The research proposal is an important factor in scholarship and admission decisions. The proposal should address a well-defined issue, cite relevant materials, provide a concrete plan for carrying out the research and be suitable for supervision by a member of academic staff. These are threshold requirements for a successful course of study.
Research proposals must be feasible within the period of enrollment and must address a specific and consequential societal or legal problem that is amenable to comparative study. A strong proposal will clearly specify a problem or question for exploration and identify concrete features of existing law, institutions, and scholarship relevant to the inquiry. The problem should be one about which reasonable minds may differ.
The proposal should cite relevant laws, regulations, reports, and scholarship as appropriate. References may be set in footnotes or written inline, but the style and form of citation should be consistent. Citations should be written in the original language of the resource. The selection of resources is a factor in evaluating applications, and reviewers may explore the selection of resources at interviews.
The research plan should indicate the specific materials to be explored or developed in order to address the issue stated in the proposal. Where deeper exploration of relevant literature is proposed, the starting points, such as threads of scholarship or legislative history, should be indicated. Where surveys or interviews are proposed, their purpose and the feasibility of access should be addressed. Specificity in the steps to be carried out in the research is important, but it is not necessary to set a timeline of milestones.
The Faculty Member page on this site and linked pages offer a sampling of our member’s publications. Refer to these listings for guidance on the topic areas for which the faculty is able to provide supervision. Proposals that are beyond the scope of research within the faculty, however strong in other respects, may be screened from consideration.
