PhD Translation and Intercultural Studies

Programme description

Our PhD Translation and Intercultural Studies programme will enable you to carry out a significant piece of original research under the supervision of our academics.

The Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies (CTIS) at Manchester has the largest concentration of translation studies specialists in the country. It attracts visiting scholars and postgraduate students from a wide range of countries and backgrounds.

By collaborating with experts in fields such as literary studies, linguistics, intellectual, social and cultural history and theory, CTIS provides unique opportunities for doctoral researchers in translation studies, both in core areas of the discipline and at its interdisciplinary cutting edge.

CTIS provides an excellent environment for research and organises regular scholarly events for the benefit of postgraduate students. These include a series of weekly seminars which attract a large national audience of researchers, students and practitioners. The seminars, delivered by invited speakers, form an important part of students' initiation into scholarly research, while also offering valuable opportunities for informal contact with leading academics.

The Centre also provides specialist research training for doctoral students in the form of masterclasses.

Teaching and learning

The PhD is the major postgraduate research degree. It involves three years of full-time study or six years of part-time study and the preparation of a thesis of not more than 80,000 words that makes a significant contribution to knowledge.

A satisfactory PhD topic is one that a suitably qualified and properly supervised student can bring to completion within the permitted timeframe.

Coursework and assessment

Your research will normally be supervised by two members of staff at the University. Your supervisors will most likely be members of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, but if your research requires it, we may arrange for supervision by someone outside the School.

Supervisory arrangements at Manchester are governed by a Code of Practice which is available on the University's website.

Regular meetings will be held with the supervisors, and details of each of the meetings will be recorded.

Research panels (consisting of at least three academic staff, including the supervisors) are held once per semester to monitor progress.

Please note that the first year of the full-time programme is probationary. This means you will be required to show evidence of satisfactory progress to proceed with the programme.

Career opportunities

Many of PhD graduates in Modern Languages and Translation and Interpreting Studies have gone on to academic positions at leading universities in the UK, Europe, USA, East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Our graduates have been also successful with receiving prestigious postdoctoral fellowships, including the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship and the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship.