Modern Languages and Cultures

Entry requirements

Our regular standard of admission is at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree (2:1), although candidates will usually also have completed or be undertaking a Masters qualification.

Research proposal

Candidates are required to provide a single page outline of the research subject proposed (approximately 1000 words). This need not be a final thesis proposal but should include:

• a straightforward, descriptive, and informative title
• the question that your research will address
• an account of why this question is important and worth investigating
• an assessment of how your own research will engage with recent study in the subject
• a brief account of the methodology and approach you will take
• a discussion of the primary sources that your research will draw upon, including printed books, manuscripts, archives, libraries, or museums
• an indicative bibliography of secondary sources that you have already consulted and/or are planning to consult

Your application, including your references and research proposal, will be passed to members of staff whose expertise and research interests most closely match the area of your proposed study.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

We have expertise and supervision in language, culture, sociolinguistics, literature and history for the subjects of French, German, Hispanic, Italian and Slavonic Studies, alongside a strong postgraduate community in Comparative Literature and Translation Studies.

Postgraduate students have the opportunity to explore ambitious transcultural projects that cut across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, we invite applications in the areas covered by our five School research clusters:

Visual Culture

In collaboration with the Stirling Maxwell Centre and building on the expertise in text/image research within the School, this cluster explores visual culture in literature and the arts in a broad sense (e.g., Mexican photography, French architecture and art, or Brazilian film).

Histories and Subjectivities

This cluster brings together researchers in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures whose work engages with life histories and autobiography, the body and emotions, gender studies, working lives and professional cultures, history and memory.

Writing in Transit/Cultural Translations

This cluster brings together our expertise in Comparative Literature, Translation Studies and cross-cultural research, exploring topics such as transnational writing, migration, (un)translatability, ethics and world literature.

Critical Editions and Translations

In close collaboration with Special Collections and researchers in other Schools of the College of Arts, this cluster explores textual cultures, drawing on the School’s expertise and experience in critical editions, book history and translations.

Language and Society (SocioLang)

This cluster transcends disciplinary boundaries. It builds a dialogue amongst researchers, policy makers and practitioners to explore the dynamics of language, society and change in multilingual contexts.

Information for international students

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

• 7.0 with no sub-test under 7.0.
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.