PhD Arab World Studies / Careers

Year of entry: 2024

Career opportunities

Many of PhD graduates in Modern Languages and Translation and Interpreting Studies have gone on to academic positions at leading universities in the UK, Europe, USA, East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Our graduates have been also successful with receiving prestigious postdoctoral fellowships, including the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship and the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The interdisciplinarity nature of PhD programmes in Modern Languages and Cultures and Translation and Interpreting Studies prepares our graduates successfully to apply to a wide range of academic posts. In addition to those in European and Middle Eastern Languages and Translation/Interpreting, our graduates have been appointed to permanent academic positions in Film Studies; History; Journalism and Political Communication; and Sociology. Recent examples include:

  • Dr Abi Bharat (PhD French Studies), tenure-track assistant professorship, the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan, USA
  • Dr Ignacio Aguiló (PhD Latin American Studies), lectureship in Latin American Cultural Studies, University of Manchester
  • Dr Ibrahim Alfraih (PhD Middle Eastern Studies), lectureship, King Saud University, Saudi Araba
  • Dr Liwen Chang (PhD Translation Studies), senior lectureship, Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Dr Chonglong Gu (PhD Translation Studies), lectureship in Translation and Interpreting, the University of Liverpool
  • Dr Leanne Dawson (PhD German Studies), lectureship in German and Film, the University of Edinburgh
  • Dr Melanie Foedisch (PhD Translation Studies), lectureship in Translation Studies, the University of Manchester
  • Dr Eleanor Jones (PhD Portuguese Studies), lectureship in Portuguese and World Literatures, University of Southampton
  • Dr Sue-Ann Harding (PhD Russian Studies), senior lectureship in Translation and Intercultural Studies, Queen's University, Belfast
  • Dr Emma Heywood (PhD Russian Studies), lectureship in Journalism, Politics and Communication, University of Sheffield
  • Dr Paulina Henry-Tierney (PhD French Studies), lectureship in French Translation, Newcastle University
  • Dr Mila Milani (PhD Italian Studies), senior lectureship in Italian Studies, Warwick University
  • Dr Gozde Naiboglu (PhD German Studies), lectureship in Film Studies, University of Leicester
  • Dr Bryan Roby (PhD Middle Eastern Studies), assistant professorship at the Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
  • Dr Neil Sadler (PhD Translation Studies), lectureship in Translation Studies, Queen's University, Belfast
  • Dr Elisabeth Schimpfoessl (PhD Russian Studies), lectureship in Sociology, Aston University
  • Dr Ewa Stanczyk (PhD Polish Studies), lectureship in East European Studies, University of Amsterdam
  • Dr Joseph Twist (PhD German Studies), lectureship in German Studies, University College Dublin
  • Dr Denis Volkov (PhD Middle Eastern Studies), associate professorship in Iranian Studies and Middle Eastern history, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
  • Dr Ilya Yablokov (PhD Russian Studies), lectureship in Russian Studies, University of Leeds

Research and communication skills which our PhD programmes help developing also position our graduates to get highly competitive posts outside academia, including in civil service, media and business.

The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help support you with your goals for the future.