Italian - PhD

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.

Funding your studies
We're here to help you find the best financial support available through postgraduate scholarships, research funding and loans, so you can focus on your studies.
Study support
Our expert teaching staff are leading researchers at the very forefront of their fields who use innovative teaching methods to provide you with high level supervision for your research project. Their guidance, combined with extensive facilities and support staff ensures you will get the most from your study.
Research
Kent is a leading research university, meaning that you will be informed about new discussions and developments by the people making them. This means your work will have real potential to make a difference.

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