comparative literature phd oxford

Comparative Literature and Critical Translation MSt

The MSt in Comparative Literature and Critical Translation is one-year interdisciplinary course supported by several Faculties within the Humanities Division. The MSt is attached to Oxford’s research centre in Comparative Criticism and Translation (OCCT) and builds on the recent growth in scholarly awareness of the importance of translation to comparative and world literary study. This is what is meant by ‘critical translation’: not translator training, but rather an interest in the role played by translation and re-writing in literary history, and an alertness to the uses of translation in critical practice.

For more information please visit https://www.humanities.ox.ac.uk/mst-comparative-literature-and-critical-... .

How to apply

Find a college, where to start with your application.

This pathway allows you to study two or more literatures comparatively, either by choosing a designated comparative special subject or subjects in different languages. You will need to apply for the MSt or MPhil in Modern Languages and if you are offered a place, select your special subjects accordingly. The Medieval and Modern Languages programme combines a focus on European traditions of comparative philology and literary studies forged by critics like Erich Auerbauch and Leo Spitzer with contemporary questions around postcolonialism, globalization, and world literature. In the course of your studies, you will develop an enhanced awareness of the complexity of literary communication across linguistic and cultural borders and develop your cultural imagination through understanding the creative modes of transfer that are translation and adaptation.

Students may select courses from individual languages or from the Faculty’s tailor-made comparative special subjects.

The languages are:

• Byzantine & Modern Greek

* Courses that may be taken in the Faculty of English are normally those shown under List C (Special Options) in the course handbook. Participation is restricted and by prior approval.

Please note: English List C courses have a limited number of places and a large number of students from several Masters programmes selecting from these options. Some courses are heavily oversubscribed and it cannot be guaranteed that you will be allocated a place. Please be prepared for the possibility that you will not be able to take an English List C course, and that you will need to take all of your special subjects from the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages options available in that academic year.

Starting from 2022-23, the Faculty will offer a selection of specially designed cross-linguistic special subjects drawing on the Faculty’s research strengths, including: Contesting Colonialisms, Cultural Studies Seminar , Enlightenment Debates, Writing the Enlightenment , and Posthuman Ecologies.

Course Content

The MSt degree consists of four compulsory components: the Spaces of Comparison methodology seminar (taught across the first and second term), two Special Subjects (taught in the first (Michaelmas) and second (Hilary) term, respectively); and a dissertation.

Special Subjects: You will select what you and your supervisor(s) think are the best essay or essays and submit it or them as a portfolio for examination. Special Subject submissions may comprise one or two essays to a total maximum word length of between 5,000 — 7,000 words.

Spaces of Comparison Seminars : submission of an essay of 5,000 to 7,000 words for examination at the end of the second term.

Dissertation: Submission of a dissertation of 10,000 — 12,000 words in the seventh week of the third term of study.

Applicants may also be interested in the new MSt in Comparative Literature and Critical Translation , full details of which are available from the Humanities Division.

Level: Postgraduate research

Duration: 4-8 years part-time

Closed to applications for entry in 2024.

Applications for 2025 entry will open in September 2024. 

To be notified when applications open,  please register your interest . 

Questions? Email: [email protected]

DPhil in Literature and Arts

Course details.

The DPhil in Literature and Arts is an advanced research degree by part-time research. Usually this course is intended for students who have already completed the  MSt in Literature and Arts , although other suitably qualified students who have completed a master’s degree in the humanities may also apply. Students will often be building on research and skills developed during the MSt in Literature and Arts.

Quick links

Programme details, assessment methods, level and demands, teaching methods.

• Application details – fees, funding and how to apply

The DPhil programme shares the same historical and multi-disciplinary scope as the MSt. It may encompass the disciplines of literature, art and architectural history, history, and history of ideas.

Compared to the MSt, however, students will be working independently towards their own deeply researched 100,000 word thesis, building on sustained independent research over a number of years, and focusing on a specific subject in depth.

 The thesis can be completed in four to (a maximum) eight years. We encourage students to work towards completion in four to six years and the supervisors help to structure a realistic work schedule and timetable for completion.

The research students on this course carry out independent doctoral research on a subject linked to the British past, c.1450- c.1914. British history is interpreted in the broadest possible sense to include global and imperial connections. For instance, the formation of British culture through the stimuli of influences beyond Europe, from Chinese porcelain to commodities like sugar and tea. Research proposals are welcome across the period, from, for example, Tudor and Jacobean Art and Architecture to the changing place of women in early twentieth century Britain. We have a democratic view of cultural history in which all men's and women's lives play their part.

Students work in at least two of the disciplines and are supervised by academics with two different areas of specialism. The course enables students to make the most of the university's resources (e.g. its libraries, computer facilities, museums and historic monuments) Students are also likely to need to consult archives and other primary sources in different locations depending on their project. There is an attendance requirement for this course of thirty days per academic year, and students will be encouraged to fully participate in the Graduate School in the Department for Continuing Education and to take part in other seminars, workshops and training activities offered across the University.

The DPhil will be awarded on the basis of a thesis and an oral examination. Your thesis will be based on extensive original research and engagement with current scholarship. Students undertaking a part-time DPhil will normally study for four to six years from the time of admission. This compares with a full-time doctorate, which normally takes three to four years to complete.

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a master's degree with distinction or a high pass in a Humanities subject or from;  and 
• a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any relevant subject.
• Show prior interest in the area of research proposed

Students will be strongly encouraged to participate in seminars and informal meetings with staff and other researchers in the University of Oxford. The major commitment of time will be to individual study and research, involving wide and intense reading, collection of primary evidence, analysis and writing. Students will be expected to attend and to contribute to the wide range of research seminars, conferences and workshops organised in the University. They will also have access to specialist training courses offered by the Bodleian Library and IT services.

