Overview
- Degree awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Duration
- 3 years [full-time], 6 years [part-time]
- Entry requirements
-
- Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent)
- Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 70% or above (or overseas equivalent)
- How to apply
-
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 13 January 2025.
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 2025 entry: 30 June 2025
- For January 2026 entry: 30 September 2025
Programme options
Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
---|---|---|---|---|
PhD | Y | Y | N | N |
Programme overview
- Complete your research as part of the University's prestigious Centre for New Writing.
- Combine creative and critical elements within your doctorate, to prepare a novel or a collection of poetry or short stories.
- Benefit from creative supervision by an experienced poet or fiction writer and draw on the range of expertise within the University to find a supervisor for your critical element.
Open days
Want to find out more about what PhD study really involves, the application process and funding options for 2025? The Humanities Doctoral Academy will be conducting a range of sessions for potential PhD students across our Virtual Open Week (14 – 18 October 2024) across all four academic schools for anyone considering postgraduate research study for 2025/2026.
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2025, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
PhD (full-time)
UK students (per annum): TBC
International, including EU, students (per annum): £22,000 -
PhD (part-time)
UK students (per annum): TBC
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
Please note for the majority of projects where experimentation requires further resource: higher fee bands (where quoted) will be charged rather than the base rate for supervision, administration and computational costs. The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive and, therefore, you will not be required to pay any additional bench fees or administration costs.
All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of the course for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your project.
Read more about postgraduate fees .
Scholarships/sponsorships
There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.
To apply for University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including AHRC NWCDTP and School of Arts, Languages and Cultures studentships is 13 January 2025.
All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting the funding application form and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below.
You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines.
For more funding information, visit our funding page or use our funding database to search for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.
- AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
- China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme 2025 Entry
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures New Generation PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
- President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards 2025 Entry
- Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2025 Entry
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
- Contact name
- Humanities Doctoral Academy Admissions
- HUMS.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- https://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/
- School/Faculty
-
See: About us
Programmes in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
- Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent)
- Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 70% or above (or overseas equivalent)
English language
All applicants must provide evidence of English language proficiency:
- IELTS test minimum score – 7.0 overall, 7.0 in writing.
- TOEFL (internet based) test minimum score – 100 overall, 25 in all sections.
- Pearson Test of English (PTE) UKVI/SELT or PTE Academic minimum score – 76 overall, 76 in writing.
- To demonstrate that you have taken an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a majority English speaking nation within the last 5 years.
- Other tests may be considered.
English language test validity
Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the programme.
Other international entry requirements
We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country.
The University requires you to reside within a commutable distance from Manchester during your time as a registered student, unless you are on approved fieldwork/a formal placement or are on a period of Submission pending. This is to ensure that you are able to meet attendance expectations and participate in wider research activities within your discipline area and/or School.
Other entry requirements
Application and selection
How to apply
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 13 January 2025.
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 2025 entry: 30 June 2025
- For January 2026 entry: 30 September 2025
Advice to applicants
Before you start your application, you should:
- Develop your own research proposal and project title.
- Find a supervisor by browsing our academics’ profiles, and reach out directly to discuss if they are interested in supporting your research.
- 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 ; Please state the word count on page 1 of the document.
- A copy of your Bachelor's academic transcript and certificate.
- A copy of your Master's academic transcript and certificate. If your Master's degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript.
- If you have completed more than one Bachelor's or Master's degree, please provide evidence for each. If your transcripts are in a language other than English, you must provide an official English translation. If your weighted average mark or GPA is not included on these documents, please also include an official document from your university verifying this information.
- An up-to-date academic CV summarising your academic record, employment history, publications and highlighting experience demonstrating your research potential.
- The names of two academic referees, including one from your most recent institution. Your referees will be contacted directly via the Referee Portal following the submission of your application form. You may wish to notify your referees to submit their references promptly, as this is part of the review process.
- A certificate or evidence demonstrating your English language ability and proficiency. Applications can be considered without this evidence but any offer would be conditional on meeting minimum requirements.
- After you submit your application, we will request writing sample. This should be a creative piece (for example, 2 chapters of prose; 3 – 4 pieces of poetry).
Interview requirements
As part of the offer making process applicants will be required to undertake an interview assessment. This may be in the form of an in–person interview, or video call.
The interview is designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of the broad topic area, the viability of your proposed research and its intellectual contribution, alongside the fit of your project with the supervisory team. You also may be asked to identify and address any potential ethical considerations in relation to your proposed research, and discuss how best to progress your ideas in line with University of Manchester ethics guidance.
The interview panel will consist at minimum of your primary supervisor and an independent interviewer.
Deferrals
Re-applications
If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful, you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard programme entry criteria for that year of entry.
In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen programme.
Programme details
Programme description
Our PhD Creative Writing programme gives you the opportunity to work on a significant piece of creative writing while developing your research skills.
You will benefit from creative supervision by an experienced poet or fiction writer and draw on the range of expertise within the University to find a supervisor for your critical element.
