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MPhil/PhD in Caribbean Studies (2022 Entry)

About this course header
Overview header

At the start of the academic year, you will be welcomed by our department. You will work with your supervisor to create a calendar plan for the year that is bespoke for you and your studies. Through independent research and regular meetings with your supervisor you will develop your research project.

Each year, your work will also be read and assessed by other academic staff in your field. The final goal of the research degree is the production of your thesis. You will write 80,000 words (excluding footnotes, bibliography and appendices) on a topic of your choice; and be examined by an internal and external examiner in a viva.

Teaching and learning

You will develop your research project through a combination of independent research and regular meetings with your supervisor(s). The supervisory relationship is at the heart of your research. Your supervisor(s) are experts in their field who will guide you throughout your degree and will agree upon a programme of reading, research and writing with you.

You can ask any academic from our Centre to be your supervisor. See our staff web pages for more details and to see whose research interests align with yours.


Entry requirements header Entry requirements header

2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.


English Language requirements header
  • Band B
  • IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

International requirements header
Additional requirements header

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Research header

Current areas of research expertise are:

  • Slavery and empire in the 18th and 19th centuries
  • Caribbean maritime worlds and networks
  • White identities
  • Caribbean writing in French and Spanish
  • Postcolonial Caribbean texts
  • Pre-1900 English Caribbean literatures
  • Women's writing and feminist theory
  • Disaster law and culture
  • Slavery and law
  • The Haitian Revolution
  • Postcolonial studies
  • World literature, literary and cultural theory
  • Gender and slavery
  • Enslaved runaways and maroons

Students will be supervised by faculty members with expertise in these areas.

You can also read our general University research proposal guidance.

Supervisor header

Find your supervisor using the link below and discuss with them the area you'd like to research.

The Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies is comprised of a number of academics from different University departments, and students undertaking Caribbean dissertations are supervised by these academics.

Explore our Academic Staff page for more information about our staff and their research interests.

You can also see our general University guidance about finding a supervisor.

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