Programme description
Our PhD Italian Studies programme enables you to carry out a piece of significant and original research at a department that undertakes internationally recognised research that is both wide-ranging and markedly interdisciplinary.
We have a particular focus on Modernism, arts and power, the Italian Fascist regime and European totalitarianisms, the history of the book and periodical studies, late medieval and Renaissance literary and cultural studies, translation studies, contemporary literature and arts, linguistics and sociolinguistics.
A considerable number of PhD candidates in Italian have pursued research across fields from the medieval to modern, including linguistics, cultural and translation studies, often supported by funding secured from major AHRC research project awards.
Italian was also at the forefront of the relaunch of the John Rylands Research Institute , based at the University's special collections, securing PhD bursaries for candidates working on the world-class holdings of early Italian printed books and manuscripts from the Spencer, Christie and Bullock collections.
Staff are also involved in collaborations with colleagues from institutions across the world, and have secured visiting professorships, fellowships and grants at Harvard University, Milan Statale University, Naples University, the Folger Library, the Morgan Library and the British School in Rome.
Our research culture is further enhanced by the presence of visiting professors and lecturers from Italy and the USA, participation in the interdisciplinary seminars held by CIDRAL , and our own research seminars.
Find out more about our research in Italian Studies , our staff and what our current postgraduate research students are working on.
Special features
Graduate School
All of our postgraduate students become members of the Graduate School when you start at Manchester. It has dedicated facilities for students and offers opportunities to collaborate with other postgraduates.
REF 2014
In the 2014 REF, Modern Languages and Linguistics at Manchester - the unit of assessment that includes Italian Studies - had more than 70% of research outputs rated at 4* (world leading)/3* (internationally excellent).
These results place Modern Languages and Linguistics at Manchester at a highly impressive 3rd out of 57 submissions, nationally, based on research power (calculated by 4* and 3* times number of staff submitted).
Additional programme information
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities.
We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
All appointments are made on merit.
The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Teaching and learning
The PhD is the major postgraduate research degree. It involves three years of full-time study or six years of part-time study and the preparation of a thesis of not more than 80,000 words that makes a significant contribution to knowledge.
A satisfactory PhD topic is one that a suitably qualified and properly supervised student can bring to completion within the permitted timeframe.
Please note that all PhD students are required to undertake research training as part of their PhD programme.
Coursework and assessment
Your research will normally be supervised by two members of staff at the University. Your supervisors will most likely be members of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, but if your research requires it, we 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 that 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 to proceed with the programme.
Facilities
Manchester is home to one of the UK's five National Research Libraries - one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries.
Find out more about libraries and study spaces for postgraduate research students at Manchester.
We also have one of the largest academic IT services in Europe - supporting world-class teaching and research. There are extensive computing facilities across campus, with access to standard office software as well as specialist programmes, all 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 can provide high-end and specialist computing services.
The Graduate School offers dedicated state of the art facilities to research students, including common rooms and workstations.
Find out more about facilities for Modern Languages and Cultures students.