Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Studying for your PhD in the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies means that you will become an expert in a specialist area of your own choosing and develop high-quality research skills which will prepare you for further research projects in addition to pursuing specialist career paths.

You can study for your PhD in person here in Leeds or by distance learning online.

Structure

As a postgraduate researcher, you’ll conduct original research work under the guidance of a supervisory team. You'll have regular meetings to monitor your progress and develop an initial training plan to make sure you are acquiring the appropriate skills for your research.
Unlike the system in the United States where you join a ‘PhD program’ and undertake a range of taught courses initially before starting work on your thesis proper, in the UK system there are no compulsory taught courses and you start work on your thesis from the very start.
Your initial priority is refining a research plan and establishing a feasible timescale for your project.

During the early part of your PhD, you'll also undertake a range of research methods training activities to support your research.
For your first year (or 18 months if you are part-time) you will be enrolled as a provisional postgraduate researcher. During this time you will develop a detailed research proposal, write a literature review and possibly also a sample chapter. This work is then submitted to a panel of examiners who will assess it and provide you with feedback and advice on the progress of your research.

This is called 'transfer'. It’s an important means of monitoring the progress of your work and assessing whether your proposal has developed in a way that makes it suitable to be explored through a PhD research path.
After successful transfer, you will enrol as a full postgraduate researcher, complete your research and write a thesis of a maximum of 100,000 words. It’s also possible to pursue a thesis ‘by publication’ and decisions on that route should be taken within your first year of study.
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is awarded on the basis of your thesis and a viva voce (oral) examination where you will present and discuss the rationale, methods and findings of your original study with an examining panel.

Duration

A PhD can be taken full-time (3 years standard) or part-time (five years standard).

Areas of supervision

As one of the UK’s leading centres for research and teaching in languages, cultures and societies, we can supervise PhDs in a wide variety of different disciplines and fields. You can explore our research areas to discover more about our academic staff and where your research interests may fit. You can also search our research opportunities database to search for a supervisor in your area.

Entry requirements

You should hold a good honours degree (upper second class or first class) in a related discipline. A Masters degree is not a formal requirement but your application will be seen more favourably if you have one - ideally you will have achieved, or be on track to achieve, a distinction or at least a high merit, especially in your Masters dissertation.

If English is not your first language, you'll also need an English language qualification, for example IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.0 in all components. The distance learning PhD requires IELTS score of 7.0 overall, no less than 6.5 in every component. For more details on alternative qualifications, see How to apply?

If you fall just short of the right IELTS level, you can improve your academic English to the standard needed to study a postgraduate research degree by taking one of the following pre-sessional courses:

• 6-week: Language for postgraduate researchers

• 10-week: Language for Social Science and Arts: postgraduate researchers

Scholarships and fees

We have a number of PhD scholarships available each year. Please note that these are highly competitive. Check the scholarships page to see the range of opportunities.

Fees for PhD programmes are set independently and reviewed on an annual basis. Check the University's fee page for current information.

PhD by online learning 

We offer a PhD by distance learning which is available to UK, EU and international applicants, allowing you gain an advanced degree from anywhere with internet access. You can study at the time and place that best suits you, and our part time options let you study alongside work and other commitments.