Overview

English PhD students at Royal Holloway University of London enjoy a varied and lively research culture based in both our London and Egham campuses.

The Centre for Victorian Studies hosts popular lectures by international scholars, usually held in the Royal Holloway Picture Gallery, a superb and renowned collection of 19th-century paintings, while readings and performances from our Creative Writing students and internationally recognised staff are a regular feature of our cultural life.

These are just examples of what there is to choose from to enrich your time at Royal Holloway and to bring intellectual engagement and community with your fellow researchers.

Your future career

Many of our PhD graduates have gone on to successful academic careers in tertiary and secondary education. Others have obtained posts at the British Library, Shakespeare’s Globe and a wide variety of museum, curation and arts management projects.

Some practice-based graduates now work in Creative Writing posts in academic institutions, and many have published successful (and in many cases award-winning) novels and books of poetry.

Programme Structure

Research areas include:

Medieval Studies
Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature
17th and 18th Century Literature and Culture
Centre for Victorian Studies
20th and 21st Century Literature and Theory
World Literature
Poetics
Humanities and Arts
Creative Writing

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 48 months
Part-time
- 60 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-09-22 00:00:00

Application deadline not specified.

More details

Students need to secure a supervisor in order to apply for their research project, then apply on the university’s application portal.

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

88

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Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

London, United Kingdom
Egham, United Kingdom

Disciplines

Language Studies View 147 other PhDs in Language Studies in United Kingdom

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Academic requirements

GPA

Upper Second Class

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

88

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Other requirements

General requirements

We typically expect students beginning an MPhil or an MPhil leading to a PhD degree to hold at least a 2:1 or equivalent for their undergraduate degree and at least a merit or equivalent at Master’s level.
There are minimum English language requirements for overseas students in line with general admission policies to the college.

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

26400 GBP / year

≈ 26400 GBP / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

5006 GBP / year

≈ 5006 GBP / year

Living costs

London

United Kingdom

1137 - 2157 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 English.

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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