Supervision on the DPhil programme will be provided by two supervisors, usually University Lecturers/Professors from the Department for Continuing Education and from within the University of Oxford. The two supervisors will be from different disciplines. Supervisors will help students to develop a programme of research and writing.

Application details

Applications for this course should be made via the University of Oxford  Graduate Admissions  website. This website provides information on fees and entry requirements, along with help on preparing and submitting your application.

Scholarships and funding

Please see the University’s  Fees and Funding  pages for help and information with regard to funding doctoral studies. We further recommend that applicants search for funding opportunities via the online  Fees, Funding and Scholarship search tool.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support

Graduate School

Mst in literature and arts (mla), art history and design research, history of art.

Comparative Literature

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Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature is one of the most dynamic and diverse in the country. Its impressive faculty has included such scholars as Harry Levine, Claudio Guillén, and Barbara Johnson. You will study literatures from a wide range of historical periods and cultures while learning to conduct cutting-edge research through an exhilarating scope of methods and approaches.

Your dissertation research is well supported by Harvard’s unparalleled library system, the largest university collection in the world, comprising 70 libraries with combined holdings of over 16 million items.

Recent student dissertations include “Imagined Mothers: The Construction of Italy, Ancient Greece, and Anglo-American Hegemony,” “The Untimely Avant-Garde: Literature, Politics and Transculturation in the Sinosphere (1909-2020),” and “Artificial Humanities: A Literary Perspective on Creating and Enhancing Humans from Pygmalion to Cyborgs.”

In addition to securing faculty positions at academic institutions such as Princeton University, Emory University, and Tufts University, graduates have gone on to careers in contiguous fields including the visual arts, music, anthropology, philosophy, and medicine.  Others have chosen alternative careers in film production, administration, journalism, and law.

 Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Comparative Literature and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Comparative Literature .

Writing Sample

The writing sample is supposed to demonstrate your ability to engage in literary criticism and/or theory. It can be a paper written for a course or a section of a senior thesis or essay. It is usually between 10 and 20 pages. Do not send longer papers with instructions to read an excerpt; you should edit the sample so that it is not more than 20 pages. Writing samples should be in English, although candidates are permitted to submit an additional writing sample written in a different language.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose should give the admissions committee a clear sense of your individual interests and strengths. Applicants are not required to indicate a precise field of specialization, but it is helpful to tell us about your aspirations and how the Department of Comparative Literature might help in attaining these goals. The statement of purpose should be one to four pages in length.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Not Accepted

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Comparative Literature

See list of Comparative Literature faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

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Comparative Literature: A Very Short Introduction

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Comparative literature is both the past and the future of literary studies. Its history is intimately linked to the political upheavals of modernity: from colonial empire-building in the 19th century to the postcolonial culture wars of the 21st century. But what is comparative literature? Comparative Literature: A Very Short Introduction tells the story of comparative literature as an agent of international relations, from the point of view both of scholarship and of cultural history. Outlining the complex history and competing theories of comparative literature, it offers an accessible means of entry into a notoriously slippery subject, and shows the value and importance of encountering literature from outside one’s own culture.

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Program Description

Combining an apprenticeship in rigorous, traditional scholarship with exposure to the most advanced work in literary and cultural theory, the program in comparative literature at Chicago prepares students to compete successfully for academic careers in both national literature departments and programs that stress comparative or interdisciplinary study. All students take a two-quarter sequence in their M.A. year that provides a solid grounding in literary criticism and theory and poses some of the central challenges facing literary scholars today. Students design the remainder of their program to serve their own interests, either studying several national literatures (with primary emphasis on one) or exploring the relationship between literature and another discipline. Students develop individualized dissertation topics working closely not only with the faculty in comparative literature but also with other professors from the department of the University that best complements their interests. These have included projects ranging from the myth of the artist to illusion, confusion and the Romantic imagination, from  the hermeneutics of divination to the quest to fail, and comparisons between a wide variety of national literatures, such as  Polish and Irish,  Chinese and Indian, Russian and German, English and Portuguese along the African/Indian Ocean. Please see the  Graduate Student  section of the website for information about current research interests.

The University is famous for the vibrancy and intensity of its interdisciplinary studies and Comparative Literature students often work with faculty in many departments. The university is also renowned for treating graduate students as co-participants in the humanistic enterprise. Through a unique system of some forty interdisciplinary workshops  offered annually, students and faculty together focus on topics of current interest, invite speakers from outside the university and share their own work in progress. Recent workshops at which comparative literature students have presented or are scheduled to present their work include: Poetry and Poetics; Literature and Philosophy; Metaphor; Medieval Studies; Renaissance Studies; Critical Animal Studies; African Studies;  Modern France and Francophone Studies;  East Asian and Trans-Regional Histories; Western Mediterranean Culture, and Theater and Performance Studies.

Ph.D. students will find many opportunities for scholarly engagement in lectures, conferences, workshops, and other activities fostered by the University's many research centers and institutes. These include: 

• Center for Latin American Studies
• Center for Middle Eastern Studies
• South Asia Language and Area Center

Interdisciplinary centers include:

• Center for Gender Studies
• Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture
• Film Studies Center ,  Poetry and Poetics
• Franke Institute of the Humanities .

A standing joint degree program has also been established between Comparative Literature and the Committee on Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS). It allows students to complement their doctoral studies in Comparative Literature with a program of study in TAPS that reflects their particular training and interests, encompassing both academic and artistic work. Students apply to this standing program at the time of their application to the University.

Our Ph.D.'s hold tenured or tenure-track positions in a variety of literature departments at many colleges and universities both in the United States and abroad, including, in the U.S., Colorado College, Reed College, Rutgers University and Stanford University, and abroad, University College London, University of Paris, University of São Paolo, and Taiwan Normal University. Recent Ph.D.'s have earned positions at Indiana University and the University of Louisville, as well as jobs in consulting, software development, high school teaching, and established scholars among our alumni have published major books and articles, and contributed to the profession in, for example, the American Comparative Literature Association’s annual  State of the Discipline Report . Please see  our listing of Alums for further details.

