English Literature (PhD)

Start date

3 July 2023

18 September 2023

15 January 2024

Duration

The maximum duration for a PhD is 3 years (36 months) full-time or 6 years (72 months) part-time with an optional submission pending (writing-up) period of 12 months.

Sometimes it may be possible to mix periods of both full-time and part-time study.

If studying on a part-time basis, you must establish close links with the University and spend normally not less than an average of 10 working days per year in the university, excluding participation in activities associated with enrolment, re-registration and progression monitoring. You are also expected to dedicate 17.5 hours per week to the research.

Application deadlines

For July 2023

24 April 2023 for Home, International and Scholarship students. The July 2023 intake is for full-time PhD students only

For October 2023

09 June 2023 for International and Scholarship students

30 June 2023 for Home students

For January 2024

20 October 2023 for International and Scholarship students

17 November 2023 for Home students

For April 2024

26 January 2024 for International and Scholarship students

23 February 2024 for Home students

About the research degree

A PhD is the highest academic award for which a student can be registered. This programme allows you to explore and pursue a research project built around a substantial piece of work, which has to show evidence of original contribution to knowledge.

Completing a PhD can give you a great sense of personal achievement and help you develop a high level of transferable skills which will be useful in your subsequent career, as well as contributing to the development of knowledge in your chosen field.

Our research degrees are available as full-time, part-time and some are offered distance learning.

You are expected to work to an approved programme of work including appropriate programmes of postgraduate study (which may be drawn from parts of existing postgraduate courses, final year degree programmes, conferences, seminars, masterclasses, guided reading or a combination of study methods).

This programme of research culminates in the production of a large-scale piece of written work in the form of a research thesis that should not normally exceed 80,000 words.

You will be appointed a main supervisor who will normally be part of a supervisory team, comprising of up to three members to advise and support you on your project.

Entry requirements

The normal level of attainment required for entry is:

Master's degree from a UK University or equivalent, normally with a classification of merit or distinction, in a discipline appropriate to the proposed programme, or
an upper second class honours degree (2:1) from a UK university in a discipline appropriate to that of the proposed programme, or
appropriate research or professional experience at postgraduate level, which has resulted in published work, written reports or other appropriate evidence of accomplishment.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 7.0 overall with no element lower than 6.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

Postgraduate Study

Allegra is studying for a PhD in English Literature. Watch her film to hear her talk about the research she's doing into the interwar novels of Charlotte Haldane, why she chose to study at Huddersfield, and how her supervisors have helped instil confidence in her as an academic.

Red Comet - New Publication

Critical acclaim has greeted a major biography of the poet and novelist Sylvia Plath, written by the American scholar Heather Clark, who is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the University of Huddersfield.

Titled Red Comet: The Short and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, the newly-published, 1,152-page book has been hailed as the definitive account of the life and work of the Boston-born writer who in 1956 married the English poet Ted Hughes. She suffered from depressive illness and in 1963, after the marriage had broken down, Plath committed suicide while living in London.

The tragedy of her end and controversy over her relationship with Yorkshire-born Hughes â who later became Poet Laureate â has often overshadowed Sylvia Plathâs literary career and accomplishments. Professor Clark has set out to redress the balance.

âI embarked on this book because I thought she had been overly pathologised in biographies, memoirs, TV dramas and so on. Too much attention has been paid to her suicide rather than her writing and literary career. I think she is one of the most important poets of the 20th century."

Ted Hughes Archive

A book of poems handwritten by their author and specially bound by his son is the latest addition to the University of Huddersfieldâs important archive of rare, precious and fascinating editions of the works of Ted Hughes. The collection now has more than 90 items, and is becoming an essential destination for serious scholars and devotees of the life and writings of the late Laureate.

Julie Irigaray - PhD Researcher

As a poet, I heard of the Huddersfield Literature Festival and the creative writing degrees the University offers, and I wanted to be part of this dynamic community. Iâm convinced that this PhD will enhance my own practice, be an asset securing a tutoring position in the area of creative writing and allow me to teach literature. I would definitely recommend this programme to anyone interested in modern and contemporary British, Irish and American poetry as the number of experts in these fields is impressive! Of course, anyone interested in Ted Hughes should join the Ted Hughes Network and be surrounded by passionate scholars.

