Italian Studies

Entry requirements

A Bachelors (Honours) degree at 2:1 level or above (or its international equivalent) in a related subject; and

A UK Master's degree with an overall average of 65% or higher, with a minimum of 65% in the dissertation and with no mark below 55% (or its international equivalent) in a related subject.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

Our PhD Italian Studies programme enables you to carry out a piece of significant and original research at a department that undertakes internationally recognised research that is both wide-ranging and markedly interdisciplinary.

We have a particular focus on Modernism, arts and power, the Italian Fascist regime and European totalitarianisms, the history of the book and periodical studies, late medieval and Renaissance literary and cultural studies, translation studies, contemporary literature and arts, linguistics and sociolinguistics.

A considerable number of PhD candidates in Italian have pursued research across fields from the medieval to modern, including linguistics, cultural and translation studies, often supported by funding secured from major AHRC research project awards.

Italian was also at the forefront of the relaunch of the John Rylands Research Institute, based at the University's special collections, securing PhD bursaries for candidates working on the world-class holdings of early Italian printed books and manuscripts from the Spencer, Christie and Bullock collections.

Staff are also involved in collaborations with colleagues from institutions across the world, and have secured visiting professorships, fellowships and grants at Harvard University, Milan Statale University, Naples University, the Folger Library, the Morgan Library and the British School in Rome.

Our research culture is further enhanced by the presence of visiting professors and lecturers from Italy and the USA, participation in the interdisciplinary seminars held by CIDRAL, and our own research seminars.