To apply for our English PhD research degree you should have, or expect to be awarded, a Masters degree in a relevant English literary or linguistic field from a British or overseas university.

Exceptional applicants without a Master's degree, but holding a first class Bachelors degree in English, may be considered dependent upon the academic coherence and promise of their research proposal, and its consonance with the academic expertise of the School.

We also welcome enquiries from potential PhD researchers without formal academic qualifications but with appropriate levels of professional experience.

Please send us an initial PhD enquiry containing your brief PhD research proposal (max. 500 words), and/or any questions or queries you may have. Youll notice that it asks you whether youve thought about potential supervisors. Blanket applications, which leave this section blank, are often rejected. You may wish to contact one of our members of academic staff to discuss a potential project, and you are encouraged to do this. Applications, however, should be sent through official channels, beginning with the initial enquiry form.

We will review your initial enquiry to ensure your research proposal compliments one of our PhD research interests and if so we will ask you to make a full application.