General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

• 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 qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Our research

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.

Find a supervisor

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.

Research proposals

Please contact The Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies for specific research proposal requirementsLink opens in a new window.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your research course fees

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2022/23 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies

The Centre for Caribbean Studies was established in October 1984 with assistance from the Leverhulme Trust and the Nuffield Foundation. It was the first such Centre in the UK to recognise the significance of the Caribbean region and its historically interdependent linkages with the UK and the world. Its principal aim is to stimulate teaching and research on the Caribbean.

It also encourages the study of the Caribbean in an Atlantic context, emphasising African, North and South American, Asian and European influences from a comparative, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspective. Additionally, it serves as a national forum for individuals and organisations with an interest in and concern for the diaspora as well as those countries bordering the Caribbean.

Learn more about us on our website.

Our Postgraduate Courses

• Caribbean Studies (MA by Research)
• Caribbean Studies (MPhil/PhD)

How to apply

Applications are now open for courses that start in September and October 2025.

For research courses that start in September and October 2025 the application deadline for students who require a visa to study in the UK is 2 August 2025. This should allow sufficient time to complete the admissions process and to obtain a visa to study in the UK.

How to apply for a postgraduate research course