Programme description
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 .
Aims
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.
Special features
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.
Additional programme information
Humanities Doctoral Academy
Our Humanities Doctoral Academy combines the strengths of our four schools to bring expertise, knowledge, support and high-quality services for postgraduate researchers.
We are a community of academic leaders and postgraduate researchers across all levels in the Faculty of Humanities. The Doctoral Academy Hub houses our specialist professional service teams who support postgraduate researchers throughout the programme journey.
This includes admissions, registration, student experience, progression, examination, and graduation. We collaborate closely with other University directorates including Manchester Doctoral College, Researcher Development team, and the corresponding Doctoral Academies in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Together we provide the best experience and support for your studies and research.
EDI
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
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.
Coursework and assessment
Assessment is based on the thesis and an oral examination.
Programme unit details
First-year research students participate in our research training course 'Studying the Ancient World: Techniques and Approaches', and any MA or advanced BA course units recommended by the supervisor.
You are expected to acquire and develop knowledge of relevant languages (modern as well as ancient) throughout the PhD.
Recent and current PhD topics include:
- Magic Mirrors: Mirror Metaphors in Ovid's Ars Amatoria;
- Greek and Latin in Contact: Roman Corinth;
- Practical Magic: Making and Using Magical Objects in Rituals in Late Antique Egypt;
- How collective was Roman collective memory? The role of the populous and the Augustan invention of Roman collective memory;
- The Achilleid of Statius and its Literary Predecessors;
- Shapeshifters in Greek Poetry;
- Vision, space and time in Lycophron's Alexandra;
- Commentary on Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica Book 1;
- Banquet of Death: Alimentary Imagery in Statius' Thebaid;
- Leadership in Herodotus;
- Retirement in the Roman world;
- Burial societies in the Roman World;
- The Language of the Ancient Mediterranea
Find out more about current PhD research in Classics and Ancient History.
Related research
REF 2021
In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF2021), Classics at Manchester was ranked joint first nationally (by grade point average) among the 17 departments whose research was assessed under Unit of Assessment 29 (Classics)
This included our being awarded the maximum possible 4* grading (100%) for the 'outstanding' impact of our research.
Find out more about our Classics and Ancient History research.
What our students say
Facilities
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.