Jemima Joll, UK

MA Research in Law

"I chose to do the LLM course part-time at Queen Mary's which I really enjoyed. You were really stretched academically but there was a great cross section of nationality of students and good teaching in small groups and a huge range of options to chose from.

I learnt about the MA Research programme through a friend, who was on the LLM with me, who was going on to do it. It is a halfway house between the LLM and a PhD, it's different from the LLM as there is less emphasis on taught modules and more on personal research. It is a good way to see if you are really cut out to do a PhD in terms of both academic ability and the ability to sustain individual research over a long period, which can be quite isolating. You chose the area you would like to research in depth and write a 20,000 word thesis on it.

Through regular meetings with your supervisor you are not left to flounder alone. Deadlines are given to submit chapters and advice is given in terms of publications, structure etc. My thesis is entitled "Should parents be allowed to consent to cosmetic reconstructive surgery on behalf of their children?" focusing particularly on children who have Downs syndrome. I have found it a really interesting area to research, as there has been quite a lot in the press around this particular area e.g. the American child Ashley. What I am ultimately going to do with it, will depend somewhat on my result in September!"