• Comp Lit Alumni
• State of the Discipline Report

Admission and Degree Requirements

To gain admission to the Department of Comparative Literature, a student must have a B.A. or its equivalent, strong preparation in one foreign language and adequate preparation in at least one other foreign language, a strong background in literature or a relevant humanistic discipline, and an overall record of marked distinction. For the online application form and other essential information about admissions policy, including TOEFL and/or IELTS scores, please visit the Admissions page of the Humanities Division at: 

https://humanities.uchicago.edu/students/admissions

Humanities Division Admissions

Divisional Admissions Information

Ph.D. Application Checklist and FAQ

Our application process is now entirely online. Please do not send any materials in hard copy. All materials should be submitted through the online application.

Students applying to the PhD program in Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago must have the following materials:

• Transcripts from all college-level, degree-track programs
• 3-4 confidential letters of recommendation
• A 15-20 page writing sample (double-spaced; page count does not include bibliography) 
• A statement of academic purpose, 1-3 pages, single-spaced
• All applicants for whom English is not a primary language may be required to submit current scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Current scores are no more than two years old at the time of application submission. A complete description of the English proficiency policy may be found at this website , and questions about the English proficiency requirement should be directed to [email protected] .

More information on English Language Requirements available on the Office of International Affairs Website . For comprehensive information about admissions requirements and procedures, see the University of Chicago Humanities Division's  Prospective Students  webpage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Department of Comparative Literature require the GRE Subject Exam? No, the department does not require the GRE subject exam, and scores for this exam are not considered in the admissions process. Do not submit GRE subject exam scores in your online application.

Supplemental Materials

My writing sample is over 20 pages long. Will my application still be considered? 
Your application will still be considered if your writing sample is over the recommended upper limit of 20 pages. This recommended limit is not absolutely fixed, but we strongly suggest that applicants try to adhere to it as closely as possible. If you are unable to reduce the paper you want to use as a writing sample in your PhD application to 20 pages, please consider providing an 20-page excerpt from that paper and supplying a brief (one-page or less) abstract that contextualizes the function and place of the excerpted section within the paper as a whole.

Where should I mail my supplementary application materials?  All materials are submitted online.

Do page counts refer to single- or double-spaced pages? 
The writing sample should be 15-20 pages double-spaced. The statement of academic purpose (also referred to as the Candidate or Personal Statement, or the "Statement of Intent") should be 1-3 pages single-spaced.

Additional PhD application information can be found on the  Division of Humanities  webpage.

Master's Degree

Does the Department of Comparative Literature offer a master's degree? 
The Department of Comparative Literature does not offer a terminal MA degree. The University of Chicago offers Masters level study in Comparative Literature through the  Master of Arts Program in the Humanities . In this one-year program, students build their own curriculum with graduate-level courses in any humanities department (including Comparative Literature) and complete a thesis with a faculty advisor.

Department of Comparative Literature students can earn an MA while on the PhD track, providing they do not already hold an MA in Comparative Literature.

If I already have a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature, how will this affect my application?

Applicants with a Masters degree in Comparative Literature will be evaluated according to the same criteria as all applicants. If accepted, students with masters degrees in Comparative Literature will receive partial credit in the form of a reduced course load but must still fulfill core courses and other  requirements. For further information, see Course Requirements page.

Applicants with Masters degrees in single literatures or in other humanities disciplines will be evaluated according to the same criteria as all applicants including the language and other requirements as stated. Credit, if any, will be decided at the time of admission.

Miscellaneous

Once I've submitted my application, how can I check that my materials were received? 
Once your application is submitted, you can log in to the submission site to track the receipt of your application. As the Admissions Office receives your application materials, they will update your checklist.

How many applicants does the PhD program receive per year and how many of these applicants are admitted? 
This past year we received almost 150 applications. In recent years, anywhere from 3% to 6% of the applicants have been admitted into the program.

How many admitted applicants receive funding? All incoming graduate students receive a full fellowship renewable based on satisfactory progress for a total of five years. Most of our PhD candidates are successful in the competition for dissertation completion fellowships in the sixth year. For more information, see Funding Opportunities .

I would like to apply for a joint degree program at the University of Chicago. How can I go about doing this? 
In the Humanities Division at Chicago, applicants cannot apply for a joint degree program upfront. It is recommended that you apply to one of the two departments in which you are interested and, in the following year, apply for a joint degree with the other department.

I am currently enrolled in a PhD program at another University and would like to transfer to the University of Chicago. How can I do this? The PhD program in Comparative Literature does not accept transfer students. For admission, you must apply as would any other prospective student, regardless of your academic background. The admission committee will assess your academic progress and see what graduate courses, if any, may be counted toward your PhD course work at University of Chicago. If your work meets the language and other requirements of Comparative Literature, it is possible that you might be admitted with the same credit as those applying with a previous MA (see above) but you would still be required to take ten graduate courses including the required two core seminars. See program requirements .

How many times a year do you accept PhD applicants? 
We only accept new PhD students in the fall. The deadline is typically in the third week of December.

Can prospective students schedule campus visits? 
The Department of Comparative Literature hosts an Open House each year solely for prospective students who have already been admitted to the PhD program. The Office of Enrollment also offers tours of campus throughout the year.  While registration is not required, it is strongly advised to ensure that a tour is indeed scheduled and that the tour guide will be familiar with your area of study.

Please see also the FAQ page for the Division of the Humanities . 

Campus Tours

Areas of Study

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Senior Thesis Panel

Lecture by Tom McEnaney

Photo essay.

Congratulations to our seniors for turning in their senior theses!

