Program Overview

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German Research MPhil/PhD

Key information

Award: MPhil, PhD Study mode: Full time, Part time Campus: Strand Campus Duration: Expected to be: MPhil two years FT, three years PT; PhD three years FT, four-six years PT. October to October, February to February or June to June.

Study environment

Base campus

Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

Postgraduate research environment

As a postgraduate research student in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures you will join a vibrant research culture which features sustained reflection and dialogue on our subject areas. You will work closely with designated primary and secondary supervisors, and benefit from regular feedback from other staff members. You will see your primary supervisor regularly and are strongly encouraged to attend research seminars and research-related events in the department and beyond. There are multiple opportunities to gain experience in the presentation and dissemination of your research and to exchange ideas with fellow students and members of staff.

We offer a dedicated study space for our postgraduate research students in the Virginia Woolf building.

The PhD programme in German offers a diverse range of postgraduate students working in all kinds of areas. We offer a range of distinct PhD programmes, including joint programmes that offer unique opportunities for co-supervision in the UK and Germany. The MPhil/PhD in German is based at King’s College London, and leads to a PhD from King’s College. Our Joint-PhDs with the Humboldt University of Berlin or the University of Stuttgart involve at least one year at our partner institutions in Berlin or Stuttgart, and lead to a Joint-PhD conferred by both institutions.

Our current research students work mainly in cultural and historical studies from the Middle Ages to the present day, including literary studies, film and cinema studies; theatre studies; literary and cultural theory; and the history of ideas. The Department's links with History and European Studies also provide an important focus for research on migrant communities; post-1945 political movements; gender and politics; international relations; European identities and German history.

Joint PhDs - Benefits of collaboration

The Joint-PhD is an innovative integrated programme that offers unique opportunities for the very best PhD supervision in a pan-European context. The programmes offered provide candidates with the opportunity to divide their PhD study between two prestigious universities enjoying full supervision at both. While supervisions and regular graduate seminars enable students to construct a theoretical, historical and systematic framework for their research, the Joint-PhD also organizes international colloquia and workshops at which students can present and discuss their work with peers and academic staff across the institutions involved. The programme builds on an extensive network of existing institutional links, joint teaching experience and collaborative graduate programmes between King’s and the partner universities.

Joint PhD with the Humboldt University, Berlin

The programme builds on an extensive network of existing institutional links, joint teaching experience, emerging research collaborations, and collaborative graduate programmes between King’s and the Humboldt. Current and recent research projects include studies on the Modernist Novel, female sexuality in medieval writing, transtestimonial Holocaust memory, German-language texts of post-Yugoslav migration, and 21st-century monster texts.

Joint PhD with the University of Stuttgart

This well-established PhD programme leads to the award of a Joint PhD. It provides candidates with the opportunity to divide their PhD study between two prestigious universities, and to access resources at partner institutions including the German Literature Archive in Marbach and the Institute for the History of Medicine of the Robert Bosch Foundation. Recent and current research projects include the internationalization of satire in Early Modern texts; history, translation and poetics in early 20th-century texts; the global dissemination of theories of totalitarianism; the role of journals in the dissemination of poetics; Jewish women’s life writing.

Entry requirements

UK requirements

• Bachelor's degree with 1st class or 2:1 Honours in German Studies or a relevant subject
• and preferably also a taught Master's degree

Equivalent International qualifications

Select a country to view equivalent international qualifications.

English language requirements

English language band: C

To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You are usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.

Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (of at least three years duration), a postgraduate taught degree (of at least one year), or a PhD in a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.

Fees or Funding

UK Tuition Fees 2024/25

• Full time tuition fees: £6,168 per year (MPhil/PhD, German Research)
• Part time tuition fees: £3,084 per year (MPhil/PhD, German Research)

International Tuition Fees 2024/25

• Full time tuition fees: £24,786 per year (MPhil/PhD, German Research)
• Part time tuition fees: £12,393 per year (MPhil/PhD, German Research)

UK Tuition Fees 2025/26

• Full time tuition fees: £6,600 per year (MPhil/PhD, German Research)
• Part time tuition fees: £3,300 per year (MPhil/PhD, German Research)

International Tuition Fees 2025/26

• Full time tuition fees: £27,100 per year (MPhil/PhD, German Research)
• Part time tuition fees: £13,550 per year (MPhil/PhD, German Research)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

How to apply

1. Your proposal

Before you submit your application via the admissions portal, you should consider the following guidance and take the following steps in preparation of your application:

