PhD Digital Humanities

The School of Advanced Study at the University of London brings together eight internationally renowned research institutes to form the UK's national centre for the support of researchers and the promotion of research in the humanities.

Digital Humanities (DH) is an interdisciplinary subject area that brings a range of computational, quantitative and other innovative and collaborative methods to the study of texts, images, histories, languages and cultures, while also being critical about methodology, disciplinarity and pedagogy.

Digital Humanities in the School of Advanced Study demonstrates the value of digital research to the wider humanities community and fulfils the School’s remit to promote and facilitate digitally enabled research across the disciplines. The School’s multidisciplinary DH team comprises academics with strong connections to subject areas including Classics, English, History and Modern Languages and Cultures, as well as researchers and practitioners with technical backgrounds.

PhD students are based in the Digital Humanities Research Hub, which has strong connections with the Institutes and Centres in the School. Academic staff in the Hub has expertise in Classics, English, History and Modern Languages and Cultures. Students will also have the opportunity to work with technical experts and other digital humanities practitioners. It is also possible to secure co-supervision from a supervisor based elsewhere in the School who can offer additional disciplinary expertise.

Full-time study for the PhD degree entails three or a maximum of four years' independent research, culminating in the writing of a thesis of not more than 100,000 words. Part-time students complete the same programme in five, or a maximum of six years.

After submission of the thesis, you will attend an oral examination conducted by an internal examiner, from the University of London, and an external examiner, normally from another British university.

There is no formal coursework, but you will be expected to participate in a weekly seminar on Work in Progress and to present a paper every year from your second year onwards. In your first year you are required to attend a weekly class on Techniques of Scholarship. You are also encouraged to participate in the regular seminars held at the Institute during the academic year.

All of the digital research in the School has a strong humanities focus and brings together technical expertise with a strong foundation in specific disciplinary approaches. 

Recent research in the Hub has included:

• Humanities approaches to the archived web
• Analysing COVID misinformation on social media
• The transnational comparison of parliamentary proceedings
• Computational text analysis of the 1921 Census records
• The application of digital methods to papyrology
• Digital resources in cultural heritage institutions
• Multilingual analysis of contemporary news coverage using natural language processing

Before submitting an application you are advised to contact a member of academic staff who has interests in your proposed field of study to discuss your proposal.

Before submitting an application you are advised to contact a member of academic staff who has interests in your proposed field of study to discuss your proposal. Please speak first to Valerie James, manager, Central Academic Initiatives, School of Advanced Study.

Professor Jane Winters
Professor of Digital Humanities
(On research leave through September 2024)
Research interests:
Communications, Contemporary History, Culture, Digital resources, Digitisation, History, Medieval History.

Dr Naomi Wells
Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages and Digital Humanities
Acting Director, Digital Humanities Research Hub
Research interests: Culture, Digital resources, Language and Literature (Italian), Language and Literature (Spanish).

Dr Kaspar Beelen
Technical Lead, Digital Humanities
Research interests: computational methods for digital history, the study of bias in big historical data, the politics of big data, and the computational analysis of political text.

Dr Gabriel Bodard
Reader in Digital Classics
Research interests:
Ancient History, Archaeology, Classics, Digital resources, Digitisation.

Dr Christopher Ohge
Senior Lecturer in Digital Approaches to Literature
Research interests:
Digital resources, Digitisation, English Literature, History of the book, Manuscript studies, Modernism, Palaeography, Philosophy, Romanticism.

Distance learning offers you a more flexible way to study for a postgraduate degree in the humanities – combining innovative learning and teaching techniques with the ability to study from anywhere in the world.

We offer three master’s courses and a range of PhD supervision via distance learning. Our research degrees via distance learning allow you to study for a University of London MPhil or PhD degree from anywhere in the world. The programme is run on the same basis as campus-based programmes.

The School of Advanced Study will offer students with an appropriate topic and level of local resource the opportunity to undertake a PhD by distance learning. These students are required to attend our London campus at set intervals to complete an intensive research training module, for upgrade, and for the viva but will otherwise study at their own location. This option is available to UK, EU and international students on the same basis as our on-campus PhD programmes (three years full time, six years part time). Fees are the same as for our on-campus PhD programmes. 

Important note: It may not always be possible for all institutes and supervisors to offer the option of distance learning, as some topics are not appropriate to be studied this way. As such, we strongly recommend that you check first - before applying.

If you would like to be considered for our Research Degree programme via Distance Learning, please download and fill out the Research Degrees by Distance Learning form, to attach to your online application.

The Digital Humanities Research Hub conducts cutting edge research and collaborates on a number of well-established digital projects. These include a number of online databases; directories; bibliographies; catalogues; and collections. The Hub also runs the Senate House MakerSpace, which provides facilities for 3D imaging and printing, digitisation, and computational experimentation.

The Hub hosts a lively intellectual environment that includes an active seminar series and visiting research fellows. Students are also welcome to participate in digitally-focused seminars hosted by other Institutes within the School. Members of the Hub are also active in digital humanities organisations including the UK-Ireland Digital Humanities Association.

The School of Advanced Study itself offers excellent resources for inter-disciplinary research by bringing together eight internationally renowned research institutes that support the promotion of research in the humanities. The Hub also has strong relationships with Senate House Library, which runs a number of digital programmes in addition to its range of historic library reading rooms and collections. 

The School offers a broad range of events, seminars and conferences that we encourage our research students to engage with. This includes opportunities to participate in the annual Being Human Festival, the flagship festival of the humanities in the United Kingdom.

Our research students can also take advantage of a varied and challenging research training programme, with general research skills training and research methodologies courses provided through the School and subject-specific training provided within the institutes.

Before submitting an application, you are advised to discuss your proposal with a member of the academic staff who has interests in your proposed field of study. You can find our academic staff's contact details and areas of expertise in the Supervisors section.

Before agreeing to accept you, the School will require you to submit a research proposal, so it is worthwhile to have drafted this before formally applying. See the Guidelines on drafting your research proposal.

Candidates will normally receive an initial response to their application within 28 working days. Those who have been formally interviewed will normally be informed within one week as to whether they are to be offered a place.

Note: in accordance with regulations research students will be registered for the MPhil degree in the first instance. Upgrading to PhD will be considered in the second year for full-time students and in the third or fourth year for part-time students.

Fees are set annually and cover registration, tuition, and (in the case of research students) supervision.

Fees are quoted per annum -- that is, you will need to pay at least the fee quoted below for each year of your studies. Please note that tuition fees are subject to annual uplift. The University of London reserves the right to alter or withdraw courses and amend other details without prior notice.

See the Tuition Fees for 2024-25 - listed by Institute.

Our students fund their studies in a variety of ways including scholarships, bursaries and fellowships, as well as government loans and postgraduate loans. 

We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries that you don't need to pay back and are awarded based on personal circumstances or academic achievement. Funding at postgraduate level is competitive so it’s a good idea to plan financially before starting your course. 

For information about fees and funding from the School of Advanced Study, please visit the SAS Fees and Funding page.

The SAS Careers Service works with students and graduates of all ages and at all stages of career development across all the institutes. Our mission is to provide high-quality information about careers and skills, and professional advice and guidance. We help students with their career development, either within their current field of work or in something completely new. 

SAS students can access 1-2-1 guidance appointments throughout their studies and for up to 2 years after graduating, to help them plan their next steps, whatever they might be. We also offer CV, cover letter, and application advice as well as mock interviews with the SAS Careers Consultant who will empower you to feel more confident in your interview performance.