Tim Parks: “The Translator as Reader and Writer”

Congratulations, david damrosch gives the acceptance speech for the 2023 balzan prize, november 17, 2023.

Dissertation Defense: Joseph Gauvreau

David Damrosch, ed. and trans. Georges Ngal, “Giambatista Viko; or, The Rape of African Discourse”

Spring courses: complit 166/yiddish 166: jews, humor, and the politics of laughter (saul zaritt).

Beginning with jokes like this one, this course will examine the question of Jewish humor, exploring the concept of therapeutic joking, the politics of self-deprecation, and strategies of masking social critique behind a well-timed joke. Rather than reach some essential definition, we will instead investigate literature, stand-up comedy, film, and television of the twentieth and twenty-first century in order to 1) think together about the theory, mechanics, and techniques of comedy and humor and 2) ask how and when a text or performance gets labeled Jewish, by whom and for what purposes.

SPRING COURSES: CompLit 145: Prize-Winning Translations, 2010-2020 (Luke Leafgren)

In this course, students will read English translations of novels that have won major prizes. In addition to exploring themes of contemporary literature from around the world, special attention will be paid to the role of translation in shaping the work and its reception, and to the question of what makes for a prize-winning translation. Each week students will read a prize-winning translation alongside reports from the prize committee, reviews of the translation, and what the translators say about their work.

SPRING COURSES: CompLit 100: Contemporary Southeast Asia through Literature and Film (Annette Lienau)

This course will explore contemporary literature and cinema across Southeast Asia, focusing on regional developments after the Asian financial crisis of 1997 through the present. Themes discussed include literature’s relationship to economic turmoil and political change; questions of class and social mobility; anti-authoritarian writing and issues of censorship; literature, youth culture, and new media landscapes; and literary explorations of gender and sexuality. Readings will include a selection of critical essays to foreground these central themes of the course, along with poetry, short fiction, and films from: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Readings will be taught in English translation and films will be screened with English subtitles.

A message from the chair \ Jeffrey Schnapp

Reflecting the ongoing paradigm shift of comparative studies from an almost exclusive focus on Western European traditions to a newly global awareness, our faculty ranks have expanded in recent years to encompass a world-wide range of languages and cultures.

Emily Greenwood’s “Afro-Greeks: Dialogues between Anglophone Caribbean Literature and Classics in the Twentieth Century”

Lara Norgaard’s translation of Sabda Armandio’s “24 Hours with Gaspar”

Interested in concentrating in comparative literature.

Check out our Prospective Concentrators and Peer Advisors pages for more information.

Contact our Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Sandra Naddaff .

Featured articles

Attention translators: alta seeks social media interns, imperial media mix: japan’s failed attempt at asia’s first transnational girl group, an interview with david damrosch, more featured articles, positions open, position description.

The Department of Comparative Literature has recently completed two tenure-track searches during the academic year 2023-2024: one in Translation Studies , the other in Media History and Archeology . No searches are anticipated for 2024-2025.

Founded as a graduate program in 1904 and joining with the undergraduate Literature Concentration in 2007, Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature operates at the crossroads of multilingualism, literary study, and media history.

© 2023 President and Fellows of Harvard College

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Congratulations to Aurélien Bellucci, PhD ’23: Honorable Mention for the 2024 ACLA Charles Bernheimer Prize!

Congratulations to lara norgaard: acla 2024 a. owen aldridge prize winner.

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Ph.D Program

Ph.d. program in comparative literature.

Our doctoral students are supported by a large group of core and affiliated faculty in Comparative Literature. Our faculty hold cross-appointments with the departments of East Asian Languages and Cultures, English, French and Italian, German and Russian, Middle East/South Asian Languages, and Religious Studies. The program actively collaborates with interdisciplinary programs in critical theory, the digital humanities, science and technology studies, cinema and media, and performance studies. We work closely with our students to ensure they get the intellectual and professional training needed to succeed in their careers. The program mentors graduate students as both teachers and emerging scholars, and we have a strong placement record both within and outside the academy. 

Core faculty research areas

• Classical Arabic literature
• Classical and modern Persian literature
• Pre-modern Indian literature
• Chinese literature and film
• Medieval and early modern French
• Reception studies
• European romanticism
• Latin American literature
• Jewish studies
• Italian modernism
• Modern Japanese literature and culture
• Twentieth-Century American fiction
• Contemporary Arabic poetry
• Contemporary European poetry/poetics
• Pre-modern, early modern, and modern drama
• History of aesthetics
• Political economy
• Psychoanalysis and trauma theory
• Religion and performance
• Translation studies

Designated emphases

In conjunction with the PhD, we offer designated emphases in critical theory, feminist theory and research, classics and classical receptions, Native American studies, African American & African studies, second language acquisition, studies in performance and practice, as well as writing, rhetoric, and composition studies.

We guarantee six years of support to students who make continued satisfactory progress towards the degree. UC Davis offers a number of competitive fellowships that provide year-long teaching releases in the first year and at the dissertation stage. Our students have also been successful at securing outside fellowships.

Admission requirements

We look for students with strong potential for comparative research and teaching, and a commitment to the interpretive analysis of cultural forms. Our graduate students come from a wide range of cultural and intellectual backgrounds. Please see Comparative Literature Graduate Admissions for deadlines and application requirements.

Comparative Literature Graduate Program

The Ph.D. program in Comparative Literature is committed to providing students the resources and training needed to successfully complete a challenging and rewarding intellectual project. By "resources" we mean not only formal classes, libraries, and financial support in various forms, but also an open community of scholars and learners, both within Comparative Literature and the broader Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (DLCL), and also across a rich array of other departments, schools, and interdisciplinary programs, and tapping into our vibrant Stanford Humanities Center and its global online platform, ARCADE. The size of our graduate student community is small, which facilitates interpersonal dialogue and conversation. 

