English Literature
The PhD programme in English Literature offers the opportunity for postgraduate students to make an original contribution to knowledge in their chosen field of study and to become part of a thriving, internationally-renowned research community.
We welcome applications for research across the chronological and theoretical range of English Literature.
Successful applicants will be supervised by academic staff working at the forefront of their fields and leading debate in the ever-changing environments of the discipline.
Doctoral students are encouraged to push beyond the boundaries of critical commonplaces, to think differently and to participate fully in the rich intellectual life of the School. As well as working closely with a dedicated supervisor, or supervisors, students are able to develop their projects within the context of a dynamic and well-resourced interdisciplinary research culture.
Programme aims
The culmination of the PhD in English Literature is a sustained piece of written work that makes an original contribution to knowledge and understanding in a chosen field of study. Successful PhD students are trained in the most sophisticated critical and theoretical practices in preparation for a career in Higher Education or professional employment requiring advanced research skills and subject knowledge at the highest level.
We value the rich experience of our many overseas students and actively attend to their specific needs in relation to their cultural context of study and, with the support of the School’s Writing Development Centre, the demands of writing elegantly in a second language.
Distinctive features
- A dynamic and supportive interdisciplinary research culture that connects the vibrancy of Cardiff’s literary and cultural location to the broader international contexts of the discipline
- Training to develop and enhance transferable skills that will increase their employability, both inside and outside of Higher Education, in an increasingly competitive jobs market
- Access to a diverse range of research training and professional development opportunities, including a generic training programme and a thesis workshop that allow students the opportunity to present work in progress
- Access to a dedicated suite of research rooms
- Graduate teaching opportunities on the undergraduate degree upon application as such opportunities arise, with support from the University’s Learning and Teaching Academy via the Associate Fellowship Programme for those undertaking graduate tutoring roles
- Postgraduate research students can apply for School funding to attend academic conferences and/or undertake archival/library visits.
Key facts
| Mode of study | Full-time, part-time |
|---|---|
| Qualification | PhD, MPhil |
| Full-time duration | 3 years (PhD), 1 year (MPhil) |
| Part-time duration | 5 years (PhD), 2 years (MPhil) |
| Start dates | January, April, October |
Skills developed
In addition to working closely with a supervisor, doctoral students attend a weekly thesis workshop, which offers discipline-specific research training as well as opportunities to share work-in-progress with other students.
The workshops run alongside the integrated research and professional skills training programme, which includes career management skills, offered by the Doctoral Academy.
Assessment
The PhD is assessed by submission of a thesis of 80,000 words and a viva voce examination.
The MPhil is assessed by submission of a thesis of 50,000 words and a viva voce examination.
'I’m particularly struck by our communal interest in what goes on at the interface of different traditions, methodologies, theoretical approaches, disciplines and practices. It gives Cardiff a particular entry into cutting-edge research that continually engenders new and exciting questions both for our staff and, through our PhD supervision and our research-led teaching, also for our students at all levels' (Professor Ann Heilmann, Director of Research in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy).
Research environment
Placed 4th in the UK for research impact and 5th for research power in English Language and Literature (REF2021), the School’s commitment to the intellectual and professional development of its postgraduate students is underpinned by the provision of a high-quality supervisory experience, advanced-level research training and access to the resources necessary to help each student flourish intellectually and work productively.
The vitality of the English Literature research community is evidenced by the diverse range of research clusters: digital cultures; visual cultures; gender and sexuality and Welsh cultures.
In addition, the School runs a student-led annual research conference for postgraduates working in English Literature, Creative and Critical Writing, Critical and Cultural Theory and Philosophy, the aim of which is to foster interdisciplinary conversations and to enhance students’ individual research and employability skills.
The Arts and Social Studies Library contains substantial collections in all our subject areas, together with extensive electronic resources. It is also home to Special Collections and Archives, which holds specialist collections, such as Cardiff Rare Books (a collection of over 14,000 items ranging from fifteenth-century incunabula to twentieth-century fine press books), as well as materials relating to Devolution, Eastern and Central Europe, the First World War, Illustrations, Labour history, Welsh literature and culture, Witchcraft, Women’s History and Gender Studies, the History of Medicine and Science—and much more.
Research projects
We offer expert supervision across the chronological and theoretical range of the discipline, with particular strengths in the following areas:
- African American literature
- book history
- children’s literature
- critical and cultural theory
- cultural history
- digital humanities
- editing theory and practice
- experimental writing
- film and adaptation
- gender and sexuality studies
- gothic
- historicism (new-Elizabethan, neo-Medieval, neo-Victorian, counter-Romantic)
- illustration studies
- literary history
- literature of the long eighteenth century
- literature and the environment
- literature and law
- literature and science
- literature and slavery from 1760 to the present
- manuscript culture
- medical humanities
- medieval literary and cultural studies (including medieval afterlives)
- modern drama
- modernist literature
- Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English literature
- postcolonial literature
- postmodernist literature
- renaissance literature
- romantic literature
- Shakespeare
- Victorian and neo-Victorian literature
- visual culture
- Welsh writing in English
- women’s writing and women’s literary history.
In a competitive jobs market, our students are encouraged and supported in building up the skills that will make them employable, whatever their career direction.
UK government postgraduate doctoral loans
Candidates for the Professional Doctorate programme may be eligible to apply for a UK government postgraduate doctoral loan.
Find out more about UK government postgraduate doctoral loansFunding
See our latest PhD studentships and projects and find out more about other funding opportunities.
Tuition fees
Students from the UK
Get the latest information on postgraduate fees.
Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
Get the latest information on postgraduate fees.
Students from the rest of the world (international)
A step by step guide to the application process.
Research proposal
Applications for research degrees should be accompanied by a research proposal of around 1,000 words maximum. This should include a draft title and establish key objectives in terms of the basic research questions you intend to address.
The proposal should additionally situate your work in relation to the wider field of existing scholarship; give an initial sense of the original contribution you hope to make and provide an indication of your intended research methodology. A preliminary bibliography of expected key sources should also be appended.
In addition to the research proposal, application form and supporting documents, we also require an essay on a literary topic of your choice (around 4,000 words, in English).
You are recommended to email the postgraduate administrator at encap-pg@cardiff.ac.uk with your research proposal prior to making a formal application.
Find out more details on how you write your research proposal.
Admission process
The Director of the Postgraduate Research Programme in English Literature assesses all applications, taking into consideration the quality and viability of the research project, as well as the capacity of staff to supervise it. This will include consultation with potential supervisors. Applicants who pass this initial stage of assessment will then be invited for interview.
Applications are welcome from graduates with at least a 2.1 in English Literature (and/or relevant discipline) and an MA in English Literature (and/or relevant discipline).
English language requirements
The School welcomes applications from students outside the United Kingdom. For non-native speakers of English, an IELTS overall score of 7.5 with at least 7.0 in each sub-score is essential.
Please read our English language requirements for more details.
Contacts
Administrative contact(s)
ENCAP Postgraduate Admissions
Administrative contact
