English

Program Overview

English

Overview

MPhil/PhD students work alongside researchers within the following research centres:

• Centre of Victorian Studies (CVS)
• 18 Century Narrative Consortium
• Exeter Centre for Literatures of Identity, Place and Sustainability (ECLIPSE)
• Centre for Literature and Archives
• Centre for Intermediate and Creative Technology

Research Overview

Research Centres and Groups

• Centre for Victorian Studies (CVS) The CVS covers all areas of Victorian Britain and the Empire: culture (high Victorian and fin de siecle literature, gender, and sexuality); science (biology and economics); technology (print, optical and sound media).
• Centre for Literature and Archives The centre holds many resources and manuscripts in the Special Collections archive, and actively encourages students to engage with this material.
• Centre for Intermedia and Creative Technology English staff are also involved in the College's interdisciplinary centre which promotes advanced transdisciplinary research in performance and the arts through collaborations between artists, academics and scientists from a range of disciplines.
• Research Group - 20th Century, Creative Writing and Film Studies The diverse work of this large group includes specialist research on African-American writers; the American South; autobiography and life-writing; American and British modernism; postcolonial literature; Irish poetry; Conrad; Joyce; Lawrence; war poetry; Plath and Hughes; writing the city; South West writing; US cinema; early cinema; digital cinema and animation; film genres; film style, film sound and film history; US TV series and serials.
• Research Group - 19th Century Our 19th-century research includes specialist work on the fin-de-siècle; social and feminist theory; the New Woman; Victorian psychology; Queen Victoria; Darwinism and eugenics; Victorian poetry; Charles Dickens; and William Morris.
• Research Group - 18th Century Members of the 18th-Century research group specialise in: women poets of the Romantic era; the eighteenth-century novel; epic poetry; transatlantic relations; the development of the literary canon; feminist literary history and theory; oriental tales; Jane Austen; Aphra Behn; Frances Burney; James Fenimore Cooper; Oliver Goldsmith; Thomas Grey; Anna Seward; and Mary Wollstonecraft.
• Research Group - Medieval and Renaissance The work of this group includes specialist research on the Middle English religious tradition; hermits and anchorites; literature and nationalism; Renaissance drama; satire; witchcraft and magic; politics and patronage; literature of the English Revolution; literature of foreign and domestic travel; science and literature; archaeology and literature; Renaissance drama in performance on film; Shakespeare; Spenser; Marvell; and Milton.

How to Apply

Entry Requirements

• You should possess a honed talent for creative writing evident in your creative sample and writing experience, as well as a clear proposal demonstrating your ambition to create a piece of work to a publishable standard.
• In reviewing your application we will consider the strength and potential of your writing sample and proposed creative work, as well as the ability of our staff and resources to support you through completion of your work.
• Applicants will generally have achieved a first or upper second class honours degree (or equivalent), and an MA with merit (or comparable achievement).
• Evidence of publication, though not a necessity, is highly desirable.

MPhil/PhD

• All students are initially registered for the MPhil, with the expectation of being upgraded later in their studies, if appropriate, to the PhD programme.

Requirements for International Students

• If you are an international student, please visit our international equivalency pages to enable you to see if your existing academic qualifications meet our entry requirements.
• English Language Requirements
  • International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course.
  • The required test scores for this course fall under Profile E: view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

Fees and Funding

Fees 2025/26

• Home: £5,006 full-time; £pro-rata part-time
• International: £23,500 full-time

Fees 2024/25

• Home: £4,786 full-time; £pro-rata part-time
• International: £22,600 full-time

Current Funding Opportunities

• Our Postgraduate Funding webpage provides links to further information.
• If you are considering a PhD in the future, in addition to University of Exeter funding, we have been successful at securing postgraduate funding for PhD research through our Funded centres.

Supervision

• You can expect:
  • High-quality research supervision to develop and nurture your potential
  • A tailored supervision approach to help best suit your requirements
  • Access to a mentor who will take on a pastoral role and mediate on any problems that arise during the period of study
  • Accessible supervisors who are enthusiastic about working directly with postgraduate research students
  • Regular timetabled meetings with your supervisor
  • 'Open door' policy to all postgraduate students - instant access to world-leading researchers who will share their expertise and ideas with you
  • Regular meetings with your supervisory team, other members of your research group, and mentors

Facilities

Exeter

• We have a number of specialist research resources and projects available to postgraduates: The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is the largest film-related archive in the UK outside the British Film Institute; the Chris Brooks Collection is a major resource for scholars of Romanticism and 19th-century fiction and culture; and the Global Circulation Project on cultures in contact is based in Exeter.
• Our unique collections of writings and correspondence by authors connected with the South West such as Daphne du Maurier, RD Blackmore, Agatha Christie and Ted Hughes supplement research resources held in the University library.
• The University library holds a number of resources important for our research, including the Hypatia Collection of women’s literature and history as well as online resources.
• The Queen’s Building (Streatham Campus) and the Peter Lanyon Building (Penryn Campus) offer dedicated postgraduate common rooms with computer facilities and a number of study carrels available for research students.

Penryn (Cornwall)

• Studying English at our Penryn Campus gives you all the advantages of working within a small, research-driven department whilst still studying at a Russell Group University.
• You will have access to a dedicated postgraduate study space which features individual workstations for students.
• We also offer our postgraduate students the opportunity to gain valuable teaching experience through our Graduate Teaching Assistant programme.

Student Stories

• PhD student Cecilia talks about mermaids as androgynous figures in Victorian art and literature.
• PhD student Christos talks about his research focusing on two authors from the Orthodox tradition.
• PhD student Polly talks about Contested Commodification of the Body in Eighteenth-Century Britain.
• PhD student Freddie talks about exploring the representation of time in two poems written by Ovid.

Careers

• We are committed to ensuring you receive high quality research supervision to maximise your potential and prepare you for a rewarding career.
• Postgraduates also have access to the wide range of support offered by our Career Zone.
• In addition, postgraduate research students can access our Postgraduate Researchers' Programme, which covers a range of topics to help you to succeed during your research degree and to act as a springboard for your research career.

Graduate Destinations

• Below are some examples of initial jobs undertaken by English postgraduates who studied with us in recent years.
• Please note that due to data protection, the job titles and organisations are listed independently and do not necessarily correspond.
• Job Title | Organisation
  • Teacher | Royal Literary Fund
  • Associate Lecturer | Liverpool Hope University
  • Policy Advisor | ARK Kings Academy
  • Head of Academic Engagement | University of Manchester
  • Author | Royal Holloway University of London
  • Lecturer in Creative Writing | Falmouth Exeter Plus
  • Senior Business Analyst | Old Mutal Plc
  • Copy Editor | Piedmont Post
  • Research Officer | Civil Service
  • Freelance writer and teacher | University of Exeter
  • Curator and Lecturer | Ravensbourne