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As a doctoral student in the Department of Languages and Cultures at the University of Reading, you will contribute to our interdisciplinary research culture, and benefit from the mentoring provided by an integrated and supportive research community with an international outlook.
We offer PhD programmes in:
Our East German Studies Archive offers unique resources, including an extensive collection of German feature films.
Translation studies looks at processes and techniques of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural mediation. We support doctoral projects in translation interfacing with French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Arabic languages and cultures. In the field of translation studies we support doctoral research investigating:
This PhD programme accommodates researchers with a background in literary studies, cultural studies, history, or linguistics, with knowledge of cultures and languages in addition to English, and with an interest in comparative and intercultural studies.
Research projects within this programme can include comparative literature and cultural transfer, cross-linguistic comparison of discourses and language use as well as intercultural communication.
Supervisory teams may draw on related research expertise of staff in and across the departments of English Literature; English Language and Applied Linguistics; Film, Theatre and Television; and History.
Our doctoral scholars are encouraged to present their work at national and international conferences. They have the opportunity to showcase their work-in-progress at the annual University of Reading Language Studies Conference.
When you study a PhD with us, you'll be assigned two supervisors who have research expertise in your chosen area of enquiry. If your project spans more than one discipline, your second supervisor may be from a different department to complement your areas of interest.
Our academics are leaders in their areas of research and will work closely with you to ensure your time with us as a PhD student is as rewarding and intellectually enriching as possible.
Find out more about how to apply for a PhD, and identify and contact a supervisor.
We offer several routes to a doctoral qualification, so you can find the one that suits you and the topic you wish to study.
Part-time PhDs are available as well as full-time, so you can choose a mode of study that suits your circumstances.
Our PhD by Distance programme allows you to benefit from the expertise of a Reading-based supervisor, while conducting your research in a different location.
Here are some examples of projects that students have undertaken in the Department.
100% of our research is of international standing (REF 2021, combining 4*, 3* and 2* submissions – Modern Languages and Linguistics).
Join a friendly, collaborative community. You’ll have many opportunities to network with other researchers, within the University and internationally.
We conduct research in French, Italian, German, and Spanish within global contexts, and may also offer supervision for studies involving other languages, such as Arabic.