In British universities the PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy) is traditionally awarded solely on the basis of a dissertation, a substantial piece of writing which reports original research into a closely defined area of enquiry. The completion of the PhD dissertation is generally expected to take three years, and most funding is based on this assumption. It's also possible to take a part-time route through research degrees, and the expected timeframe would be five years.

ÊDuring your research, you will have the opportunity to work closely with a supervisor who is a specialist in your research area. You might reasonably expect to see your supervisor fortnightly or at least three times per term. In addition to your supervisor, you will normally also be able to draw on the help and support of other members of the Section with expertise in your field of study.

In addition to the specialist supervising provided by the Section, the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages runs a programme of professional training for the benefit of all research students. The programme includes seminars and workshops on library resources, giving conference papers, publishing, applications and interviews, and teaching skills. The School of Arts and Humanities runs a central programme covering a range of skills relevant to doctoral students. Doctoral students may also be offered opportunities to do small-group teaching for the undergraduate colleges and, in some cases, language teaching for the Faculty.ÊÊ

The Spanish and Portuguese Section and the Centre of Latin American Studies are pleased to announce a new Consortium in Latin American Cultural Studies for PhD students. This new flexible arrangement will foster a greater exchange of ideas between students and scholars in the Section and the Centre and provide more opportunities for them to access relevant training, funding and other resources. Please visit the Latin American Cultural Studies Consortium page on the Department of Spanish and Portuguese website for further information.

Continuing

For those applying to continue from the MPhil to PhD, the minimum academic standard is a distinction on the MPhil.