Graduate School of
Arts, Languages and Cultures

The School of Arts, Languages and Cultures is one of the biggest groupings of Arts and Languages scholarship in the world, housing seventeen discipline areas:

• Archaeology
• Art History and Visual Studies
• Classics and Ancient History
• Drama
• East Asian Studies
• English, American Studies and Creative Writing
• French Studies
• German Studies
• History
• Italian Studies
• Humanities and Conflict Research Institute
• Linguistics and English Language
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Music
• Religions and Theology
• Russian and East European Studies
• Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
• Translation and Intercultural Studies

We offer the advantages of belonging to a specific subject area combined with the extensive choice and variety of being within a large and multi-disciplinary school, and have established the Graduate School as meeting place and resource centre for our diverse and dynamic postgraduate community.

As a member of the Graduate School you will benefit from access to great training, facilities and resources such as our new common rooms and workstations, and our world-leading library and archive collections. You will join a cutting-edge gathering of researchers in an internationally acclaimed research and learning environment unique in its breadth and range of interdisciplinary opportunities, and with close working links to the arts, cultural and heritage sectors in the North West and beyond.

Student Experience

As well as high class teaching and supervision you will have the opportunity to participate in cultural exchange trips, field work and other off-campus activities. There is a dedicated travel fund for research-related activities for both PGR and PGT students. The School is also home to the University Language Centre which offers specialist training in a language related to your work.

In Manchester the student experience encompasses the North West's great cultural institutions - with access to the John Rylands Library, the Whitworth Gallery, the Manchester Museum, Jodrell Bank (all owned by the University), as well as a huge number of partnerships with institutions as diverse as the Jewish History Museum, the Manchester Literature Festival, the Imperial War Museum North, Chetham's Library, or Nexus Art Café. These partnerships are based on research, knowledge exchange and other collaborative activities, including an accredited work placement scheme convened by the Institute for Cultural Practices which offers all PGT students the chance for a unique experience working within the cultural sector.

Our success as a Graduate School is reflected in the happiness of our graduate community. Every year around half of our incoming PhD cohort who trained at MA level with us decide to stay on in Manchester to pursue their research. They are joined by a globally diverse body of students.

Employability

A postgraduate degree from the University of Manchester is an impressive addition to your profile. It demonstrates that you are critical, self-aware, able to communicate effectively, and that you have highly developed intellectual and analytical skills. In the Graduate School here you will be taught and guided by inspiring academics and be part of the highest quality educational experience, ensuring that you are highly sought after by employers.All postgraduate students can make use of the University's award-winning Careers Service.

Postgraduate programmes

The School offers 36 Postgraduate Taught programmes, 35 Doctoral programmes, and 3 Professional Doctorates across its subject areas - download a brochure or search for a course

At PhD level weoffer a very wide range of supervision, thanks to the diverse expertise of our academic staff and the size of the academic community in Manchester. All doctoral students are encouraged to share their work by giving conference papers and, indeed, organising workshops and symposia. Our research students are extremely successful, many going on to academic, professional, and education careers.

Funding for postgraduate studies

The School's postgraduate community is one of the largest and most diverse and dynamic postgraduate communities in the UK, and is committed to supporting financially the best qualified applicants. Each year the School distributes approximately £800,000 in studentships and bursaries for postgraduate study. There are a range of awards on offer for both Home/EU and Overseas students at MA level and PhD level and the School has an excellent track record in helping students gain external funding from the main UK funding councils. There are also specific scholarships for Overseas applicants to both MA and PhD programmes.

All of our postgraduate courses are available both in both full-time and part-time mode and the School is committed to helping students find ways of meeting the financial commitments of postgraduate study. For further information please see our Funding webpages.

Facilities

Training programme

At The Graduate School we offer one of the best training programmes in the UK. Run by artsmethods@manchester, our training allows you to become the best researcher and tap your potential. You might encounter new and challenging ways of thinking, talk to documentary makers, think about your career, or discuss issues with researchers from several different disciplines. MA students can also accessartsmethods@manchester resources in addition to their own bespoke skills training within the School.

Working and networking

The Graduate School has dedicated common room spaces, a training room, several workstation rooms with lockers, computers and printers.

Cultural collections and archives

The John Rylands Library is one of the largest academic libraries in the country. Its outstanding collections have been built up over many years and there is generous funding for current books, periodicals and information technology. The Whitworth Art Gallery is owned by the University and located on campus. It hosts exhibitions on modern and contemporary art and comprises one of the north-west's finest collections. Also owned by the University and sited at the centre of the campus, the Manchester Museum has outstanding collections of ethnographic, classical and other ancient artefacts. Leading novelist Jeanette Winterson is Professor of Creative Writing at our Centre for New Writing and undertakes a series of landmark events each year.

Contact detials

Postgraduate Recruitment and Admissions Office
School of Arts, Histories and Cultures
Room 2.14, Mansfield Cooper Building
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
United Kingdom

Tel: +44(0)161 275 3144 or +44(0)161 306 1259
Fax: +44(0)161 275 3098
Email: SAHCpg@manchester.ac.uk
Web: www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/