The Academic Visitor Programme provides academics with the opportunity to conduct research at The City Law School and to engage with our academic community through participation in our departmental and institution research seminars.
The City Law School accepts up to 3 academic visitors per term.
There are two types of visitors: Visiting Fellows, who are more established academics, normally holding a full-time position at an academic institution; Visiting Scholars, who are either early career researchers or PhD students.
The City Law School awards Distinguished Visitor status to up to 2 applicants each year for academics with an outstanding record of publications and an international reputation in their field of expertise. Visitors in this category will benefit from a fee waiver.
What is required of Academic Visitors?
Our Academic Visitors must have a specific research project which they will pursue during their stay. There is no teaching associated with the Academic Visitors Programme. Please note that The City Law School does not offer any formal supervision to its visiting PhD students.
The prospective visitors must include with their application an email confirmation from a City Law School academic who has agreed to act as a sponsor for the proposed research project. Please see the Law Research pages for a list of our research centres and groups and their associated academic experts.
Academic Visitors are expected to acknowledge The City Law School in any publications produced (entirely or in part) while conducting research within the ambit of this programme.
What resources are available?
Academic Visitors will be granted physical access to all CityLibrary sites and are entitled to use Library print resources on a reference-only basis. Academic Visitors will also have access to a limited number of the University's electronic resources through the use of a "walk-in" terminal at the Northampton Square Library.
Our Library webpages contain a list of the electronic resources available on the walk-in terminal.
These resources currently include HeinOnline, Oxford Competition Law, Oxford Reports on International Law, Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law and Oxford Scholarship Online Law. Please note that, due to licensing restrictions, we are unable to give Academic Visitors access to databases such as Westlaw or LexisLibrary.
All Academic Visitors are invited to attend our faculty, external and PhD research seminars.
We also encourage visitors to take advantage of our proximity to the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library.
How long is the programme?
The typical duration of a visiting fellowship/ scholarship at The City Law School is twelve weeks, or one-term: Term 1 (September-December), Term 2 (January-April), Term 3 (May-August).
Subject to developments in the response to the global pandemic, The City Law School aims to invite applications in Spring 2021, with a view to receiving visitors in Autumn 2021.
The Academic Visitor Programme webpage will be updated in due course to provide further details of the scheme and allow the electronic submission of applications. You can register your interest in the programme here if you wish to receive an email alert when the call for applications has been launched.
Visa & Accommodation
The programme can assist with the Visitor's application for visas, but cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Applicants should ensure that they have funding for their travel and living expenses in London.
Applicants are advised to ensure that they have adequate travel insurance and health cover in place prior to arrival in the UK. Regrettably, The City Law School cannot provide housing to Academic Visitors.
Application & Fees
All applications must be submitted electronically and include:
- The applicant’s CV;
- A brief statement of interest
- A one-page description of the research project
- Two scanned academic references on official headed letter
- A declaration from the applicant confirming their proficiency in English (written and spoken)
- The email confirmation of sponsorship from a City Law School academic in PDF format.
The reference letters and the sponsorship confirmation can alternatively be sent to the Programme Director by email from the academic or professional email account of the referee or sponsor.
The City Law School intends to resume the Academic Visitor Programme in the 2021/22 academic year. The submission page will become active when the next call for applications is launched in March 2021 for the 2021/22 round.
In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, it may become necessary to postpone the Academic Visitor Programme in line with UK government restrictions and/or University policy. Should that be the case, this website will be updated accordingly.
Fees 2020/21
The fee is £500 for Visiting Scholars and £250 for Visiting Fellows. Fees are payable at the start of the visit.
