Postgraduate and PhD Opportunities

Our School fosters innovative research across a huge variety of forms.

Whether you are developing fresh analyses of centuries-old archival sources, working with contemporary critical theory, or crossing boundaries between creative and critical practice, you will find yourself part of a thriving community of critics, translators, writers and scholars. We offer fully-funded AHRC doctoral studentships annually, which are provided through the CHASE consortium, as well as faculty-funded studentships.

Research students are fully integrated in our research culture and participate in specialist research seminars that attract visiting scholars who are leaders in their fields. The school is also home to the British Centre for Literary Translation and our Literary Festivals and other events attract many writers to the University.

Our Graduate School offers a wide range of relevant training programmes. These include interdisciplinary seminars on methodology, as well as training on archival work, research ethics, copy editing, teaching, and career development. All PhD students in LDC can take advantage of bespoke training offered by the CHASE consortium, and have the opportunity to apply for a paid placement of up to six months (current students have undertaken placements in the National Centre for Writing, Bloomsbury Publishing, and the British Archive for Contemporary Writing). We aim to provide most of our research students with experience of undergraduate teaching, usually towards the end of their period of study.

Alumni from our PhD programme have gone on to lectureships, to establish careers as literary writers, and to various roles in the wider cultural sector.