By "training" we mean formal classes on pedagogy, a regular and year-long colloquium where students present and discuss each others' work, close work with mentors and advisors, and workshops on topics suggested by both faculty and students. Finally, by "success" we mean not only satisfying departmental and university requirements, but more importantly achieving a sense of personal fulfillment at completing an original and creative exploration of a question of importance to the student.

Comparative Literature at Stanford believes in the importance of linguistic skills in at least three languages, deep historical thinking, and an understanding of the main currents of literary criticism and theory, past and present, and with an eye on emergent knowledge that may embrace fields outside of traditional literary studies. Our faculty includes specialists in Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, English, Hebrew, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and covering broad historical periods. We have a particularly well-established program in Philosophy and Literature, and welcome interdisciplinary projects that involve areas such as film studies, gender studies, studies in race and ethnicity, environmental studies, human rights, and other topics.

At base, the Ph.D. program is designed for students whose linguistic background, breadth of interest in literature, and curiosity about the problems of literary scholarship and theory (including the relation of literature to other disciplines) make this program more appropriate to their needs than the Ph.D. in one of the individual literatures. Students take courses in at least three literatures (one may be that of the native language), to be studied in the original. The program is designed to encourage familiarity with the major approaches to literary study prevailing today.

Before starting graduate work at Stanford, students should have completed an undergraduate program with a strong background in one literature and some work in a second literature studied in the original language. Since the program demands an advanced knowledge of two non-native languages and a reading knowledge of a third non-native language, students should at the time of application have an advanced enough knowledge of one of the three to take graduate-level courses in that language when they enter the program. They should be making enough progress in the study of a second language to enable them to take graduate courses in that language not later than the beginning of the second year, and earlier if possible. Language courses at the 100- or 200- level may be taken with approval from the Director of the department. Applicants are expected to take an intensive course in the third language before entrance.

The Ph.D. minor is designed for students working toward the Ph.D. in the various national literature departments. Students working toward the Ph.D. in English are directed to the program in English and Comparative Literature described among the Department of English offerings.

For more detailed information on our program, please see the corresponding pages in the Stanford Bulletin :

• Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature
• Doctor of Philosophy Minor in Comparative Literature

Graduate Program Application Details

My experience in the Comparative Literature Ph.D. program was filled with intellectual exploration, learning new skills, and amazing mentorship in both research and teaching. Also, having had scholars from other departments to talk through my ideas and my professional plans, especially in ILAC and History, was instrumental for my success in pursuing the career I wanted.

Russell Berman Director of Comparative Literature Pigott Hall, Bldg 260, Rm 201 (650) 723-1069 berman [at] stanford.edu (berman[at]stanford[dot]edu)

John Giammalva In Memoriam, Student Services Manager Pigott Hall, Bldg 260, Rm 127 (650) 279-3630 dlclstudentservices [at] stanford.edu (dlclstudentservices[at]stanford[dot]edu)

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The PhD in Comparative Literature is a six-year doctoral program that emphasizes the international and interdisciplinary nature of Comparative Literature.  Our curriculum is designed to be as flexible as possible, allowing students to develop expertise in areas of traditional interest to comparatists and to learn about new developments in the humanities. The program has strong language requirements but provides flexibility in the ways that students put their language and cultural proficiency to use. The program places strong emphasis on literary, critical and cultural theory but makes possible a variety of definitions of what theory is and how it is to be applied. Current PhD students should refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for a comprehensive description of requirements and policies.

Language Requirements

Students establish expertise in two or more languages, but the minimum requirement is advanced proficiency in two languages in addition to the English. Advanced proficiency, demonstrated through either teaching or advanced course work, must be established by the end of the second year in order to fulfill candidacy requirements and to make satisfactory progress to examinations and the dissertation.

Coursework 

Students generally complete their coursework in the first three years of the program, with the option to complete additional courses in year four and beyond if they wish to pursue graduate certificates or additional training. During the fourth year, students often leave campus to pursue study abroad or research in other locations. 

Course requirements include:

•  COMPLIT 600-Topics in Theory (Year 1)
•  COMPLIT 601 & COMPLIT 602-Preparation for the Preliminary Examination in Comparative Literature (Year 2)
• 4 COMPLIT seminars (up to 1 seminar may be fulfilled by completing 3 credits of mini-courses in COMPLIT)
• 8 graduate seminar electives taught in any department
• Click HERE  for a sample year by year breakdown

Milestones to the PhD

Built into the PhD program in Comparative Literature are a number of milestones: 

The Third Term Review is designed to allow students to share their experiences in the graduate program, receive feedback on their coursework and skills, and plan next steps. Takes place in the fall of the second year. 

The Preliminary Examination is the first step in defining a field for research and consists of a reading list and rationale submitted by the student to a committee which may form the basis for the student’s doctoral dissertation committee. Takes place in the fall of the third year. 

The Preliminary Project expands on a topic that is relevant to the student’s research interests. The format of the project is flexible (e.g., a research essay, translation project, multimodal writing, or public-facing project). This milestone is designed to provide opportunities for the student to synthesize course work, to acquire knowledge in areas that may not be studied in courses, and to begin formulating a dissertation topic. Completed by the end of the third year. 

A Prospectus detailing the dissertation project is the final step before writing the dissertation itself. Completed in the fall of the fourth year. 

The Dissertation Defense is scheduled through Rackham when the student has completed the dissertation. 

Study Abroad for Language Training and Research

The program creates flexibility for students to pursue study abroad.  All graduate students receive a start-up funding package to support language study in the summers after years 1 and 2. 

When students reach candidacy, they are guaranteed at least one semester of fellowship in year 4 to do research in another location.  To extend study abroad for a second term, students can also apply for additional funding from the International Institute, Rackham Graduate School, and other sources to support language study and dissertation research projects. 

