The first-year training programme consists of several research-led modules tailored to the research topics of the PhD candidate.
The Advanced Seminar
In the Advanced Seminar the PhD candidate gets the opportunity to engage experts in his/her field of research in intensive two-day seminars. The PhD candidate will be asked to engage with the analysis of the expert through the eyes of his/her own research project and write a short paper. The expert comments on the work of the PhD candidate and provides his/her current thinking/research on the issue. The Advanced Seminars are designed to strengthen the academic quality of the thesis and provide an opportunity for networking. Information on participating researchers is included in the section Who is Who. Candidates must participate in three Advanced Seminars, one of which is devoted to theoretical/conceptual issues and is organised jointly with the PhD programme in Globalisation and Legal Theory.
The Study Group
The Study Group is devoted to the reading and critical analysis of legal materials and academic commentary. All the PhD candidates and the main thesis supervisor participate in the Study Group. The Study Group takes place on a monthly basis during the semester. Their purpose is to train PhD candidates in legal interpretation, contextual analysis of law and in the analysis of secondary literature. The reading materials are pertinent to the research topic of the PhD candidates in the programme. Candidates are also required to follow one session of the Study Group in the PhD programme in Globalisation and Legal Theory.
The Annual Doctoral Colloquium
PhD candidates are asked to present the exposé or first chapter of their thesis in the colloquium. Prior to this, the candidate and the PhD supervisor meet on a monthly basis to discuss the research design, methodology, literature and hypothesis connected to the candidate’s thesis. The purpose of this module is to enable candidates to have a viable PhD project by the end of the first year so that they concentrate on reading pertinent literature and on writing in the two subsequent years of the PhD.
Work-in-Progress Seminars and Faculty Lectures
PhD candidates have to participate regularly in brown-bag lunches of the Faculty of Law and their Research Group, where UA researchers or outside academics present their work. They are also asked to present a short paper in this forum, which can, e.g. draw on the readings of the Study Group. The purpose of this module is to train candidates in research and presentation skills.
A candidate is allowed to drop one or part of one module and to publish a peer-reviewed article or book contribution, as long as the candidate thereby still obtains the required number of 20 credits. This option requires the prior approval of the thesis supervisor.
|  |
|