PhD Studentship in Corporate Governance and Capital Markets
Explore the future of corporate governance and investor stewardship in modern capital markets at King's College London.
Best for:Best for legal scholars and graduates with a strong interest in corporate law, financial regulation, and empirical or comparative legal research.
Overview
This PhD studentship project at King's College London investigates how shifting ownership structures, institutional investment, and regulatory reforms are transforming corporate governance and capital markets. Supervised by Dr Dionysia Katelouzou and Dr Martin Bengtzen, the successful candidate will design an original research project applying doctrinal, comparative, empirical, or interdisciplinary methods. Candidates are expected to address pressing questions regarding board accountability, shareholder power, investor stewardship, and regulatory design. The position offers a structured pathway into legal scholarship with full integration into the law research community.
What you'll do
- Formulate and develop an original doctoral research project focusing on corporate governance and capital markets.
- Conduct thorough theoretical, doctrinal, comparative, or empirical legal research within the agreed scope.
- Engage with academic literature across corporate law, financial regulation, and governance studies.
- Draft comprehensive working papers, conference presentations, and a doctoral thesis for examination.
- Participate actively in research seminars, workshops, and academic events organized by the law school.
Requirements
Degree required: Master's degree or equivalent in Law or a closely related discipline
Degree offered: PhD
Language: English; meeting standard university postgraduate English language proficiency requirements
Instruction: English
- Demonstrated academic background in corporate law, corporate governance, or financial regulation
- Capacity to design and execute an independent legal research project
- Strong written and oral communication skills in English
- Familiarity with doctrinal, comparative, or empirical research methodologies
- Open to applicants meeting standard entry requirements for the Law Research MPhil/PhD programme at King's College London
Funding & terms
How to apply
Deadline: 2026-12-01
Submit an application for the Law Research MPhil/PhD programme through the King's Apply portal. Ensure you tick the box indicating you have applied to a King's funding scheme on the funding section of the application form and enter the reference code LAW2027.
- CV
- Research proposal
- BSc + MSc transcripts
- Reference letters
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