Check equivalent international qualifications to a UK upper-second class honours degree, which is the normal entry requirement for admission to taught postgraduate programme.
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PhD at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies
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The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies offers support and research supervision in the broad areas of French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese studies, cultural studies and literatures in modern languages. Benefit from the expertise of our world-leading academics in a supportive, friendly environment.
Key features
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Learn from world-leading experts
The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies provides first-class PhD supervision and guidance from academics who are leaders in their field, in collaboration with specialists at other institutions where appropriate.
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A wealth of resources
Located in Bloomsbury, the heart of intellectual London, the Institute is home to outstanding resources: its Library holds over 190,000 volumes and 230 archival collections. As a student here, you'll also have access to the world-class Senate House Library and those of the University of London federation members.
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Fit your studies around your life
Enjoy flexibility in terms of where and how you study. Supervision is available on campus or online, so you can research from home in your own time; and as the PhD can be completed part-time in up to six years, there's no need to put your life on hold.
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Career and networking opportunities
As part of the School of Advanced Study (SAS), University of London, you will benefit from a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment. Expand your knowledge through an extensive calendar of events, conferences, and seminars and become part of a worldwide network of humanities scholars.
Course overview
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.
The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (ILCS) provides first-class PhD supervision and guidance from academics who are leaders in their field, in collaboration with specialists at other institutions where appropriate.
You'll have access to networks associated with the Centres for German and Austrian Exile Studies, Contemporary Women’s Writing, Cultural Memory, Ernst Bloch and German Thought, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Austrian Literature and Culture.
Undertaking doctoral research allows you to develop in-depth knowledge, while making a meaningful contribution to your chosen field.
The degree can be taken full time over three years (or a maximum of four) or part time over five years (or a maximum of six), with entry in October and January. You'll initially be registered for our MPhil and, providing your progress has been satisfactory, will then be upgraded to our PhD programme.
The primary activity of the PhD programme is the writing of a thesis of up to 100,000 words. There is no formal coursework, but you are encouraged to participate in the regular seminars held at the Institute during the academic year. An extensive research training programme is on offer, with sessions provided from leading scholars and practitioners.
After submission of the thesis, you'll attend an oral examination conducted by an internal examiner from the University of London, and an external examiner, normally from another university in the UK.
Subject areas
The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies offers doctoral research supervision in the following broad areas:
- French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese studies
- Literatures in a Modern Language
- Cultural studies (especially migration and 'belonging' or translingual and transcultural creative practice)
Comparative and interdisciplinary studies are available in:
- Cities and cultures
- Comparative/world literature
- Digital Humanities
- Exile writing
- Film and cultural studies
- French and Francophone studies
- Gender and sexuality
- German philosophy
- German studies
- German-Jewish writing
- Iberian, Latin American and Caribbean studies
- Italian Studies
- Memory studies
- Multilingualism
- Translation studies
- Women’s writing
Before submitting an application you are advised to contact a member of the Institute's academic staff who has interests in your proposed field of study to discuss your proposal.
This programme will soon be available to study as a PhD by Practice, giving you the opportunity to develop a body of creative work as part of your doctoral research. Unlike a traditional PhD, you will be assessed on the creative output of your research in addition to a shorter written thesis.
Examples of the creative output could include an exhibition, art installation, or piece of software. This element is worth two-thirds of the whole award, with the 30,000-word written critical component contributing the final third.
The PhD by Practice will be available to study on campus or by distance learning, with the same admission criteria as our other research degrees.
Register your interest to be the first to hear about the PhD by Practice programme updates and application openings.
Before submitting an application you are advised to contact a member of the Institute's academic staff who has interests in your proposed field of study to discuss your proposal.
Professor Charles Burdett
Director of the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies
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The principal areas of Professor Burdett’s research are literary culture under Fascism; travel writing; the Italian colonial presence in Africa and its legacy; theories of inter-cultural contact; the representation of the Islamic world in recent Italian culture. An important part of his work concerns the theoretical frame through which we consider transnational representations.