Pedagogical Training & Teaching Experiences

Students begin teaching as Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) in their second year, with pedagogical support through GSI training and peer mentoring.  Typically, first teaching appointments are in the first-year writing courses ENGLISH 125 (Writing and Academic Inquiry) and COMPLIT 122 (Writing World Literatures).  More advanced GSIs have the opportunity to teach courses beyond the 100-level including COMPLIT 241 (Topics in Comparative Literature), and COMPLIT 322 (Translating  World Literatures). Our aim is to match student teaching and placement goals and to give students the opportunity to teach in two different areas during their graduate careers. To diversify their teaching dossiers, our students have had opportunities to teach introductory language courses, Great Books or national literature courses, and occasionally in departments such as American Culture , Film, Television, and Media , and Women's and Gender Studies . 

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DPhil in Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics

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About the course

The DPhil is an advanced research degree for qualified students who are ready to begin thesis work in the field of general linguistics (including phonetics but not applied linguistics), in historical and comparative philology and linguistics, or in the linguistics of a specific language.

The DPhil in Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics is an advanced research degree, awarded on the basis of a thesis and an oral examination. The emphasis in the DPhil is on self-directed learning, with guidance from the supervisor and other faculty. You are expected to submit your thesis three, or at most four, years from the date of admission (six, or at most eight, years for part-time students).

You are encouraged to attend and to contribute to the wide range of research seminars, conferences and workshops organized by the faculty. You will also have access to specialist training courses offered by the Bodleian Library, Language Centre and IT services.

Linguistics at Oxford is an interdisciplinary subject, with most areas of general linguistics as well as Indo-European, Romance and Slavic historical and comparative linguistics being represented by one or several members of staff.

Current research falls into seven main areas:

• linguistic theory (morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics and their interfaces)
• Indo-European comparative philology (especially Greek, Italic/Latin, Indo-Iranian, Anatolian, Celtic, Slavic and Tocharian)
• phonetics and phonology (especially phonetics/phonology interface, speech perception, language comprehension)
• Romance philology (Research Centre on Romance Linguistics, especially diachronic morphology, syntax of Italo-Romance and phonetics of French)
• Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics
• ancient grammatical thought in the Greco-Roman tradition.

A part-time DPhil student will be required to attend classes, seminars, supervision meetings and other obligations in Oxford for a minimum of 40 days each year. There will be some flexibility in the dates and pattern of attendance, which will be determined by mutual agreement with your supervisor. Typically, attendance will be required during term-time on at least two days in at least two terms, determined by mutual agreement with your supervisor. You will have the opportunity to tailor your part-time study in liaison with your supervisor and agree your pattern of attendance.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics.

You will be supported by a supervisor or supervisors who will help you develop a programme of research and writing. You will also benefit from the advice and support of other members of the faculty and can draw on the expertise of scholars and colleagues throughout the faculty and University.

Supervision meetings vary in frequency, from once weekly to once a month in term time, depending on the student's needs. In the summer vacation, meetings will be less frequent.

For students coming from Oxford's MPhil, there will be one internal viva voce (oral examination) known as confirmation, which will take place within two (or, if part-time, four) terms. For all other students, there will be two internal vivas (transfer and confirmation), which will usually take place in the third and eighth term after admission as a probationary DPhil student (with the appropriate adjustments for part-time students). These vivas are with two faculty members and discuss a sample of your work. You will be required to pass these vivas before proceeding.

Your thesis will be based on extensive original research and engagement with current scholarship. You will need to defend your thesis orally ( viva voce ) in front of two examiners, one of whom will be external to the University. You are expected to submit your thesis three, or at most four, years from the date of admission (six, or at most eight, years for part-time students).

Graduate destinations

Graduates follow career paths that include academia and higher education, research services, research and development, secondary and further education, industry and the civil service.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

Entry requirements for entry in 2024-25

Proven and potential academic excellence.

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. 

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a master's degree in a relevant subject with a very good result or a result close to distinction level; and
• a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours  in a relevant subject.

However, entrance is very competitive and most successful applicants have a first-class degree or the equivalent.

Applicants are expected to have a background in linguistics comparable to Oxford's MPhil degree in Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics  or the research preparation strand of Oxford's MSt degree in Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics .

Under exceptional circumstances substantial professional experience may be considered a substitute.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.5 out of 4.0.

If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.

GRE General Test scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience

• - Applicants are not expected to have publications already, but if they happen to have publications in a relevant area they are encouraged to submit them as their written work.
• In the case of mature students/intended career changes professional experience in cognate areas may compensate for shortcomings in the formal academic record. 
• Applicants should already have the knowledge and skills necessary to begin work on their chosen topic. This may include knowledge of the language to be studied, or for a computational thesis, relevant programming skills.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's  higher level . If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.

*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) † Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)

Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides  further information about the English language test requirement .

Declaring extenuating circumstances

If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.

You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Supporting documents

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Performance at interview

As part of the admissions process, you may be interviewed. Interviews are typically conducted online via Microsoft Teams (or, should it be possible and convenient, in person) by a minimum of two interviewers.

Please note that the faculty receives comparatively large numbers of applications for a small number of places.

How your application is assessed

Your application will be assessed purely on your proven and potential academic excellence and other entry requirements described under that heading.

References  and  supporting documents  submitted as part of your application, and your performance at interview (if interviews are held) will be considered as part of the assessment process. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.

An overview of the shortlisting and selection process is provided below. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide  more information about how applications are assessed . 

Shortlisting and selection

Students are considered for shortlisting and selected for admission without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, sexual orientation, as well as other relevant circumstances including parental or caring responsibilities or social background. However, please note the following:

• socio-economic information may be taken into account in the selection of applicants and award of scholarships for courses that are part of  the University’s pilot selection procedure  and for  scholarships aimed at under-represented groups ;
• country of ordinary residence may be taken into account in the awarding of certain scholarships; and
• protected characteristics may be taken into account during shortlisting for interview or the award of scholarships where the University has approved a positive action case under the Equality Act 2010.

