The MPhil is a programme of independent, self-directed research reviewing or surveying and collating and evaluating existing knowledge in an approved topic and presenting the findings in a thesis for examination including a viva. Like the PhD, the MPhil develops your research and generic skills and is pursued under the guidance of a team of expert supervisors. It differs from the PhD in that it is a smaller scale of work, conducted over a shorter period of time and does not create new knowledge in the field. The MPhil can be taken as a separate, target award, but most commonly forms the initial stage of study within a linked MPhil/PhD programme, where the registration is upgraded to PhD once it is established that the work has the potential for an original contribution to knowledge. The Centre for Law, Gender and Sexuality at Westminster originated as part of a collaborative project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) between the law schools at the University of Kent, University of Keele and the University of Westminster.The Centre adopted a critical, interdisciplinary approach advancing research and scholarship that was theoretically informed and policy relevant. The work of the Centre was focused around three clusters, these were healthcare & bio-ethics, law & culture, and governance & regulation, as well as emergent research streams over the life span of the project such as religion & secularism. The Centre was committed to debating, disseminating scholarship, and networking with non-academics, working in related fields, through our workshops, non-academic associate fellow scheme, and by engaging with policy-makers, NGOs and lawyers over current legal developments and policy reform. The Centre was particularly attentive to developing activities and research programmes for post graduate and early career academics (PECANS).