PhD in Digital Humanities
London, United Kingdom
DURATION
3 up to 6 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Request earliest startdate
TUITION FEES
GBP 6,130 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning, On-Campus
* home, full-time | £15500: international, full-time. Fees vary depending on mode of study and fee status. please visit our website for updated fees
Introduction
Digital Humanities is an interdisciplinary subject area that brings a range of computational, quantitative, and other innovative and collaborative methods to the study of texts, images, histories, languages, and cultures, while also being critical of methodology, disciplinarity, and pedagogy.
Digital Humanities in the School of Advanced Study demonstrates the value of digital research to the wider humanities community and fulfills the School’s remit to promote and facilitate digitally-enabled research across the disciplines. The School’s multidisciplinary DH team comprises academics with strong connections to subject areas including Classics, English, History, and Modern Languages and Cultures, as well as researchers and practitioners with technical backgrounds.
Undertaking doctoral research in the digital humanities allows you to develop in-depth knowledge while making a meaningful contribution to your chosen field.
With guidance from our expert supervisors, you'll carry out extensive independent research culminating in a thesis of up to 100,000 words.
This degree presents the opportunity to gain expertise in your area of interest while also honing a range of transferable skills. On completing this course, you'll be well prepared for specialist career paths both within academia and beyond.
Digital Humanities at the School of Advanced Study
Digital Humanities is an interdisciplinary subject area that brings a range of computational, quantitative, and other innovative and collaborative methods to the study of texts, images, histories, languages, and cultures, while also being critical of methodology, disciplinarity, and pedagogy.
Digital Humanities in the School of Advanced Study demonstrates the value of digital research to the wider humanities community and fulfills the School’s remit to promote and facilitate digitally-enabled research across the disciplines. The School’s multidisciplinary DH team comprises academics with strong connections to subject areas including Classics, English, History, and Modern Languages and Cultures, as well as researchers and practitioners with technical backgrounds.
The School of Advanced Study
The School of Advanced Study at the University of London brings together eight internationally renowned research institutes to form the UK's national center for the support of researchers and the promotion of research in the humanities.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Our students fund their studies in a variety of ways including scholarships, bursaries, and fellowships, as well as government loans and postgraduate loans.
We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries that you don't need to pay back and are awarded based on personal circumstances or academic achievement. Funding at the postgraduate level is competitive so it’s a good idea to plan financially before starting your course.
- The London Arts and Humanities Partnership Studentship
- University of London Scholars Awards
- Yusuf Ali Scholarship offered by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies
- Stefania Barichello International Travel Bursary
- JB Trapp Scholarship offered by the Warburg Institute
- Rubinstein Scholarship offered by the Warburg Institute
Curriculum
PhD students are based in the Digital Humanities Research Hub, which has strong connections with the Institutes in the School. Academic staff in the Hub has expertise in Classics, English, History, and Modern Languages and Cultures. Students will also have the opportunity to work with technical experts and other digital humanities practitioners. It is also possible to secure co-supervision from a supervisor based elsewhere in the School who can offer additional disciplinary expertise.
All of the digital research in the School has a strong humanities focus and brings together technical expertise with a strong foundation in specific disciplinary approaches. Recent research in the Hub has included:
- Humanities approaches to the archived web
- Analyzing COVID misinformation on social media
- The transnational comparison of parliamentary proceedings
- Computational text analysis of the 1921 Census records
- The application of digital methods to papyrology
- Digital resources in cultural heritage institutions
- Multilingual analysis of contemporary news coverage using natural language processing
Before submitting an application you are advised to contact a member of academic staff who has interests in your proposed field of study to discuss your proposal.
Course structure
Full-time study for the Ph.D. degree entails three or a maximum of four years of independent research, culminating in the writing of a thesis of not more than 100,000 words. Part-time students complete the same program in five, or a maximum of six years.
After submission of the thesis, you will attend an oral examination conducted by an internal examiner, from the University of London, and an external examiner, normally from another British university.
There is no formal coursework, but you will be expected to participate in a weekly seminar on Work in Progress and to present a paper every year from your second year onwards. In your first year, you are required to attend a weekly class on Techniques of Scholarship. You are also encouraged to participate in the regular seminars held at the Institute during the academic year.
Distance Learning
The School of Advanced Study will offer students with an appropriate topic and level of local resources the opportunity to undertake a Ph.D. by distance learning. These students are required to attend our London campus at set intervals to complete an intensive research training module, for upgrade, and for the viva but will otherwise study at their location. This option is available to UK, EU, and international students on the same basis as our on-campus Ph.D. programs (three years full-time, six years part-time). Fees are the same as for our on-campus Ph.D. programs. Please note that not all institutes and supervisors offer this option, and that some topics are not appropriate to be studied this way.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
The Digital Humanities Research Hub conducts cutting-edge research(Opens in a new window) and collaborates on several well-established digital projects. These include several online databases; directories; bibliographies; catalogs; and collections. The Hub also runs the Senate House MakerSpace, which provides facilities for 3D imaging and printing, digitization, and computational experimentation.
The Hub hosts a lively intellectual environment that includes an active seminar series and visiting research fellows. Students are also welcome to participate in digitally-focused seminars hosted by other Institutes within the School. Members of the Hub are also active in digital humanities organizations including the UK-Ireland Digital Humanities Association(Opens in new window).
The School of Advanced Study itself offers excellent resources for interdisciplinary research by bringing together eight internationally renowned research institutes that support the promotion of research in the humanities. The Hub also has strong relationships with Senate House Library(Opens in new window), which runs several digital programs in addition to its range of historic library reading rooms and collections.
The School offers a broad range of events, seminars, and conferences(Opens in a new window) that we encourage our research students to engage with. This includes opportunities to participate in the annual Being Human Festival, the flagship festival of the humanities in the United Kingdom.
Our research students can also take advantage of a varied and challenging research training program, with general research skills training and research methodologies courses provided through the School and subject-specific training provided within the institutes.