MPhil/PhD in Italian (P-R3P0)

Italian Studies at Warwick is an unusually collegial unit with a vibrant research culture. It has an enviable record of attracting research funding and has a distinctly interdisciplinary approach, linking literature very strongly with historical contexts, theory, visual culture, migration and travel writing, and cultural and intellectual history. Its members of academic staff are able to supervise in most areas of Italian Studies, from the late Middle Ages to contemporary literature and culture. Many have strong links with other research specialisms across the School of Modern Languages and Cultures and across the Arts Faculty. The library’s holdings can easily be supplemented by the libraries of Birmingham, Oxford and London, all reachable within under an hour by train. We invite prospective applicants to come talk to us and find out more about the department by participating in research seminars or events such as the Postgraduate Forum.

Doctoral students prepare, over the course of 3 years, a dissertation of 80,000 words. There is no course-work involved. They are initially registered as MPhil students and proceed to the PhD upon completion of work of good standard, typically by the end of their first year.

Italian is a strongly interdisciplinary area, so in addition to students wishing to focus on Italian Studies we also welcome applicants who wish to pursue a joint PhD with another department, for example in: Italian and Film Studies, or Italian and History, Italian and Classics, or Italian and French Studies. Joint PhD students receive a supervisor in each participating department. An alternative, for students with strong interdisciplinary interests in the Renaissance, is to apply for a PhD in Renaissance Studies via the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance. In that case, co-supervisions across departments or sections are again standard. In any case, students in Italian form part of a larger community of some 30 research students (at present) across the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. For information on the SMLC's research environment, click here.

Funding opportunities for PhD studyLink opens in a new window are highly competitive and often work with a staged process: applicants should make contact as soon as possible with a prospective supervisor in order to develop a sound and robust research proposal (in November/early December for the January funding deadlines). An academic CV and draft research proposal may help us deal with your query more quickly.

Applicants not looking for funding and/or interested in pursuing a PhD on a part-time basis are welcome to send in their enquiries at any time.

For further details about areas of supervision, see our Staff research profiles.

If you are uncertain who the best supervisor for your project might be, or you have other questions, please contact the School Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Ingrid De Smet, at I dot de-Smet at warwick dot ac dot uk

For further information about Italian, see:

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Funding information

For enquiries, please contact the School Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Ingrid De Smet, at I dot de-Smet at warwick dot ac dot uk