Ph.D. in British and American Studies Pavol Jozef Safarik University Faculty of Arts

British and American Studies are an essential part of European philological education in the current era of globalization. Implementation of this field of study in the Ph.D. form of study pursues the requirement to make a fundamental contribution to strengthening the theoretical and methodological basis of research and research proper in linguistic and literary disciplines as well as British and American realia and their teaching at a higher education institution. It makes a fundamental contribution to the education of new experts and thus maintains the continuity of this research in Slovakia.

Our graduates can work as teachers, translators, interpreters, linguists, employees of travel offices and agencies, text proofreaders, editors, etc.

About the Department

The Department of British and American Studies specializes in British and American studies, English and literature, and English for the European Institutions and Economy. The Department seeks primarily to blend the high professional erudition of its members, grounded in intensive scholarly research performed within the framework of international and national projects, with quality teaching of new scholars and researchers capable of asserting themselves in the labor market and addressing the growing demands in Slovakia and other EU member countries. The scope of research at our department includes areas such as linguistics, literary science, British and American studies, translation studies, and EFL methodology.

The department is located in the fresh, new premises of the Faculty of Arts, which is situated in the historical center of Košice. We offer our students practice-oriented study and teaching in perfectly equipped lecture halls, seminar rooms, and translation and language computer laboratories.

The Department of British and American Studies has an Erasmus+ partnership with more than 70 universities in over 20 countries. TOEFL iBT Certificates may be acquired during the studies to make our graduates compatible with world-class competitors. The department maintains a rich social life through the Students Club ELSE, Alumni Club, and the Club of English Teachers.

Our graduates have professional and methodological knowledge of linguistics, literature, and cultural-political and economic fields. They are able to apply this knowledge convincingly in argumentation while being aware of the relations with other areas, especially psychology, sociology, history, political science, and philosophy.

The graduates of the Ph.D. study program British and American Studies find employment mostly in areas that correspond to the graduate profile and in which graduates have the opportunity to use the skills and competencies acquired during their studies. The graduate’s competencies are:

• scientific evaluation of language phenomena in English and other languages,
• synchronous and diachronic comparison of linguistic phenomena, sub-systems, and the entire linguistic units in the genetic, typological, and area plans,
• comparative and critical research into literary works,
• familiarity with British and American life and institutions with an emphasis on cultural, historical, and political contexts and relations.

The study usually takes 4 years.

Applications are due by May, and the study commences in September.

The study program consists of two basic components – the study one and the scientific one. The basis of teaching in the study component is in full-time education; the scientific component is dominated by distance learning which is based on the nature of research in the field of study British and American Studies (study of library collections, work with corpora, the study of professional texts, visits to specialized institutions, etc.). We also consider the possibility of taking part in distance individual consultations as effective.

The first year of study includes passing all compulsory courses. In the second year, students must submit one chapter of their dissertation thesis and pass a probation exam aimed at demonstrating their ability to conduct research independently. The remaining years of study are dedicated to the dissertation thesis, attending conferences, and publishing articles. The research results are expected to be substantial and original. The study is completed by the public defense of the dissertation thesis. The condition for successful completion of the study is to publish at least one academic article.