124 PhD programmes in Literature in Europe

Here at the University of Surrey while studying the Literary and Cultural Studies, you’ll join a cosmopolitan, multilingual and multicultural community of students and scholars.

The PhD program in British, Irish, and American Literatures at the University of Pécs provides advanced training in literary history, theory, and cultural studies. Completed over four years (eight semesters), it combines coursework, individual research, and academic activities. Students must pass a comprehensive exam and complete and publicly defend a doctoral dissertation.

On this Creative Writing programme offered at the University of Surrey you will meet Surrey's vibrant and imaginative community with a diverse mix of subject specialities and much opportunity for intellectual exchange, across both literary-critical and creative work.

Our English Literature research degree (MPhil/ PhD) allows you to undertake the rigorous and critical exploration of literatures in English, including publication processes and histories. The English Literature programme is offered at University of Greenwich.

The Department of Comparative Literature at Queen Mary University of London ranks among the leading centres for research and study in Comparative Literature in London.

The English Literature course at Bangor University provides you with the opportunity to work over an extended period on a collection of short stories, a novel or a collection of poems under the individual supervision of a writer actively publishing in your field.

Within the Philosophy (Distance Learning) PhD programme from University of York students follow an approved programme of research supervised by a member of academic staff and informed by a Thesis Advisory Panel.

This PhD Comparative and Intercultural Studies programme at University of Reading accommodates researchers with a background in literary studies, cultural studies, history, or linguistics, with knowledge of cultures and languages in addition to English, and with an interest in comparative and intercultural studies.

English and Creative Writing at the University of Dundee provides a nurturing environment for both individual and collaborative research: its permanent academic staff, together with a number of teaching and research fellows, cover a wide range of interests and periods.

This PhD Intercultural and Comparative Studies programme at University of Reading accommodates researchers with a background in literary studies, culture studies or linguistics, with knowledge of cultures and languages in addition to English, and with an interest in comparative and intercultural studies.

The  Ph.D. English Language and Literature programme for master's degree holders at the Department of English Language and Literature at Istanbul Aydin University, is designed to  prepare students for independent work as scholars, critics of literature and as competent and objective academics in the advanced study of literatures in English.

The Department of English supervises research degrees in a broad range of areas, from classical literature to contemporary writing and theory. The English programme of the Queen Mary University of London has particular expertise in enabling students to locate their chosen topic of literary research within an interdisciplinary framework.

With the a Shakespeare Studies programme from  University of Birmingham you'll join a community of scholars in Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon and access the most comprehensive Shakespeare studies collection in the UK.

Are you an ambitious researcher looking to combine comparative studies and critical theories? Conduct your own research exploring world cultures and literatures through an interdisciplinary, critical lens with the Comparative Literature and Critical Theories at the University of Birmingham.

This English Literature course from the University of West London offers a PhD by individual research within the areas of expertise of the School’s teaching staff.

On this English Literature programme at the University of Surrey you will perform innovative and world-leading research across literature, writing and linguistics.

The Women's Studies PhD programme from University of York provides an interdisciplinary environment for research and supervision in a wide range of Women's Studies issues to both full- and part-time students.

This English Literature and Creative Writing course from Lancaster University was developed to meet the needs of students exploring the interface between critical and creative modes of research and writing. 

Research in the Department of English brings the core values of our discipline - textual scholarship, critical and theoretical analysis, and contextual knowledge - to the dynamic and changing field of English literary studies. University of Bristol offers the English Literature programme. 

The PhD programme in English Literature degree delivered at Cardiff University offers the opportunity for postgraduate students to make an original contribution to knowledge in their chosen field of study and to become part of a thriving, internationally-renowned research community.