Program Overview

English Literature

Overview

Research in the Department of English brings the core values of our discipline - textual scholarship, critical and theoretical analysis, and contextual knowledge - to the dynamic and changing field of English literary studies. We cover the full chronological range, from the medieval to the contemporary period, with many colleagues engaged in interdisciplinary research.

We are proud of our expertise in medieval and early-modern literature, in Romantic and Victorian literature, in modernism, and in contemporary writing in English. The department is notable for its breadth of research in English poetry across the periods, and our range of specialist interests includes literary theory, the history of the book, literature and science, literature and medicine, literature and the environment, digital humanities, women's writing and gender studies, queer writing, postcolonial literature, Black British writing, world literatures in English, 20th-century American literature, and Welsh and Anglo-Welsh writing.

In these and other areas we foster doctoral research both within the department and in collaboration with other departments at Bristol and beyond, including in art history, medical sciences, philosophy, history, politics, drama, classics, theology and modern languages.

Key Information

• Programme duration: MPhil: one year full-time; two years part-time. PhD: up to four years full-time; up to eight years part-time.
• Start date: January 2025, September 2025, January 2026.
• Application deadline:
  • January 2025 start: 1 December 2024.
  • September 2025 start: Overseas applicants: 25 July 2025. Home applicants: 1 August 2025.
  • January 2026 start: 1 December 2025.
• Delivery method: Distance Learning, On-Campus
• Location: Clifton
• Awards available: PhD, MPhil

Programme Structure

• MPhil: a stand-alone, one-year (full-time) research degree. Students will undertake their own research project, concluding with the submission of a 25,000-word dissertation. Students may have the option to audit units from our taught master's programmes if they are relevant to their research.
• PhD: a research project undertaken across four years (full-time, minimum period of study three years), culminating in an 80,000-word thesis. As well as having the option to audit taught units where appropriate, there may be the potential for PhD students to teach units themselves from their second year of study onwards.

World-Leading Research

• Ranking: 5th in the UK for research (Times Higher Education)
• Research quality: 94% of our research assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Entry Requirements

• MPhil: An upper second-class degree or international equivalent. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of your readiness to pursue a research degree.
• PhD: A master's qualification, or be working towards a master's qualification, or international equivalent. Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree (or international equivalent). Applicants with a non-traditional background may be considered provided they can demonstrate substantial equivalent and relevant experience that has prepared them to undertake their proposed course of study.

English Language Requirements

• If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level A.

Fees and Funding

• Home: full-time: £4,850 per year
• Home: part-time: £2,425 per year
• Overseas: full-time: £21,300 per year
• Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.

Alumni Discount

• University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study.

Funding and Scholarships

• The University of Bristol is part of the South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (SWW DTP), which will be offering studentships for September 2025. For information on other funding opportunities, including University-funded studentships, please see the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences funding pages.

Career Prospects

• A large number of graduates from this programme develop careers in higher education or work on high-level research projects in the field of English Literature. Some graduates take up careers in freelance writing and editing.

Meet Our Supervisors

• The following list shows potential supervisors for this programme. Visit their profiles for details of their research and expertise.
  • Dr Tamsin Badcoe
  • Dr Jennifer Batt
  • Professor Andrew Bennett
  • Dr Andrew Blades
  • Dr Ian Calvert
  • Dr Stephen Cheeke
  • Dr Lesel Dawson
  • Professor Alison Donnell
  • Dr Natalie Ferris
  • Dr Erin Forbes
  • Professor Helen Fulton
  • Dr Timothy Gao
  • Dr Josie Gill
  • Dr Cleo Hanaway-Oakley
  • Dr Edward Holberton
  • Dr Cathy Hume
  • Dr Stephen James
  • Dr Michael Kalisch
  • Professor Rowena Kennedy-Epstein
  • Dr Doseline Kiguru
  • Professor Madhu Krishnan
  • Dr John Lee
  • Dr Michael Malay
  • Dr Noreen Masud
  • Dr Samantha Matthews
  • Professor Ulrika Maude
  • Dr Kate McClune
  • Dr John McTague
  • Dr Rachel Murray
  • Professor Ralph Pite
  • Dr Laurence Publicover
  • Dr Tara Puri
  • Professor Ad Putter
  • Dr Leighan Renaud
  • Dr Theo Savvas
  • Dr Karen Skinazi
  • Dr Hattie Soper
  • Dr Florian Stadtler
  • Professor Matthew Steggle
  • Professor Leah Tether
  • Dr Maria Vaccarella
  • Dr Sebastiaan Verweij
  • Dr William Wootten
  • Dr Jane Wright

Research Groups

• We see postgraduate study as a vital component of our research culture, with students bringing their own ideas and initiatives to fruition and engaging in research conversations with their fellow students and academic staff.

Research Areas

• Medieval
• Early Modern to 1780
• The Long Nineteenth Century
• Modern and Contemporary Literature
• Literatures of the Global South
• Creative Writing and Creative Practice
• Material and Digital Texts
• Poetry and Poetics
• Literature, Science and Medical Humanities
• Literature and the Environment
• Spatial Humanities
• Gender and Sexuality
• Race and Ethnicity.