Water Law, Policy and Science

Entry requirements

Honours degree at 2.1 or above, or a Masters degree in a relevant discipline. For full entry requirements please see website.

Months of entry

January, December, November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February

Course content

The three research areas of the IHP-HELP Centre are as follows: Water Law, Policy, and Science.

Our research areas map those of our teaching, which our research is instrumental in supporting. Our research areas are mutually supporting: our science provides a sound empirical framework for legal research work of the Centre; International Water Law sets the context for permissible National Water Law - practical research tools developed by the Centre, in particular the Legal Assessment Model, allow practitioners to put this theory into practice; and research into the Legal Regulation of Water Services combines consideration of national parameters (i.e. government regulation) and multi-national water service providers.

The combination of law and science is in fact often achieved here through our focus on Policy issues, an approach that offers our researchers the chance to consider both societal constraints (through, for example, law and economics) and those of the human and natural world.

Water Law Research:

• International Water Law;
• National Water Law;
• Regulation of Water Services.

Policy Research

Sustainable water management is the focus of concern for many different groups in society today, including politicians, water managers, scientists, the public, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO)s and industry. Their concerns are however diverse, ranging from worries over the effects of increasing demands on the quantity and economic uses of water, to worries over the quality of water and its effects on people and nature. However, while effort is put into improving water management within these sectors, a major challenge is to combine these different perspectives in sustainable water use. This is where policy analyses can help us, as it can provide insights into how different groups in society formulate their demands, and into how governments and authorities attempt to put these demands and their preferred solutions into practice. The analysis of water policy can help us identify the main actors and institutions involved, and the ways in which law and policy are combined in the move to more sustainable water and environmental management.

Scientific Resarch:

• Water and Wetland Ecosystem Service;
• Land Use, Hydrology and Flood Risk Management;
• Integrated Catchment Management; and
• Water Quality.

Department specialisms

Water Law Policy Science

Information for international students

Please visit our website.

Fees and funding

Current studentship vacancies can be found on our website.

Qualification and course duration

PhD