Overview

About the programme

Discourse Studies researchers study how, through language, people participate in, normalise or disrupt cultural and social structures, norms and practices, e.g. in public communication, institutional talk or conversation. They use a wide range of methodological and theoretical tools to study written and spoken meaning making, including face-to-face interaction, print and digital media.

For example, researchers in the School explore and problematize political discourse in the media; social media mourning; decoloniality and discourse; the role of discourse in constructing power structures in academia; workplace intercultural communication; discourses of marriage; the discursive construction of gender in children’s fiction and of morality in public and private discourse.

As a PhD student at The Open University UK, you will be part of a vibrant international community of discourse researchers: DiscourseNet. International Association of Discourse Studies.

Programme Structure

Potential research projects:

Discourse and politics
Workplace discourse including intercultural communication and pragmatics
Topics combining discourse analysis with corpus linguistics or ethnography
Narrative and argumentation
Social media narratives
Critical discourse analysis of identity construction in print media or fiction
Representation of marginalised groups and/or of poverty
Language and gender
Linguistic practices and (im)mobility
Communicative practices in the informal economies of the Global South and the Global North

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 36 months
Part-time
- 72 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-10-01 00:00:00
- Apply before 2027-01-01 00:00:00

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

87

Schedule TOEFL®

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

Disciplines

Linguistics View 74 other PhDs in Linguistics in United Kingdom

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Academic requirements

GPA

Upper Second Class

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

87

Schedule TOEFL®

Other requirements

General requirements

Entry requirements:

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

12705 GBP / year

≈ 12705 GBP / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

5006 GBP / year

≈ 5006 GBP / year

Living costs

Milton Keynes

United Kingdom

848 - 1345 GBP / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for Discourse Studies.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

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