Doctoral Program in English Studies

The Doctoral Programme in English Studies (initially English Philology) was created in the year 1986-87 to offer students coming from the B.A. Degree in English Philology the academic environment to continue their education and initiate their research in our field. The Programme was initially focused in the areas of English Literature and English Language and Linguistics. Gradually it incorporated other areas such as Film and Cultural Studies, Translation Studies, Acquisition and English for Specific Purposes. The original programme was replaced by successive programmes until the current Programme in English Studies (99/2011) was created. 

In the course of the last three decades the programme has consolidated its main lines of research supported by successive research projects and consolidated research groups. Currently, it is the only Doctoral Programme in Spain that offers a specific line of research in Film Studies in English and one of the most prestigious research programmes in the area of contemporary literatures in English. 

Its three core lines of research are: 

1. English linguistics, with a special interest in digital genres, global English and the use of English in academic contexts.
2. Contemporary literatures in English with a strong theoretical and cultural component
3. Film studies, with an emphasis on transnational cinema and the cinema of globalization, film genres and cosmopolitan theory. 

Our students receive a strong theoretical training, and are offered opportunities to establish links and collaborations with the best international researchers in their respective areas.

ADMISSION PROFILE

To join the PhD Programme in English Studies, the academic knowledge acquired in the disciplinary field of the programme will be assessed, as well as the basic competency profile related the advanced competency profile that is developed in the degree.

In general, PhD candidates are expected to have:

1. Interest, curiosity and sensibility for doing research in the language, literature and cinema of contemporary English-speaking societies;
2. General knowledge of the English language, literature and cinema in their different cultural contexts;
3. General notions of academic writing, linguistic analysis and commentary in literary and film texts;
4. Knowledge at an advanced level of the main theoretical approaches of linguistics, literature, culture and cinema;
5. Sensibility to appreciate and accept cultural diversity;
6. Interest in promoting interest in the social value of culture.

Likewise, they must be able to:

1. Perform autonomous work and develop independence of thought;
2. Manage bibliographic sources and computer tools;
3. Solve complex problems and make decisions;
4. Develop and apply original ideas in the research context of English studies;
5. Carry out quality research work with a methodological rigor and basic critical reasoning.

It is an essential requirement to have a knowledge of the English language, both oral and written, equivalent to a C1 level.