Program Overview

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Postgraduate Research

Study

• Research areas
• Course types
• Find a supervisor
• Fees & funding
• How to apply
• King's Doctoral College

Comparative Literature Research MPhil/PhD

Key information

Award: MPhil PhD

Study mode: Full time Part time

Campus: Strand Campus

Duration: Expected to be PhD (initial registration for MPhil), three years FT, four-six years PT. October to October, February to February or June to June.

Description

The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures offers research strengths and opportunities for PhD supervision in Comparative Literature across all periods of modern, medieval and classical literature in major western European languages and in the modern languages of India, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Special research focuses include: African literature, the literature of the Middle East, Romanticism and revolution, gender studies and classical reception studies.

The Department has a vibrant and energetic research culture, in which postgraduate research students are fully involved. In the recent Research Excellence Framework assessment of our research (REF 2021) our research environment was rated 100% ‘world-leading’ (4), and research impact was rated 87.5% ‘world leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’ (3).

Research Areas

• Cultural responses to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda
• Radical texts in translation
• Classical reception in Caribbean and African diaspora literature
• Interactions between ancient and modern literature and thought
• National multilingualism in South Asia and the Horn of Africa
• Oral traditions in world literature
• Conceptualisations of the ‘global’
• Linguistic ideas, language and translation in colonial and postcolonial South Asia
• Domesticity in surrealism and the European avant-garde
• French writing on Iran in the long nineteenth century
• Literatures of the Middle East and North Africa (Arabic, English, French)
• Cultural activism and advocacy
• Goethe’s thought

Partner Organisations

• Ongoing co-operation in research and student exchange takes place between the programme and the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Joint PhDs available: Exciting opportunities to gain a joint PhD with the University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore.

How to Apply

1. Your Proposal

• 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 will be required to submit a research proposal. This should include:
  • 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.

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’).
• 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.

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.
• Interviews: 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.
• 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.

5. Personal Statement and Supporting Information

• 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).
• 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.
• Previous Academic Study: A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained.
• 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.

Application Closing Date

• We encourage you to apply as early as possible so that there is sufficient time for your application to be assessed.
• 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.

Fees or Funding

UK Tuition Fees 2024/25

• Full time tuition fees: £6,168 per year (MPhil/PhD, Comparative Literature)
• Full time tuition fees: £6,168 per year (MPhill/PhD Comparative Literature Joint PhD Option with University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore)
• Part time tuition fees: £3,084 per year

International Tuition Fees 2024/25

• Full time tuition fees: £24,786 per year (MPhil/PhD, Comparative Literature)
• Full time tuition fees: £24,786 per year (MPhill/PhD Comparative Literature Joint PhD Option with University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore)
• Part time tuition fees: £12,393 per year

UK Tuition Fees 2025/26

• Full time tuition fees: £6,600 per year (MPhil/PhD, Comparative Literature)
• Full time tuition fees: £6,600 per year (MPhill/PhD Comparative Literature Joint PhD Option with University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore)
• Part time tuition fees: £3,300 per year

International Tuition Fees 2025/26

• Full time tuition fees: £27,100 per year (MPhil/PhD, Comparative Literature)
• Full time tuition fees: £27,100 per year (MPhill/PhD Comparative Literature Joint PhD Option with University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore)
• Part time tuition fees: £13,550 per year

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.

Postgraduate Training

• Training for postgraduate research students is offered at various levels throughout PhD registration, including, at King’s, the courses and sessions offered by the Department, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the Centre for Doctoral Studies and the King’s Language Centre.
• Further afield training is offered by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership and the Institute of Modern Languages Research of the University of London.

Entry Requirements

UK Requirements

• Master of Arts degree with Merit and a minimum of 65% overall in a subject in which the study of literature plays a significant part; applicants must have the linguistic skills relevant to their research project, or be willing to develop them.

Equivalent International Qualifications

• Select a country to view the equivalent 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.