MPhil/PhD in English Literature
Director of Postgraduate Studies: Dr Carl Plasa
Cardiff is known internationally for the quality of its research in English Literature and we welcome enquiries from prospective students, whether you wish to talk about your own possible projects and areas of interest or to obtain further information about PhD and MPhil programmes in English Literature.
We are committed to innovative research across a broad range of literary periods, theoretical fields, and cultural phenomena, with special emphasis on Late 19C/ Early 20C Literature, Modernism, Women's Writing, Postcolonial Studies, Wales and Ireland, Text and Image, Shakespeare and Renaissance Studies, Romanticism, Crime Fiction, Pre-Early Modern and Medieval, as well as areas as diverse as Old Norse and Modern Drama, Creative Writing and Arthurian Romance. Please see below for a full list.
Students who begin an MPhil or PhD programme without having taken an MA follow the same training course as is provided for the MA students, while working for their PhD/MPhil. There is also a full programme of seminars and workshops for PhD and MPhil students which run alongside their individual research work with their supervisors. Continuing PhD students attend a regular Reading Group and skills training sessions, as well as a number of student-led discussion groups throughout the year. As from their second year, students have the opportunity for teaching on the undergraduate English Literature degree and receive mentoring sessions from a full-time member of staff. Full-time PhD students are allocated study space which provides computing facilities, networked information and access to email and the internet.
Admissions Information
Applications are welcome from graduates with at least a 2.1 in English Literature (and/or a relevant discipline).
The School welcomes applications from students from outside the United Kingdom. More information is provided on our International Students page.
The MA in English Literature provides an ideal basis for students wishing to undertake research leading to the degree of PhD. Alternatively, in certain cases PhD students attend the first two terms of the MA course, and submit the assessed essays, before proceeding to full-time work on the thesis. Essays take account of the material taught in the course, but may also constitute draft sections of the doctoral project.
Research Opportunities for Postgraduate Research Students and Visiting Scholars
The following are particular strengths in the English Literature Research Group, and applications from well-qualified students to work with us are very welcome:
Crime Fiction
Professor Martin A. Kayman. Dr Heather Worthington
Cultural History
Dr Neil Badmington. Professor Martin A. Kayman. Dr Radhika Mohanram. Dr Jane Moore. Dr Carl Plasa.
Eighteenth-Century and Romantic Literature
Dr Melanie Bigold. Professor Martin A. Kayman. Dr Anthony Mandal. Dr Jane Moore.
Editing Theory and Practice
Dr Melanie Bigold. Professor Martin Coyle. Dr Anthony Mandal. Dr Julia Thomas.
Irish Studies
Dr Jane Moore.
Music and Theatre Studies
Dr Irene Morra. Professor Martin Coyle.
Old English and Old Norse Studies; Chaucer and Medieval Literature
Dr Carl Phelpstead.
Postcolonial Studies
Dr Radhika Mohanram. Dr Carl Plasa.
Shakespeare and Renaissance Studies
Professor Martin Coyle. Dr Irene Morra. Professor Richard Wilson.
Twentieth-Century and Modernism
Dr Neil Badmington. Dr Rob Gossedge. Dr Katie Gramich. Dr Carl Plasa. Dr Irene Morra. Dr Laurent Milesi. Dr Radhika Mohanram. Dr Becky Munford.
Victorian and Nineteenth-Century
Dr Rob Gossedge. Dr Anthony Mandal. Dr Carl Plasa. Dr Julia Thomas. Dr Heather Worthington.
Welsh Writing in English
Dr Katie Gramich.
Women Writers
Dr Melanie Bigold. Dr Katie Gramich. Dr Jane Moore. Dr Becky Munford.
Research Training
Research training is a vital element of our provision. Generic training is organised by and run through the University Graduate College.
At subject level, English Literature runs a weekly thesis workshop group for all PhD students. In addition, a flourishing programme of visiting speakers, coordinated in conjunction with the Centre for Editorial and Intertextual Research, provides a forum for the wider discussion of research and research methodologies.
Cardiff Humanities Research Institute (CHRI)
The Cardiff Humanities Research Institute, founded in 2007, provides an exciting forum for developing inter and cross-disciplinary work in the Humanities. The School plays an active role in the Institute which embraces both staff and postgraduate research activity.
Funding
For details of possible funding opportunities please visit the following sites:
See this course on the University's Coursefinder website.