Dr Godela Weiss-Sussex
Reader in Modern German Literature and Acting Director of the Institute of Modern Languages Research
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Dr Weiss-Sussex's main research interests lie in the German culture and literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the representation of the city in literature, women's writing and modernism.
Professor Catherine Davies
Professor Emerita of Hispanic and Latin American Studies
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Professor Davies has published widely on 19th- and 20th-century Spanish and Spanish American literature, history and culture. She specializes in the following fields: women's writing; historical fiction; intellectual history; gender studies; the political essay, and poetry. She is particularly interested in the cultures, histories and literatures of Spain, Galicia, Cuba, Argentina and Colombia.
Dr Joseph Ford
Lecturer in French Studies; Director, Centre for the Study of Cultural Memory
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Dr Ford specialises in 20th- and 21st-century Francophone Literature and Culture, with specific interests in Algeria and what has become known as the Algerian Civil War or 'Black Decade' of the 1990s. His wider research interests are in postcolonial studies, the theory and practice of world literature and literary translation, and French and Francophone intellectual culture of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Dr Naomi Wells
Lecturer in Italian and Spanish with Digital Humanities
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Dr Wells specialises in the area of multilingualism and migration in Spanish- and Italian-speaking contexts, with her current research focusing on digital spaces of communication and representation. She has conducted fieldwork in Spain, Italy, Chile, and the UK, and her research incorporates transdisciplinary methods and approaches drawn primarily from applied and sociolinguistics, translation and cultural studies, migration studies, and digital humanities and digital culture studies.
Dr Johan Siebers
Associate Fellow
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Dr Johan Siebers (Associate Fellow, IMLR/Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Middlesex University) is available for dissertation and thesis supervision in the area of post-Kantian German philosophy.
Dr Katia Pizzi
Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies (on leave of absence)
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Dr Pizzi specializes in modern Italian studies, with particular interest in the literature of the inter-war years, memory studies, Futurism and technology.
Dr Andrea Hammel
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Andrea Hammel's research interests include exile literature, especially by German-Jewish women writers; the social and cultural history of refugees from National Socialism, especially the Kindertransport; autobiography; the translation of Holocaust writing and comparative studies of refugee groups.
Dr Anne Simon
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Dr Simon specialises in German Studies in the mediaeval and Early Modern periods, with particular reference to the impact of these periods on subsequent eras. Her main interest is the city of Nuremberg from the Middle Ages to the present.
Note: You can also use the Directory of Research and Expertise to find out more about supervisors and staff.
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.
As part of the School of Advanced Study (SAS), University of London, you will benefit from a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment. You’ll learn from leading specialists in your field; hone your research skills in our sector-leading training programmes; expand your knowledge through an extensive calendar of events, conferences, and seminars and become part of a worldwide network of humanities scholars. The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies enjoys close links with other SAS members and is home to a diverse, international, and vibrant community of scholars covering its major language and culture areas. Throughout the academic year it is host to a lively programme of events, conferences and seminars that is at the heart of the functioning of the disciplinary area.
In addition to publishing the Journal of Romance Studies, the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies also has an outstanding Germanic Studies Collection, located on the fourth floor of Senate House Library. With holdings devoted principally to German language and literature from their beginnings to the present day, the collection comprises a substantial number of books, journals, microfiches, theses and archives.
Because of its function as a centre for academic interest in a very extensive range of topics, the Institute has national and international contacts with researchers in all of the fields that it represents. It is therefore particularly well placed to offer supervision for projects that cross national and disciplinary boundaries.
Key dates
| Applications open | |
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| Applications close | |
| Programme starts | January 2025 |
| Applications open | |
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| Applications close | |
| Programme starts | September 2025 |
Admissions
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, funding and payment
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.
Career opportunities
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.
Apply now
Start dates
- January 2025 - application deadline closes
