PhD English Literature

The highest academic degrees are the MPhil (Master of Philosophy) and the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) also known as the DPhil. The English Department welcomes applicants at this level.

This is an opportunity to work closely on a writer or topic within a supportive research environment. Alongside frequent meetings with both a first and second supervisor, PhD students are also invited to attend seminars led by staff and guest speakers, as well as a postgraduate reading group, in order gradually to develop the insights needed to complete their research.

The period of study required for the award of a PhD is three years full-time or six years part-time. Students are registered initially for the degree of PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), although their status is probationary until the first Annual Review has taken place, normally between 12 and 18 months from first registration. At the end of this period, the candidate submits a thesis (80,000-100,000 words) embodying the results of the research. This thesis must demonstrate familiarity with, and an understanding of the subject, its principal sources and authorities. It should display critical discrimination and a sense of proportion in evaluating evidence and the opinions of others. It must also embody an original contribution to the knowledge of the discipline either by the discovery of new knowledge or by the exercise of a new and independent critical approach.

The Department particularly welcomes research proposals related to its specialisms: Charles Dickens, his novels and journalism; the 19th-century novel; 19th-century poetry; Shakespeare; Modernism and early 20th-century literature; 20th-century poetry; the short story; contemporary writing; women’s writing.

Recent projects include:

• “That Noble Profession”: Collaboration, Print Culture, and Political Journalism in the Brontë Juvenilia
• Narratological Deceptions: The Significance of the Golden Age of Magic in English Literature
• The Visual Art, Fiction, and Non-Fiction of Charles Allston Collins (1828-1873)
• The Whole Thing: The Critical Prose of J. H. Prynne
• A Pathology of Desire: The Dismembered Self in the Short Stories of Daphne du Maurier
• A Social Representation and Discourse Analysis of Selected Regional Chartist Poetry from the South Midlands, London, Scotland, and Wales