Processing your data for shortlisting and selection

Information about  processing special category data for the purposes of positive action  and  using your data to assess your eligibility for funding , can be found in our Postgraduate Applicant Privacy Policy.

Admissions panels and assessors

All recommendations to admit a student involve the judgement of at least two members of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise, and must also be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Admissions Committee (or equivalent within the department).

Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.

Other factors governing whether places can be offered

The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:

• the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the  About  section of this page;
• the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
• minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.

Offer conditions for successful applications

If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide more information about offers and conditions . 

In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:

Financial Declaration

If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a  Financial Declaration  in order to meet your financial condition of admission.

Disclosure of criminal convictions

In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any  relevant, unspent criminal convictions  before you can take up a place at Oxford.

Teaching and research in linguistic subjects is centred around the Centre for Linguistics and Philology, which occupies part of the former Clarendon Press Institute on Walton Street. Facilities for graduate students include a common room, computer workstations and printers and a photocopier. Most graduate courses in linguistics and philology are held in the building.

Phonetics Laboratory

The Phonetics Laboratory has excellent provision for research in speech physiology and acoustics, and outstanding computing facilities. The experimental area consists of a recording studio, an acoustics and speech processing laboratory, a physiological laboratory and a speech perception laboratory. Hardware for physiological study, available to students and staff, includes labial electromyography, oral/nasal aerometry (measurement of air pressures and flow) and ultrasound tongue imaging.

The studios, for recording and for running experiments, are equipped with high-quality microphones and digital recording equipment, and computer systems for the presentation of visual and/or auditory stimuli.

Currently, the Phonetics Laboratory's main areas of research are: prosody and speech timing, especially: contact phonetics and prosody; geolinguistic variation; multimodal analysis of gesture and prosody; functional phylogenetic and other statistical-computational methods of reconstructing speech from the past. Languages of particular interest in our research projects are: Indian English and other languages in India and the diaspora; Italo Romance (especially Venetan); languages of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Language and Brain Laboratory

The language and Brain Laboratory offers research staff and students bespoke facilities and specialist equipment to conduct a wide variety of behavioural, eye-tracking and neurolinguistics experiments. Our research covers all aspects of linguistics, including phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. In the lab we have offices for Postdoctoral researchers, Research Assistants and DPhil students working in Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics under the supervision of Prof. Aditi Lahiri and Prof. Matt Husband. Our common room is used for tutorials and meetings. The laboratory has separate spaces for Neurolinguistics, Eye-Tracking, Production, and Behavioural studies. We have two electronically shielded sound-proofed climate-controlled EEG booths for recording brain waves. EEG recordings are made using high-impedance (300 Mohms) active electrode systems: we are currently conducting experiments on two systems: BioSemi and Brain Vision. An additional soundproof room is used for high quality audio recordings and eye-tracking studies. Our state-of-the-art SR Research Eyelink1000 eye tracker can be used on its own, or in combination with our EEG equipment. One of our largest spaces is our Behavioural Lab, where we have bespoke equipment and software to run experiments such as lexical decision tasks or timed forced choice experiments. We can currently run 8 participants simultaneously at individually screened desks, or up to 16 participants with a projector setup. All of our testing rooms have an associated control room to monitor the experiments and analyse the results.

Library provision

Oxford's library provision in linguistics is one of the largest in the country. Oxford's libraries are superbly provided with material on theoretical linguistics, the structure and history of European languages, ancient Indo-European languages, and non-Indo-European as well as Indo-European languages of Asia.

Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics

Linguistics is the study of language in all its aspects. In British English, the word ‘philology’ denotes the historical study of language. Phonetics is the study of speech.

A hallmark of the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics at Oxford is the marriage of theory with data, drawing on historical, philological and comparative linguistic data from ancient and modern languages, and on psycholinguistic and phonetic experimental data.

The faculty will provide you with an environment where a strong philological tradition is sustained while all core areas of linguistic theory are supported (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics), from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives.

The faculty also has a strong profile in teaching and research on psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics.

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The University expects to be able to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across the collegiate University in 2024-25. You will be automatically considered for the majority of Oxford scholarships , if you fulfil the eligibility criteria and submit your graduate application by the relevant December or January deadline. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential. 

For further details about searching for funding as a graduate student visit our dedicated Funding pages, which contain information about how to apply for Oxford scholarships requiring an additional application, details of external funding, loan schemes and other funding sources.

Please ensure that you visit individual college websites for details of any college-specific funding opportunities using the links provided on our college pages or below:

Please note that not all the colleges listed above may accept students on this course. For details of those which do, please refer to the College preference section of this page.

Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the faculty's website.

Annual fees for entry in 2024-25

Full-time study.

Further details about fee status eligibility can be found on the fee status webpage.

Part-time study

Information about course fees.

Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges .

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.

Continuation charges

Following the period of fee liability , you may also be required to pay a University continuation charge and a college continuation charge. The University and college continuation charges are shown on the Continuation charges page.

Where can I find further information about fees?

The Fees and Funding  section of this website provides further information about course fees , including information about fee status and eligibility  and your length of fee liability .

Additional information

The faculty makes available some funding for language training, where relevant, and for conducting experiments or carrying out fieldwork, where required by the students research activities. There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, please note that, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Please note that you are required to attend in Oxford for a minimum of 30 days each year, and you may incur additional travel and accommodation expenses for this. The faculty makes available some funding for language training, where relevant, and for conducting experiments or carrying out fieldwork, where required by the student’s research activities. There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, please note that, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Living costs

In addition to your course fees, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

For the 2024-25 academic year, the range of likely living costs for full-time study is between c. £1,345 and £1,955 for each month spent in Oxford. Full information, including a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs, is available on our living costs page. The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. When planning your finances for any future years of study in Oxford beyond 2024-25, it is suggested that you allow for potential increases in living expenses of around 5% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. UK inflationary increases will be kept under review and this page updated.

