English PhD

English PhD is a PhD program taught at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, UK. The program is offered in campus-based modes with full-time (4 years full time or 5 years part time) options.

Royal Holloway and Bedford New College offers an English PhD in the Department of English, with research across the full chronological and specialist range of English literary study. Students develop a research project framed through a research proposal of 800-1000 words, detailing the research question, primary sources, and the critical approach. Creative writing projects also require the proposal to cover the critical side as well as the creative side.

The English PhD is delivered as research study with a dissertation and a viva voce examination. The dissertation is not more than 100,000 words. Practice-based PhD options include fiction, with 60,000–90,000 words of creative writing and 20,000–60,000 words of critical writing, and poetry and poetic practice, with 45–60 pages of poetry or equivalent practice-based output and 20,000–60,000 words of critical writing. Doctoral students participate in research seminars and can present work at or run conferences.

The minimum requirements for admission in English PhD at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College for all applicants (Domestic or International) are:

• program specific academic requirment set by Royal Holloway and Bedford New College.
• English Language OR any other language requirments as set by Royal Holloway and Bedford New College as pre-requiste for admission in English PhD.

Note: Please check the university website in the link below.

We typically expect students beginning an MPhil or an MPhil leading to a PhD degree to hold at least a UK 2:2 or equivalent Bachelor honours degree and at least a merit or equivalent at Master’s level.

• The application centres on a research proposal of 800-1000 words, which should detail the research question to be investigated, the primary sources, and the critical approach.
• Applications for Creative Writing projects should detail the critical side as well as the creative side of the research proposal.
• Before applying applicants should have made contact and secured a supervisor before submitting your application.
• We advise getting in touch with the Director of Postgraduate Education making an informal enquiry first for your chosen research degree to inquire whether there is any other additional material they require you to submit in your application.

• IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
• Pearson Test of English: 67 overall. Writing 76 no other subscore lower than 59.
• Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
• TOEFL ib: 88 overall, with Reading 18 Listening 17 Speaking 20 Writing 26.
• Duolingo: 120 overall, 135 in Literacy, 135 in Production and no sub-score below 100.

Please check detail of study units at https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/postgraduate/english/english-phd

• Academic careers in tertiary and secondary education
• Posts at the British Library
• Posts at Shakespeare’s Globe
• Museum, curation and arts management projects
• Creative Writing posts in academic institutions
• Published novels and books of poetry

85 fully funded scholarships are listed for UK. See UK scholarships.