• Define your topic: begin with an idea of the area you wish to do research in.
• Refine your proposal. As part of the application process you (see below) will be required to submit a research proposal. This should include the following:
  • the central research question(s) you intend to address;
  • a critical assessment of the relevant published scholarship on the research topic and its related field, indicating how you expect your own project to expand, complement or challenge that existing body of scholarship by the discovery of new materials and data or new analytical insights;
  • The material scope of the project, e. the materials and resources that will be your object of study
  • Methodological tools and approaches to be employed (including any training you may require; you should already have the language proficiency appropriate to your research programme);
  • A proposed plan and schedule of work, to show that your project can be completed within three years (four years including writing up) if you are a full-time student, or seven years (eight including writing up) if you are a part-time student. These are now the maximum allowed registration times for PhD students.

2. Approach the department

• Find a supervisor: Search for academics working in the field you wish to study (see the ‘People’ section of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures website, or the King’s ‘Research Portal’( There need not be an exact correlation between your proposal and their research interests, after all it should be a 'unique' project, but they should be equipped to advise you on secondary reading and where to find sources if relevant.
• Contact your supervisor: It is best to contact your proposed supervisor before you apply. You can then discuss your proposal with them, ensuring that they are happy with the topic. They will also at this time be able to give you advice on your Research Proposal - particularly important if you are hoping to apply for funding.

3. Applying and interviews

• Apply: Once you have been in touch with the supervisor and they have provisionally agreed to your proposal, apply to the college for a place.
• Candidates seriously being considered for entry onto the PhD programme are normally invited for interview by two or members of the Department’s academic staff, normally including the prospective supervisor and the Research Admissions Tutor.

4. Joint PhDs - Application advice

Applications are welcome from a range of disciplines in the Arts and Humanities to the Joint PhD programmes in German with the Humboldt University, Berlin and the University of Stuttgart, and for the PhD programme in Comparative Literature, with the University of Hong Kong and the National University of Singapore.

N.B. The Joint PhD programmes in German are bilingual and applicants are expected to have a good or excellent knowledge of both English and German.

Applicants for the Joint PhD programme must contact the relevant departments at both universities before submitting an application in order to discuss the suitability of their topic for the joint programme and to locate potential supervisors. Applications should initially be submitted to the proposed home institution only, i.e. where the student will start and finish their programme. Students should note that acceptance onto the programme may take slightly longer than for single-institution PhDs because of the additional steps involved. Further details, including FAQs, can be found on the King’s Worldwide web pages.

Applicants who choose King’s as their home institution should apply through the online system, selecting the appropriate Joint PhD option from the drop-down list. In addition to the standard supporting documentation, applicants should submit a Travel Plan form indicating how they intend to divide their time between the two partner institutions. Students must spend a specified amount of time in each institution, details of which can be found in the ‘Notes’ section of the Travel plan form.

It is recommended that students submit applications for the Joint PhD programme by the end of March to begin the following September.

5. Personal statement and supporting information

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Personal statement: A personal statement is required. This can be entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as an attachment to the online application form (maximum 2 pages). The personal statement should include an account of your academic career to date, your reasons for wishing to pursue a graduate research programme and the particular project as proposed.
• Research Proposal: The proposal should explain in some detail precisely the field of study that you want to contribute to, what you want to do and how you propose to do it (see below for further guidance). For more advice on how to write a winning application, please visit the following page.
• Previous Academic Study: A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
• References: One academic reference is required. A professional reference will be accepted if you have completed your qualifications over five years ago.
• Writing Sample: If you have any relevant recent examples of substantial research-based writing, e.g. from an MA degree, then these can be attached to your application.
• Other: You may also wish to include a CV (Resume) or evidence of professional registration as part of your application.

6. Application closing date

We encourage you to apply as early as possible so that there is sufficient time for your application to be assessed. We may need to request further information from you during the application process.

The final application deadlines are detailed below; on these dates, the programme will close at 23:59 (UK time) and we will open for the corresponding intake in 2026 soon after the same intake has passed in 2025.

• February 2025 entry – 20 October 2024 for Overseas fee status and 20 November 2024 for Home fee status
• June 2025 entry – 20 March 2025 for Overseas fee status and 11 April 2025 for Home fee status
• October 2025 entry – 25 July 2025 for Overseas fee status and 25 August 2025 for Home fee status
• February 2026 entry – 20 October 2025 for Overseas fee status and 20 November 2025 for Home fee status
• June 2026 entry – 20 March 2026 for Overseas fee status and 11 April 2026 for Home fee status

Please note that funding deadlines may be earlier than the application deadlines listed above.