Dr Jo Braithwaite, UK

PhD

"Prior to coming to Queen Mary, I completed an LLM at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford. I also qualified as a solicitor and practised litigation in a law firm. My PhD thesis (supervised by Professor Kate Malleson) was titled 'Explaining diversity initiatives in large London law firms' and completed in the 2007-8 academic year.

I chose to come to Queen Mary primarily because of my supervisor, Professor Malleson. I think that having a superviser with whom you work well, and who is enthusiastic about your project is absolutely vital. Because of the specific area of my PhD I was also attracted to Queen Mary because of the business school's Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity. There are growing links between the Department of Law and this Centre, and I have really benefited from attending events and meeting people there.

The PhD programme at Queen Mary has a lot going for it. There are a large number of PhD students in the Department of Law and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies who are friendly and very supportive of each other. I made some good friends amongst the PhD students and it was very encouraging and helpful to be able to compare how things were going. I also undertook academic projects with fellow PhD students, such as organising a conference and forming a panel to talk at an event, which I am sure I would not have done without enthusiastic peers and encouragement from Queen Mary.

I was also able to teach in the Department of Law during my PhD. This has been a great experience and has meant that I have got to know more members of faculty, and many more undergraduates than I would have otherwise. I hope to get an academic job after the PhD is completed, so teaching has been invaluable experience. Overall, I have found that PhD students at Queen Mary benefit from a good deal of support from faculty and peers and that there are many interesting opportunities available for students to pursue here during their course."