General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:1 undergraduate degree and Master’s (or equivalent) in a related 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

Areas for PhD supervision:

• History of the Book and Reading Practices
• Religious Art, Polemics, Thought, and Literature
• The Classical Tradition (including neo-Latin and vernacular cultures; Plato; Aristotle)
• The History of Ideas (especially science and medicine, ethics and politics)
• Theatre and Performance (especially in England)
• Gender; Society and Power
• Court and Civic Culture
• Renaissance Learned Culture (including humanist circles, academies, universities)
• Popular Culture
• Visual Culture and Debates on the Arts
• Venetian Economy, Art and Culture
• Travel, Colonialism and the New World

Full details of our research interests are listed on the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance web pages.

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.

Explore our Centre for the Study of the Renaissance Staff Directory to see our staff and their current research interests.

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

Research proposals

The Centre is accepting expressions of interest from students wishing to pursue a postgraduate course in Renaissance Studies at Warwick.

Students are able to explore various avenues for funding, depending on the course they are choosing and other criteria. Applicants are encouraged to investigate opportunities on our webpages, check the deadlines carefully, and communicate early on with the Director of Graduate Studies Dr Rich Rabone (R dot Rabone at warwick dot ac dot uk) about their intentions, so that the strongest possible funding proposal may be prepared.

The Director of Graduate Studies will also be able to advise on any specific research proposal requirements.

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

Centre for the Study of the Renaissance

The Centre for the Study of the Renaissance (CSR) is a world-leading research community based at the University of Warwick. It is one of two 'category one' research centres of the University. As an independent and interdisciplinary centre, it has very strong international connections and an active programme of MA and PhD study.

The CSR aims to support – through research, teaching, and outreach – the study of the period stretching from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, at Warwick and beyond. It is particularly dedicated to exploring Renaissance Studies in a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary way and within a context of international collaboration. It also promotes activities that intersect with the work of medievalists and early modernists.

Find out more about us on our website.Link opens in a new window

Our Postgraduate courses

• Culture of the European Renaissance (MA)
• Renaissance Studies (MA by Research)
• Renaissance 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