in removal from the course with a grade of F or other sanctions. Regular attendance is required for certification to the bar examiners.

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Watch CBS News

105-year-old dons cap and gown, receives overdue degree from Stanford University

Updated on: June 17, 2024 / 2:26 PM PDT / CBS San Francisco

STANFORD -- At age 105, Virginia Hislop has lived a full life with two children, four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She has devoted much of her life to education and has served on school and college boards in central Washington, where she lives.

Despite her success, she says something was missing.

"From time to time, I wished I had finished and gotten my master's (degree)," Hislop said. "Part of it was the fact that I've been a college director for a good number of years and I didn't have the advanced degree that some of the other ones did."

Hislop had taken the required classes at Stanford University but had not yet submitted a master's thesis when the U.S. entered World War II in 1941.

"The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor," Hislop explained.

She quickly married her college sweetheart before his Army deployment. She assisted in the war effort then focused on her family but never finished her thesis.

"Fast-forward 83 years -- we don't have a thesis requirement anymore so she's actually satisfied the requirements for Master of Arts in the Graduate School of Education," said Daniel Schwartz, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education. "So, 83 years later, we're honoring this woman who has done so much."

Sunday afternoon at the education department's commencement ceremony, fellow graduates and Hislop's family, many of whom live in the Bay Area, gave her a standing ovation as she walked onto the stage with a little support from her cane.

"So much gratitude. She's believed in all of us and cheered us on all the way through and we get to cheer her on now. It's pretty cool," said Elizabeth Jensen, Hislop's granddaughter. "I feel like this is the crowning glory of her amazing career. This is her lifetime achievement award."

Hislop received her master's academic hoop and her diploma.

"Very satisfied, very pleased," Hislop beamed.

She was quick to remind people it's never too late to get a college degree. And this one added one more highlight to her many accomplishments.

When asked what she'd do with the diploma, she smiled.

"Add it to the others I have in the basement," she said.

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Da Lin is an award-winning journalist at KPIX 5 News. He joined KPIX 5 in 2012, but has been reporting the news in the Bay Area since 2007. Da grew up in Oakland, and before his return to the Bay Area, he spent five years covering the news at three other television stations in Texas, Southern and Central California. He also spent five years reporting at KRON 4.

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Alum Herbert Patrick Wells, PhD Law ’22, has been sworn in as Barbados High Court judge

By Common Law

Communication, Faculty of Law

The new justice told reporters: “I wish to say thanks to the Judicial Appointments Committee for having invited me for an interview and making a recommendation to the Honourable Prime Minister for an appointment. 

“I would just say very briefly that my singular goal is to serve the people of Barbados, to uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice in the best way that I can, and also to protect the constitutional rights of the citizens of this country. I look forward to a productive sojourn in service to the nation of Barbados.”    

Dr. Wells holds a bachelor’s degree in literature and history, a bachelor’s degree in law, a master’s degrees in international relations and sociology from the University of the West Indies, as well as a master of laws (LL.M.) in international trade law. He completed doctoral studies at Queen’s University and at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. His doctoral dissertation at uOttawa, written under the supervision of Professor Vanessa MacDonnell, provides a critical assessment of the international human rights jurisprudence of the Caribbean Court of Justice.  

He has been admitted to the Bar in Jamaica and Ontario, and has published in the West Indian Law Journal, the Caribbean Law Review and Dalhousie Law Journal. 

Dr. Wells’ areas of research interest span international human rights law; gender, sexuality and the law; transformative and comparative constitutionalism; and equality studies. His work includes the development of a monograph on free speech and privacy law, and the examination of gender and sexuality legal issues in a Caribbean context. 

“I am thrilled that Justice Wells has been appointed to the High Court of Barbados. His track record of innovative and rigorous research, as well as his commitment to justice and human rights, will make him an ideal judge,” says MacDonnell, co-director of the uOttawa Public Law Centre.  

Congratulations Justice Wells!