English Language PhD

The Department of Linguistics and English Language at Manchester is virtually unique in the UK and beyond in the breadth of subject areas and theoretical approaches represented by its members, many of whom are internationally renowned scholars in their specialisms. Particular strengths in the discipline include: endangered languages, field linguistics and language documentation, the linguistics of English (both synchronic and diachronic), phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax (especially lexical-functional grammar and construction grammar), typology, language contact and sociolinguistics, historical linguistics (especially English, Romance and Germanic), (formal) semantics and pragmatics, and corpus linguistics. We offer supervision in all these areas.

Manchester is an international centre for research activities in Linguistics and English language. Manchester scholars contributed to The Cambridge history of the English language and The Cambridge grammar of the English language, and serve on the editorial boards of major journals and publishers: one of the editors of the journal English Language and Linguistics and the editor of Romani Studies are at Manchester.

The Manchester Phonology Meeting, which takes place annually in May, has arguably become the world's most important regular conference for phonologists. In 2011, Manchester host three major conferences: the annual meeting of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain, the 12 ^th International Pragmatics conference, and the 6 ^th conference on the Semantics of Underrepresented Languages in the Americas. We have also co-hosted the International Postgraduate Linguistics Conference, a conference organized by postgraduates for postgraduates, for more than 20 years.

Academic entry qualification overview:

Successful completion of a Masters course with an overall classification of Merit or higher, or its overseas equivalent, with an element of research training, is a prerequisite for entry to a PhD. A research proposal must be included with the formal application materials. 

English language:

Students whose first language is not English require:

an overall IELTS score of 7.0 with 7.0 in the writing component

or

a TOEFL score of 600 paper-based test, 250 computer-based test, or 100 internet-based test

or

a Pearson Test of English (PTE) score of 70 overall with 70 in the writing component

Some English language test results are only valid for two years. Your English language test report must be valid on the start date of your programme

Your research will normally be supervised by two members of staff at the University. Your supervisors will most likely be members of the School, but if your research requires it, the School or Subject area may arrange for supervision by someone outside the School. Supervisory arrangements at Manchester are governed by a Code of Practice which is available on the University's website. Regular meetings will be held with the supervisors, and details of each of the meetings will be recorded. Research Panels (consisting of at least three academic staff, including the supervisors) are held once per semester to monitor progress.

Please note, the first year of the full-time programme and the first two years of the part-time programme are probationary; this means you will be required to show evidence of satisfactory progress in order to proceed with the programme.

All postgraduate students in the School can make use of the purpose-designed Centre for Graduate Studies, opened in 2003. The Centre is located in one of the University's most interesting architectural spaces, highlighted in Pevsner's guide to Manchester for its `Corbusian external stairs and a curving rooftop pavilion ... the interior of which is an exciting space with big circular rooflights and very narrow window slits on one side only.' Care was taken to enhance those features while providing state-of-the-art facilities for postgraduate study. These include 30 computers (several with dedicated translation studies software), LaserJet printers, `hot-desk' facilities for around 50 students (including workstation facilities for students with disabilities), and 132 secure lockers. The Centre also houses a collection of past theses and dissertations from all subjects studied in the School at PhD, MPhil and MA level, which students can access to inform their own research and writing.

In addition to the Centre for Graduate Studies, the University has five major computer clusters, together with many smaller clusters. In total there are more than 10,000 PCs and workstations across the campus. All provide access to standard office software as well as specialist programs, and all are connected to the campus network and internet. Every student is registered for email, file storage and internet access. If more demanding computer access is required, our specialist computing division Manchester Computing can provide high-end and specialist computing services.

The  University of Manchester Library is one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and is widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries. We also have one of the largest academic IT services in Europe - supporting world-class teaching and research.

School of Arts, Languages and Cultures

See: About us

Recent thesis titles include:

• Definiteness in Estonian
• COMP and the Left Periphery: A Cross-Linguistic Study
• Infinitives with specified subjects in Romance: A synchronic and diachronic account
• Auxiliary Distribution in Non-standard Italian: Three Case Studies
• Aspect and Argument Structure in Japanese
• Syncrony and Diachrony of Pronominal Reference in English: A Cognitive Perspective
• Aspects of Eleme Verbal Morphosyntax
• Syntax and Style in a Corpus of Early Modern Poetry
• Communicative Strategies in the Italian of Igbo-Nigerian Immigrants in Padova (Italy): A Contact Linguistic Approach

Telephone: +44 (0)161 275 3559

Facsimile: +44 (0)161 275 3031

Email: PhDSALC@manchester.ac.uk

Website: www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/lel/postgraduateresearch/research/