There are two elements to the programme. The first is a creative element that can be a novel or a collection of short stories of up to 100,000 words, or a book-length collection of poetry of up to 60 poems.
The PhD also has a critical element, which is a piece of literary or cultural criticism of 30,000 to 50,000 words maximum.
Special features
Centre for New Writing
Undertake our PhD Creative Writing programme and you will become part of the University's Centre for New Writing, which has been championing contemporary fiction, poetry and creative writing since 2007 and is home to writers including Jeanette Winterson, Kamila Shamsie, Ian McGuire, Kaye Mitchell, Jason Allen-Paisant, Beth Underdown, Honor Gavin, Frances Leviston, Horatio Clare and John McAuliffe, and Luke Brown.
Additional programme information
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
The PhD will require you to develop your research skills and, to this end, you will be able to undertake a research skills audit and attend seminars and workshops on research methods in the first year.
In this way, you will participate in training seminars across the field of arts, languages and cultures, which will develop useful research, teaching and IT skills.
You will also attend seminars in relation to publication, authors' rights etc, which will be particularly useful to students of creative writing.
Specialised research training, and a wider postgraduate research culture within which your work will develop, is given through a programme of writing workshop masterclasses in which students take it in turns to have their writing workshopped by the other Creative Writing PhD students, supervisors and visiting writers from outside the institution.
Coursework and assessment
The PhD will normally consist of an extended and original piece of creative work and a shorter piece of literary or cultural criticism on a related subject.
The creative element could be a novel, a collection of poems, or collection of short stories. For fiction writers, the word length of this section will normally be around 80,000 words (there is a maximum word length of 100,000 words).
The critical component will involve a critical study of a subject related to the creative work, usually 30,000 to 50,000 words in length. This may involve any of the currently debated topics in English and American Studies as they relate to your creative work. For example, you might explore particular thematic or generic preoccupations in the work of other writers, or investigate some of the wider literary, theoretical, or poetic contexts into which your writing fits. Please note that the critical element is not a commentary on your own work or a self-reflective essay on your own creative processes; it is a piece of literary or cultural criticism of the type you would undertake if you were working towards a PhD in English Literature.
See what our current PhD students are working on.
Related research
What our students say
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.
Find out more about facilities for our English Literature and Creative Writing students.
Disability support
Careers
Career opportunities
Completing a doctoral programme in the Department of English, American Studies and Creative Writing at the University of Manchester opens up a number of different career paths:
- Former doctoral students have secured academic positions, both nationally and internationally, teaching and researching at Royal Holloway University of London, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Bangor, Liverpool Hope University, Istanbul Sehir University, Salford University, Birmingham City University, Cardiff University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Leeds, the University of Sheffield, the University of Kent, and the University of Amsterdam.
- Others have been offered post-doctoral fellowships enabling them to complete specific projects or giving them support to develop new research after their doctorate. The most recent ones include: Liberal Arts Early Career Development Fellowship at King's College, London; British Research Council Fellowship at the Library of Congress; Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Cork; Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Northumbria University; AHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Manchester; Lord Baltimore Fellowship at the Maryland Historical Society; Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at the University of Manchester; Visiting Fellowship at the Huntington Library; Visiting Fellowship at the Harry Ransom Foundation, Texas; Jacob M. Price Visiting Research Fellowship at the University of Michigan; Fulbright Fellowship; Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at the University of Warwick.
- A doctoral degree in EAC puts you in a strong position to develop a career in teaching, education, and the creative economy. Upper and Sixth Form tutor; Assistant Rector of the University of Notre Dame London Global Gateway; John Rylands Research Institute Manager; Research and Policy Analyst with the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO); and Inclusion Manager for The Growth Company are some of the positions that our graduate students have taken up.
Explore some of our former doctoral students' book and publications:
- E. James West, Ebony Magazine, Lerone Bennett Jr., and Popular Black History (Champaign: The University of Illinois Press, 2020)
- Ben Ware, Francis Bacon: Painting, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis (London: Thames&Hudson, 2020)
- Clara Bradury-Rance's Lesbian Cinema after Queer Theory (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2019)
- Philip O'Brien's The Working Class and Twenty-First Century British Fiction (London and New York: Routledge 2019)
- Ilya Yablokov's Fortress Russia: Conspiracy Theory in the Post-Soviet World (London: Polity, 2018)
- Reshma Ruia, A Dinner Party in the Home Counties (Skylark, 2019)
Former students have also published in peer-reviewed journals in different fields: the Journal of Postcolonial Writing, Journal of the Civil War Era, Textual Practice, Literature & History, Key Words: A Journal of Cultural Materialism, Journal of American Studies, The Black Scholar, Feminist Media Studies, and Dante Studies are among them.
If you are interested in pursuing doctoral study with us, contact the PGR office or the Postgraduate Research Director in English and American Studies (currently Dr Sundhya Walther ).
Find out about alumni from the Centre for New Writing .
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.