PhD Chinese Studies

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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 Chinese Studies programme will enable you to undertake a significant piece of research that aligns with our interests in a wide range of areas.

Our research encompasses modern and contemporary cultures in China and Taiwan. This includes cinema and media; social and political history of China; and Chinese Buddhism. The study of modern Chinese art benefits from close collaboration. Our researchers in Chinese Studies work closely with art galleries in Manchester and the north-west.

There are rich opportunities for the study of earlier periods of Chinese history and culture. This is facilitated by the holdings of The University of Manchester Library - the third largest academic library in the UK. The John Rylands Library and Research Institute's holdings are a unique collection of late imperial and early modern texts, art and objects that provide fecund ground for further research. We also run a regular research seminar series in East Asian Studies, and postgraduate students contribute significantly to the running and content of both.

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

Manchester China Institute

MCI promotes excellence in research about China across the Humanities. It champions research with impact, seeking to benefit Britain, China, and the world, redress global inequalities, and promote mutual understanding in UK-China relations.

Read more about the research at the MCI .

The PhD is the major postgraduate research degree. It involves three years of full-time study or six years of part-time study and the preparation of a thesis of not more than 80,000 words that makes a significant contribution to knowledge.

A satisfactory PhD topic is one that a suitably qualified and properly supervised student can bring to completion within the permitted timeframe.

Please note that all PhD students are required to undertake research training as part of their PhD programme.

Your research will normally be supervised by two members of staff at the University. Your supervisors will most likely be members of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, but if your research requires it, we may arrange for supervision by someone outside the School.

Supervisory arrangements at Manchester are governed by a Code of Practice which is available on the University's website.

Regular meetings will be held with the supervisors, and details of each of the meetings will be recorded.

Research panels (consisting of at least three academic staff, including the supervisors) are held once per semester to monitor progress.

Please note that the first year of the full-time programme and the first two years of the part-time programme are probationary. This means you will be required to show evidence of satisfactory progress to proceed with the programme.

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, all connected to the campus network and internet.

Find out more about facilities for Modern Languages and Cultures students.

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.