PhD Middle Eastern Studies / Overview

Year of entry: 2024

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); and 
  • Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent) 

Full entry requirements

Number of places/applicants
There is no limit on the number of places available.
How to apply

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 

Programme options

Full-time Part-time Full-time distance learning Part-time distance learning
PhD Y Y N N

Programme description

Our PhD Middle Eastern Studies programme enables you to carry out a piece of significant, original research under the supervision of our academics.

Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at Manchester offers wide-ranging opportunities for research and advanced training in the history, politics, gender studies, literatures, religious traditions and cultures of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Training and research supervision in most major cultures and periods of the MENA region are delivered by experts whose publications contribute to their subject on an international level.

We regularly organise seminars, workshops and conferences, and offer some specialist training opportunities. Another major research centre, the Centre for Jewish Studies (CJS), brings together a wide range of specialists from across the University, and a large and active body of graduate students working on various aspects of Jewish culture and history, including modern Israeli/Palestinian society.

Research specialisms in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies and related subject areas include literature, women and gender, culture and history of the Arab countries ( Salhi, Mostafa, Behar ), Islamic societies and practices, ( Woerner-Powell ), the phenomenon of nationalism and the modern and contemporary history of Israel/Palestine, with special focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict ( Behar ).

Other areas of doctoral supervision can be offered or are available through inter-disciplinary collaboration.

Manchester's experts in Middle Eastern Studies contribute to the public debate on contemporary cultural-religious issues in the UK, the analysis and contextualisation of current affairs in the Middle East, and the understanding of gender roles and the relations between 'East' and 'West'.

Manchester is also the editorial home of the Journal of Semitic Studies (JSS), an internationally renowned academic journal.

Find out more about our research , our staff and what our current postgraduate research students are working on.

Open days

Find out what it's like to study at Manchester by visiting us on one of our  open days.

Fees

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2024, the tuition fees are as follows:

  • PhD (full-time)
    UK students (per annum): £4,786
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,500
  • PhD (part-time)
    UK students (per annum): £2,393

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). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your project.

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 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 12 January 2024. 

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.  

For more information about funding, visit our funding page to browse for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

Contact details

School/Faculty
School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
Contact name
Humanities Doctoral Academy Admissions
Email
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.

Regulated by the Office for Students

The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website.

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website.