This research degree is usually examined after three years of research by a thesis of up to 80,000 words. The criteria for obtaining the degree are that the thesis represents a 'substantial contribution to knowledge' and that it also represents a realistic amount of work for three years of study. The department can offer doctoral supervision on topics in a variety of early medieval languages and literatures (Old English, Old Norse, Medieval Welsh, Medieval Irish, Insular Latin), in the history of a comparable range of geographical areas (Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavia, Ireland, Wales, Brittany, and Scotland), as well as in palaeography. Applicants for the PhD who have not previously taken an MPhil, MA, or similar research foundation course in a closely related discipline to the one in which they wish to pursue their research are usually required to take the MPhil course before registering for the PhD. Those with relevant master's qualifications admitted into the PhD programme are registered for the degree towards the end of their first year if progress has been satisfactory.