Program Overview

Comparative Literature PhD

Duration

• Full-time: 3 years
• Part-time: 6 years

Start Date

• September 2025

Fees

• UK fees: £5,006
• International fees: £23,000

Research Overview

Understand nations from the inside through careful analysis of their culture, literature, and media. Identify the intercultural social, political, historical, and philosophical influences that shape nations and add to the knowledge of how we interact as a global society.

The Comparative Literature PhD offers research degree supervision in all areas of comparative literature and comparative cultural studies, from the Middle Ages to the present. We have particular strengths in the cultural contexts of:

• French and Francophone studies
• Hispanic and Lusophone studies
• Slavonic studies
• German studies
• Chinese studies

We also welcome projects involving film, TV, and media studies.

Course Content

Before you start your research degree, you will have completed a research-preparation master's degree in a related discipline and have agreed on your research topic with a main supervisor and co-supervisor. You will work with this team closely for the duration of your study and are welcome to consult any other member of the department whose research seems relevant to your own work.

You are required to attend all departmental research seminars and special lectures and deliver at least one paper of your own each year, usually at the annual Postgraduate Forum or at a work-in-progress seminar.

At the end of three years' full-time registration, plus one year optional writing-up, you will have written a thesis of between 80,000-100,000 words on a topic that makes a significant contribution to research in comparative literature.

Entry Requirements

• Home / UK students: A first degree with at least 2:1, or an equivalent qualification (BA in Literature, Languages, Cultural Studies, or similar subject) and ideally some knowledge of a European language other than English. We would usually expect you to hold or be working towards a master's degree in a relevant subject.
• EU / International students: A first degree with at least 2:1, or an equivalent qualification (BA in Literature, Languages, Cultural Studies, or similar subject) and ideally some knowledge of a European language other than English. We would usually expect you to hold or be working towards a master's degree in a relevant subject. International and EU equivalents: We accept a wide range of qualifications from all over the world.
• IELTS: 7.0 (6.5 in each element)

Support

You will join a community of researchers from the UK and overseas, including the EU, the Middle and Far East, Latin America, and the United States. The diversity of cultural and disciplinary backgrounds provides a rich, rewarding, and supportive postgraduate community.

Our energetic research culture also involves a program of visiting speakers and regular symposia organized by staff and students. This will cover areas such as seminar presentations, film cycles, discussion panels, and much more.

Careers

Many of our postgraduates have chosen academic careers and are currently in full-time posts in the UK. Others have moved into the civil service, the cultural industries, the media, publishing, teaching, or translation.

The research training all our postgraduates follow equips them with a range of key transferable skills, such as analytical thinking, time management, and presentation and research skills.

75% of postgraduates from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures secured graduate-level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual salary for these graduates was £27,500.

Where You Will Learn

• University Park Campus covers 300 acres, with green spaces, wildlife, period buildings, and modern facilities. It is one of the UK's most beautiful and sustainable campuses, winning a national Green Flag award every year since 2003.
• Most schools and departments are based here. You will have access to libraries, shops, cafes, the Students' Union, sports village, and a health center.
• You can walk or cycle around campus. Free hopper buses connect you to our other campuses. Nottingham city center is 15 minutes away by public bus or tram.

Research in the School of Cultures, Languages, and Area Studies

Research students come to Nottingham from the UK and overseas, bringing with them diversity of cultural and disciplinary backgrounds which offers a rich, rewarding, and supportive postgraduate community to be part of.

As a modern languages research student, you will be involved in a program of visiting speakers and regular symposia organized by staff and students. This will cover areas such as seminar presentations, film cycles, discussion panels, and much more.

Research Excellence Framework

The University of Nottingham is ranked 7th in the UK for research power, according to analysis by Times Higher Education. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a national assessment of the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

• 88% of the Faculty of Arts' research was graded as world-leading or internationally excellent.
• 90% of our research is classed as 'world-leading' (4) or 'internationally excellent' (3).
• 100% of our research is recognized internationally.
• 51% of our research is assessed as 'world-leading' (4*) for its impact.