If you are studying part-time your living costs may vary depending on your personal circumstances but you must still ensure that you will have sufficient funding to meet these costs for the duration of your course.

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs). 

If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief  introduction to the college system at Oxford  and our  advice about expressing a college preference . For some courses, the department may have provided some additional advice below to help you decide.

The following colleges accept students for full-time study on this course:

• Balliol College
• Blackfriars
• Campion Hall
• Christ Church
• Hertford College
• Jesus College
• Kellogg College
• Lady Margaret Hall
• Linacre College
• Magdalen College
• New College
• Oriel College
• Pembroke College
• Regent's Park College
• St Anne's College
• St Catherine's College
• St Cross College
• St Edmund Hall
• St Hilda's College
• St Hugh's College
• Somerville College
• Trinity College
• Wolfson College
• Worcester College
• Wycliffe Hall

The following colleges accept students for part-time study on this course:

Before you apply

Our  guide to getting started  provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

If it's important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under a December or January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance . Check the deadlines on this page and the  information about deadlines  in our Application Guide.

Application fee waivers

An application fee of £75 is payable per course application. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:

• applicants from low-income countries;
• refugees and displaced persons; 
• UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and 
• applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.

You are encouraged to  check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver  before you apply.

Readmission for current Oxford graduate taught students

If you're currently studying for an Oxford graduate taught course and apply to this course with no break in your studies, you may be eligible to apply to this course as a readmission applicant. The application fee will be waived for an eligible application of this type. Check whether you're eligible to apply for readmission .

Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?

You do not need to make contact with the department before you apply but you are encouraged to visit the relevant departmental webpages to read any further information about your chosen course.

If you have any questions about the course, these can be directed to the course administrator via the contact details provided on this page. 

Completing your application

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents .

For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application .

If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.

Proposed field and title of research project

Under the 'Field and title of research project' please enter your proposed field or area of research if this is known. If the department has advertised a specific research project that you would like to be considered for, please enter the project title here instead.

You should not use this field to type out a full research proposal. You will be able to upload your research supporting materials separately if they are required (as described below).

Proposed supervisor

If known, under 'Proposed supervisor name' enter the name of the academic(s) who you would like to supervise your research. Otherwise, leave this field blank.

The faculty assigns a supervisor (or in some cases, two supervisors) to each successful applicant. If you suggest a supervisor, this will be taken into account when a supervisor is assigned, but for various reasons the assigned supervisor will not always be the one proposed in your application.

Referees: Three overall, academic preferred

Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.

All references should generally be academic. However, in the case of mature students or intended career changes, a professional reference may be submitted instead of one of the academic references.

If you are a current master’s student or have completed a master’s course, one of your referees should be your supervisor or course director on this master's programme. If you do not provide a reference from your master's supervisor or course director, the faculty will usually ask you to do so before completing the assessment of your application.

Your references will support intellectual ability, academic achievement, motivation, and ability to work in a group.

Official transcript(s)

Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.

More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.

Research proposal: A maximum of 2,500 words

The research proposal should be written in English and the overall word count does not need to include any bibliography. It should include information about your background in linguistics and degree of preparation already achieved for the research, as well as an outline of your thesis and of the research you plan to conduct.

If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.

This will be assessed for:

• your reasons for applying
• the coherence of the proposal
• the originality of the project
• evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study
• the ability to present a reasoned case in English
• the feasibility of successfully completing the project in the time available for the course (a maximum of four years)
• commitment to the subject, beyond the requirements of the degree course
• preliminary knowledge of research techniques
• capacity for sustained and intense work
• reasoning ability
• ability to absorb new ideas, often presented abstractly, at a rapid pace.

It will be normal for your ideas subsequently to change in some ways as you investigate the evidence and develop your project. You should nevertheless make the best effort you can to demonstrate the extent of your research question, sources and method at this moment.

Your statement should focus on the research itself rather than personal achievements, interests and aspirations.

Written work: Two essays, a maximum of 2,000 words each

Academic essays or other writing samples from your most recent qualification, written in English, are required. Extracts of the requisite length from longer work are also permissible.

The written work should demonstrate your competence in the proposed area of study. The word count does not need to include any bibliography or brief footnotes.

This will be assessed for comprehensive understanding of the subject area, understanding of problems in the area, ability to construct and defend an argument, powers of analysis, and powers of expression in English.

Start or continue your application

You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please  refer to the requirements above  and  consult our Application Guide for advice . You'll find the answers to most common queries in our FAQs.

Application Guide   Apply - Full time Apply - Part time

ADMISSION STATUS

Closed to applications for entry in 2024-25

Register to be notified via email when the next application cycle opens (for entry in 2025-26)

12:00 midday UK time on:

Friday 5 January 2024 Latest deadline for most Oxford scholarships

Friday 1 March 2024 Final application deadline for entry in 2024-25

*Three-year average (applications for entry in 2021-22 to 2023-24 )

Further information and enquiries

This course is offered by the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics

• Course page on the faculty's website
• Funding information from the faculty
• Academic and research staff
• Faculty research
• Humanities Division
• Residence requirements for full-time courses
• Postgraduate applicant privacy policy

Course-related enquiries

Advice about contacting the department can be found in the How to apply section of this page

✉ [email protected] ☎ +44 (0)1865 280405

Application-process enquiries

See the application guide

Other courses to consider

You may also wish to consider applying to other courses that are similar or related to this course:

View related courses

Visa eligibility for part-time study

We are unable to sponsor student visas for part-time study on this course. Part-time students may be able to attend on a visitor visa for short blocks of time only (and leave after each visit) and will need to remain based outside the UK.