Julie Irigaray - Literature and Creative Writing PhD Researcher

What can I research?

We have expertise in literature and culture from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries. Our particular areas of expertise include:

Lifewriting and literary biography
Environmental literature: Shakespeare to the present.
Women’s writing and the Renaissance
The Victorian period and its afterlife
Representations of Romani history and experience
Literature of canals, waterways and rivers, the ‘Blue Humanities’
Literatures of ageing
Narrating illness
Contemporary women novelists
Modern and contemporary poetry, in particular Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Philip Larkin, Seamus Heaney
Postmodernism and beyond

We also welcome proposals that fall in the general areas of: Contemporary and Modern Literature, the Victorian Period, the Long Eighteenth Century, the Renaissance, and the Medieval Period.

There are different ways to find the right research topic for you:

Find a supervisor and design your own research project – explore the Huddersfield Research Portal to find research and researcher expertise to find the area you’re interested in.
Browse our listed funded opportunities.
To find out more about the research we conduct, take a look at our Research, Innovation and Skills webpages, where you will find information on each research area. (https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-subjects/english/) To find out about our staff visit ‘Our staff' which features profiles of all our academic staff.

You will need to complete a research proposal outlining your proposed project (to be submitted along with your research degree application form). We will then look for academics within the University who have the expertise and knowledge to supervise you and guide you through your research degree. You are encouraged to contact members of staff working in your area of interest prior to submitting an application.

Facilities

Oastler Research Study Area

Oastler Building

Library

Classroom

Oastler Breakout Space

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Researcher Environment

Huddersfield has over 1,000 research students. We have students studying on a part time and full time basis from all over the world with around 45% from overseas and 55% from the UK.

Research plays an important role in informing all our teaching and learning activities. Through research our staff remain up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, which means you develop knowledge and skills that are current and highly relevant.

If you are interested in finding our further information about our staff or research centres please refer to the [Research|www.hud.ac.uk/research] section of the website

In 2023/24 the full-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate researchers will be £4,765.

Tuition fees for UK researchers will cover the cost of your study at the University. For more information about funding, fees and finance for UK students, including what your tuition fee covers, please see our Fees and Finance. Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years of study may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X).

If you are interested in studying with us on a part-time basis, please visit our Fees and Finance pages for part-time fee information.

If you are an EU or international student coming to study at the University of Huddersfield, please visit the International Fees and Finance pages for full details of tuition fees and support available.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

In 2023/24 the part-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate researchers will be £2,420.

If you are interested in studying with us on a part-time basis, please visit our Fees and Finance pages for part-time fee information.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Fees and Finance

Tuition fees - full-time

In 2023/24 the full-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate researchers will be £4,765.

If you are interested in studying with us on a part-time basis, please visit our Fees and Finance pages for part-time fee information.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Tuition fees - part-time

In 2023/24 the part-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate researchers will be £2,420.

If you are interested in studying with us on a part-time basis, please visit our Fees and Finance pages for part-time fee information.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

When you are offered a place on a research degree, your offer will include confirmation of your supervisory team, and the topic you will be researching.

Whilst the University will use reasonable efforts to ensure your supervisory team remains the same, sometimes it may be necessary to make changes to your team for reasons outside the University’s control, for example if your supervisor leaves the University, or suffers from long term illness. Where this is the case, we will discuss these difficulties with you and seek to either put in place a new supervisory team, or help you to transfer to another research facility, in accordance with our Student Protection Plan.

Changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, for example the University being unable to access its buildings due to fire, flood or pandemic, or the University no longer being able to provide specialist equipment. Where this is the case, we will discuss these issues with you and agree any necessary changes.

Your research project is likely to evolve as you work on it and these minor changes are a natural and expected part of your study. However, we may need to make more significant changes to your topic of research during the course of your studies, either because your area of interest has changed, or because for reasons outside the University’s control we can no longer support your research. If this is the case, we will discuss any changes in topic with you and agree these in writing. If you are an international student, changing topics may affect your visa or ATAS clearance and if this is the case we will discuss this with you before any changes are agreed.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by the University’s Terms and Conditions and a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.