Italian

Entry requirements

A first or upper-second class BA honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject, and a distinction or merit in an MA programme or equivalent in a relevant subject.

All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

Italy is a cornerstone of European culture and provides a controversial and stimulating area of study in the modern period. A PhD in Italian enables you to undertake a substantial piece of supervised research in the subject that makes an original contribution to knowledge and is worthy of publication.

A PhD, also known as a doctorate, is a requirement for a career as an academic or researcher. In addition, it has become a qualification valued by many employers who recognise the skills and commitment a PhD requires. Employers also recognise that a PhD indicates excellent research capabilities, discipline and communication skills.

Over the duration of the PhD, you produce an original piece of research of up to 100,000 words, in English or Italian. Previous research theses have included ‘Elements of Magic(al) Realism: Deledda, Bontempelli, Banti’, ‘A Clinic of Lack: Franco Basaglia, Biopolitics and the Italian Psychiatric Reform’, ‘Italo Calvino and Pier Vittorio Tondelli: Love in Post World War Italy’ and ‘Anna Banti and the (Im)possibility of Love’.

The Department of Modern Languages offers supervision from world-class academics with expertise in a wide range of disciplines, able to support and guide you through your research. The main areas of research are early twentieth-century avant-garde literature, twentieth-century poetry, psychoanalytic literary criticism, the intersection of literature and photography, Italian biopolitical thought, and the cultural history of psychiatry and the Italian anti-psychiatric movement. Your progress is carefully monitored to ensure that you are on track to produce a thesis valued by the academic community. Throughout your programme, you are able to attend and contribute to research seminars, workshops, and research and transferable skills training courses.

You may be eligible for a fully-funded PhD scholarship to support your studies with us. The PhD in Italian at Kent can be funded through the Consortium for the Humanities and the Arts South-East England (CHASE) collaborative doctoral partnerships. Please indicate in your application if you want to be considered, and explain your eligibility for the scheme. For the full list of scholarships available within the School, please see our postgraduate scholarship page.

Information for international students

Please see our International website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, international fee-paying students cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.

English language entry requirements

The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.

For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.

Need help with English?

Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.

Fees and funding

For further information about funding, including scholarships, please visit our funding web pages.