PhD Classics and Ancient History

Potential graduate applicants are always welcome to visit the department outside of open days, and these visits can often be arranged to give you a chance to meet existing graduate students and/or to attend one of the graduate seminars. Please contact Dr Ina Berg ( ina.berg@manchester.ac.uk ) for more information.

We will be conducting our Humanities PGR virtual open week in October 2024. Find out more about future events and postgraduate research sessions by signing up for our email alerts.

Apply online

Please ensure you include all  required supporting documents at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered. 

Application Deadlines 

For consideration in internal funding competitions, you must submit your completed application by  12 January 2024. 

If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self–funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed. 

• For September 2024 entry:  30 June 2024 
• For January 2025 entry:  30 September 2024

Before you start your application, you should: 

1. Develop your own research proposal and project title. 
2. Find a supervisor by browsing our academics’ profiles, and reach out directly to discuss if they are interested in supporting your research. 
3. Consider how you plan on funding your research and discuss this with your supervisor. 

When you submit your application, you must include each of the below required documents: 

• A 1,500 word PhD research proposal
• Copies of the academic transcript and certificate from both your Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. If your Master’s degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript. 
• An up to date academic CV, detailing your education and qualifications; employment history; publications; and any other relevant information. 
• You must nominate two academic referees (including one from your most recent institution). Your referees will be contacted directly via the Referee Portal following submission of your application form. You may wish to contact your referees to request they submit your reference in a reasonable timeframe as this forms part of the review process. 
• International applicants must additionally provide English Language evidence (e.g IELTS).  

Our PhD Classics and Ancient History programme is aimed at students who want to make a genuine contribution to scholarly knowledge and understanding of the field through their thesis. You will acquire an excellent general knowledge of the wider field in question and high competence in relevant languages - ancient and modern - and associated skills, both subject-specific and generic.

Our research covers Greek and Roman history, Classical literature and its reception, and ancient philosophy.  We enjoy close links with researchers in areas including Medieval and Modern History, Archaeology, Art History, English and American Studies, Linguistics, Religions and Theology, the John Rylands University Library and the Manchester Museum.   

We offer supervision in a very broad range of subjects spanning Greek and Roman culture, history, literature and language from the archaic period to late antiquity.  

Certain research clusters stand out within our present constellation of permanent staff and research fellows, especially in the areas of Greek and Roman history and Greek and Latin literature. Areas of specialism include epistolography, epigraphy, Hellenistic and Augustan poetry, historiography, Greek and Roman warfare, Greek institutional history, literary theory, and ancient philosophy. View a comprehensive list of our research interests .

We aim to:

• further your academic career objectives by making you feel welcome within, and a part of, our dynamic and demanding research culture;
• inspire you to attend and give papers at seminars and conferences;
• encourage you to undertake a modicum of appropriate undergraduate teaching, with guidance and support throughout.

Lively research environment  

Symptomatic of the size and dynamism of our research community is our research seminar, which meets most Thursdays in term-time.  

Addressed mainly by visiting speakers from universities in the UK and overseas, the seminar attracts an audience typically of 30 to 40 people, and usually also gives you the opportunity of meeting and talking with the speaker.  

There are also other, less formal, opportunities for research collaboration, such as the Latin poetry reading group, meeting most weeks of the year, and other more occasional reading groups. There are also many research workshops and conferences organised on particular themes in the department.

Several times each semester, there is a departmental lunch for staff and postgraduates, usually on the same day as a research seminar. This provides an excellent opportunity for informal interaction and community building.  

PhD study centres on the student-supervisor relationship and on regular meetings with the supervisor (at least once a month for full-time students).

Our PhD students have three members of academic staff assigned to them in a supervisory role.

The principal supervisor, a co-supervisor, and a further 'independent reviewer' together constitute the PhD Panel, which meets biannually to review and give constructive advice on the student's individual progress, both on the thesis and more generally.

Research training teaches you how to devise realistic independent research projects, how to plan and execute them, and how to present your results.

Core/generic training areas include:

• IT, research and analytical skills
• academic writing and publishing
• communication and networking
• career management
• language support
• teacher training.

Assessment is based on the thesis and an oral examination.

The vast book and periodical collections of The University of Manchester Library are the result of well over a century of large-scale book purchasing, and are deservedly world-famous.

Of special note for you are the impressive collections of papyri, medieval manuscripts and early printed books held at the John Rylands Library on Deansgate in the city centre (a ten-minute bus ride from the department).

The Library's holdings are constantly updated and enlarged on every front, with purchasing in all areas of Greek and Roman studies being exceptionally vigorous.

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.

Find out more about our facilities for Classics and Ancient History students.

The PhD is a vital vocational qualification for those planning to pursue an academic career.

Recent graduates have gone on to research fellowships, and to part-time and full-time temporary and permanent academic positions in UK and overseas universities including Oxford, UCL, Manchester, Exeter and Leeds.

As a non-vocational qualification, the PhD offers a wealth of highly valued transferable skills, and allows you to keep open a very wide range of career options in virtually any branch of professional employment in the public or private sector, including government, commerce, industry or teaching.

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.