MPhil/PhD
Warwick’s Department of Italian includes seven academic research staff, whose interests span topics in Italian studies from 1250 up to the present. For information about this range of expertise and about recent and current PhD projects developed in the Department, see:
Doctoral students prepare, over the course of 3 years, a dissertation of 80,000 words. They are initially registered as MPhil students and proceed to the PhD upon completion of work of good standard, typically by the end of their first year.
There is no course-work involved. Students may also choose, after 2 years, to leave with an MPhil, provided that they have completed an up-to-standard dissertation of 60,000 words.
It is possible at Warwick to obtain a joint PhD with another department, for example in: Italian and Film Studies, or Italian and History, Italian and Classics, or Italian and French Studies. Joint PhD students receive a supervisor in each participating department.
The links above right give access to the University's general information on postgraduate applications, and any application will need to be submitted via this route. It is, however, vital that you liaise with the Department before proceeding to a formal application, and the links below offer guidelines on departmental procedures. If you wish to discuss a prospective application, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr David Lines, d.a.lines@warwick.ac.uk, in the first instance.
Entry requirements
Applying
Fees and funding
International links
Entry requirements
Applicants normally need a good MA degree of at least 2:1 standard (‘B’ average in North America; 108/110 in Italy) to be considered for a postgraduate research degree. You must give evidence of strong research and writing skills and provide a solid research proposal in one or more areas of expertise offered by the Department. It is especially important at the MPhil/PhD level to find an appropriate supervisor.
Applying
You may apply at any time of the academic year, although you must do so by 31 January if you are seeking sources of funding (see below). You should include in your application a 1,500-word statement of your research project and a sample of your recent written work (ideally an essay or dissertation chapter from your MA work), to be sent directly to the Director of Graduate Studies, d dot a dot lines at warwick dot ac dot uk. You will also be expected to provide references and transcripts. International students should pay particular attention to the university’s requirements in terms of English language proficiency, outlined at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/admissions.
In preparing your application and the description of your research project, feel free to contact the Director of Graduate Studies, d.a.lines@warwick.ac.uk. Visiting the department will give you an especially good sense of our research programmes, as well as provide opportunities for face-to-face discussions with postgraduates and staff.
Fees and funding
N.B. All requests for funding will have a deadline of 31 January 2011 and will be made as part of the application for admission. Since applicants will be required to submit a mature project proposal along with their application for admission, they MUST contact the Director of Graduate Studies (David Lines: D.A.Lines@warwick.ac.uk) well in advance of this deadline (ideally, by 10 December) before applying. They will then be given guidance about the process.
Annual fees for the MPhil/PhD are currently £3390 for home and EU students (£10,900 for overseas students). The Department of Italian from time to time offers bursaries, on a competitive basis, to new applicants. These are announced, when relevant, on the department’s homepage. Prospective students may also enquire with the Head of Department, Dr Jenny Burns (J.E.Burns@warwick.ac.uk) about the possibility of part-funding their research degree through teaching in the department.
Warwick administers several major sources of funding for doctoral study. For UK and EU permanent residents/nationals an important source is the Doctoral Awards Scheme of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). UK nationals/permanent residents are eligible for an award covering fees and maintenance; EU nationals are eligible for fees-only awards. Part-time as well as full-time research students may apply. The Warwick Postgraduate Research Scholarships (WPRS) are allocated through a highly competitive, university-wide process without regard to citizenship or country of residence. The Chancellor's International Scholarships are meant specifically for outstanding students from outside the EU and provide maintenance as well as fees.
Several other sources of funding are relevant to nationals of particular countries or in particular areas of study. Relevant schemes for overseas students include the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan; the SSHRC (for Candadian citizens); the Marshall Scholarships and the Fulbright Commission awards (for American citizens); and the General Sir John Monash Foundation (for Australians). Other awards may also be on offer from an applicant’s country of origin. The International Office on campus is very helpful in these matters; applicants are urged to consult its website: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/international/offerholders/scholarships/ as well as the website of the Graduate School: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/academicoffice/gsp/scholarship/funding/phd.
International links
The Department of Italian has ERASMUS-exchange links with the following universities: Arezzo, Brescia, Cagliari, Catania/Ragusa, Forlì, Genoa, Messina, Naples, Pavia, Pescara, Pisa, Rome, Salerno, Siena, Turin, Trieste, Urbino and Verona. Ties are developing with Venice (Ca’ Foscari) and Bologna. Italian postgraduate students from these institutions wishing to spend 3 months at Warwick should contact David Lines (d.a.lines@warwick.ac.uk) to explore the feasibility of extending existing agreements in this direction. Likewise, the University of Warwick is building links with a number of universities in North America, in addition to the exchange it already runs with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The latter agreement allows doctoral students, on a competitive basis, to apply to spend one of their 3 years at Wisconsin.
