PhD study in German at King's College London
The Department of German at King’s College London seeks well-qualified applicants for PhD projects beginning in September 2021. The Department has an exceptionally strong cohort of twenty-one PhD students with eleven currently in receipt of AHRC funding. The Department offers a vibrant research environment: we offer supervision by scholars of international standing across an unusually wide range of topics, from the medieval and early modern periods, through to contemporary culture (especially literature and film), politics and history. The Department runs a lively research seminar, as well as a tailored graduate programme that provides practical and methodological training, alongside opportunities for teaching and outreach work for its students.
Funding will be available through the AHRC-funded London Arts & Humanities Doctoral Training Partnership (LAHP). These studentships normally cover fees and maintenance for eligible students. Although dates and details of this year’s competition have yet to be released, prospective students should plan to submit their application by mid-January 2021. We recommend that applicants check the LAHP website for further details.
Candidates should be aware that the LAHP studentship competition is a twin-track process, and they will need to apply
a. for a place of study on their chosen PhD programme at one of the LAHP partner institutions, and
b. to LAHP for an AHRC studentship.
There are three routes for PhD studies in German at King’s:
1) PhD in German at King’s: Many of our students choose to base their doctoral study mainly in the UK, with the bulk of their time spent on a closely supervised project in the Department of German. Our current research students work in a broad range of fields across German and Austrian Studies including literary studies from the Middle Ages to the present day; film and cinema studies; literary and cultural theory; theatre, music and performance studies, and the history of ideas.
2) Joint-PhD with the Humboldt University, Berlin: This bi-national PhD programme leads to the award of a Joint PhD and provides candidates with the opportunity to divide their PhD study between two prestigious universities in two dynamic capital cities, enjoying full supervision at both. Current research projects include studies on the modernist novel, transnational socialist feminism, monstrous textual strategies in contemporary literature, Holocaust memory in the digital age, transgressive sexuality in medieval literature, creative labour and the financial crisis.
3) Joint-PhD with the University of Stuttgart: This programme leads to the award of a Joint PhD, and provides candidates with the opportunity to divide their PhD study between two prestigious universities, enjoying full supervision at both, as well as to work in the German Literature Archive at Marbach. Research projects have included the internationalization of satire in early modern texts; history, translation and poetics in early 20th-century texts; the international reception of contemporary German bestsellers; global theories of totalitarianism; and the role of journals in the dissemination of poetics.
Enquiries about PhD study on any of the above programmes are welcomed – please contact the PhD Admissions Tutor, Dr Catherine Smale, as soon as possible: catherine.smale@kcl.ac.uk.
Staff profiles, including research interests, can be found on our website here.
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Dr Catherine Smale (she/her)
Senior Lecturer in German, King’s College London
Secretary, Women in German Studies (WIGS)