PhD in English Studies

Why do this PhD?

The English Department provides a solid academic training to those of you who wish to pursue a PhD degree at one of Catalonia's outstanding Universities. Our program offers close supervision where you are introduced to key scholars in your field and where you can also learn to undertake academic research in a stimulating environment, present your research at conferences and other public forums as well as fulfill one of the program's academic requirements of publishing in a peer reviewed journal. Access to library resources and databases are provided and opportunities to participate in cutting edge research projects funded by the EU, the Catalan Research Council (AGAUR), and the Spanish National Research Council are sometimes available for outstanding students.

Professional opportunities

This PhD programme provides the following principal career options:

• University teaching and research.
• Text editing and processing, including translation and dictionary writing.
• Language teaching: designing courses in English for Specific Purposes (ESP).
• Using computer tools in language analysis and cultural studies.
• Cultural management and intercultural relations (language mediation and translation programmes for immigrant communities, use of English as an international language, Anglo-American culture and Media).
• Work in multinational companies with links to the Anglo-American world.

Testimonials

The UAB has changed my career path. I have started teaching at Beirut's most prestigious universities! Two years ago, that never would have been an option!

Shoghig Kaloustian

As a student interested in postcolonial literature, I had the opportunity to work with one of the best prepared scholars in the field today.

Laura Gutiérrez

Far from a formality, fulfilling the requirements of the doctoral program gave me the opportunity to hone my skills as a researcher.

Francesca Blanch

Specialized in sociolinguistics, I learnt how to design and develop impactful research projects and how to navigate the academic environment.

Hanna Klimava

Coordinator

Carme Font Paz
Carme.Font@uab.cat

Administration

UISAD - Integrated Unit of Administrative Support - PHILOLOGIES
Building B
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona)
Tel. +34 93 581 4948
uisad.filologies.tercer.cicle@uab.cat
Contact: Melina Rodríguez Marín

Thesis supervisor/s and academic tutor/s

Thesis supervision and thesis tutoring

Admission application

This PhD programme has, for the 2025-2026 academic year, the following pre-registration periods:

• From February, 13th to March, 27th
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: April, 25th
• From March 31st to May, 28th
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: June, 25th
• From June, 2nd to July, 23rd
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: October, 1st
• From September, 1st to November 10th
  • RESOLUTION maximum by the School of Doctorate: December, 20th

Documentation necessary for admission

In addition to the admission documents required by each programme, an applicant may optionally upload two additional documents that they would like the programme's PhD admission committee to consider.

Admissions before the established period and pre-admissions

The Doctoral School, following the indications of the coordination of the PhD programme, can issue before the start of the term of admission of an academic course, or before the end of the term of resolution, letters of admission so that you can request a scholarship or to do the visa procedures in your country. It is only necessary that you enter your application in the computer application and that you indicate it in the Observations field, where you must indicate that you need a letter of admission and the scholarship to which you are opting. If the computer application is closed, you can contact the coordination of the programme.

If you need a preadmission, the coordination of the programme can issue it if it considers it appropriate. You must contact the coordination of the programme to inform you of the procedure.

On the International Support Service website you can see more information about future foreign students related to residencies in Catalonia, legal procedures and the UAB campus.

Monitoring your application

You can monitor your application using the same page as you made it. Below are the explanations of the different stages:

• Application made by student: your pre-registration has been saved.
• Incomplete application: there are documents missing from the application.
• Validated by the administrative office: the application and attached documents have been checked.
• Admitted: the coordinator has considered the pre-registration and proposed an offer or admission.
• Offer of admission: the Doctoral School has considered the proposals for admission made by the coordinator and has made a definitive offer. The PhD student will also receive an e-mail informing them of this decision. The PhD student must wait to register.
• Waiting list: the coordinator has considered the pre-registration and has agreed on admission but there are no places on the PhD course.
• Application rejected: the coordinator or the Doctoral School have considered the application but do not agree to admission as not all the requirements have been fulfilled.

If you need it, here you will find a complementary information document on PhD studies.

Requirements and selection criteria

General access requirements

Specific access requirements

This PhD programme has the following specific admission requirements.

• Certificate of Proficiency in English or its TOEFL equivalent (550 conventional, 230 CBT, 79 IBT), or interview to determine the candidate's level.
• Agreement from a researcher on the PhD programme to supervise the thesis project.

Selection criteria

The criteria will be weighted as follows, allowing for an objective selection of candidates: 

• (40%) Interview (20% level of English + 20 knowledge of the subject of study). 
• (20%) Coherence of academic background (Curriculum Vitae) 
• (40%) Research proposal (20% quality of the proposal + 20% its adequacy to the research lines of the programme).

The evaluation of the application for admission is the responsibility of the programme's Academic Committee, made up of the programme coordinator, two professors and a research professor with a minimum of two research periods.
The committee will interview the candidate on the basis of the proposal submitted.

Training supplements

Students entering the programme with a bachelor's degree of at least 300 ECTS credits, but which does not include research credits in its syllabus, must take these credits. All students entering the programme in this condition will be required by the academic committee to take the 5-credit module ‘Research Methods in English Studies’ offered by the Master in English Studies: Linguistic, Literary and Sociocultural Perspectives. Students must pass these credits during the first year of the PhD.

Registration and fees

Calendar and Registration documents

After the registration

Training activities

Transversal training activities

Mandatory and optional specific activities

For this PhD programme the following training activities are scheduled.

Mandatory activities:

• Symposiums for young researchers
  Training activity to promote the presentation of research in progress.

• Oral presentations or posters at national or international conferences
  Presentation of research before a specialist audience, inclusion of observations and revision, and subsequent publication of the paper.

• Research paper sent to a high-impact scientific journal
  Informing the scientific community working in the field about the research being conducted.

  Optional activities:

• Research stays in national or foreign centers, public or private

Typologies and Research Ethics

Internationalization

Foreign residencies

PhD thesis under joint international supervision

International Doctoral Research Component

Evaluation and annual review

Thesis deposit

If you want to deposit the doctoral thesis in this PhD programme, remember that you must confirm the complete application (status DI) at least 2 months before the maximum thesis completion date that appears in your file.

Look out! If you want to deposit before the end of this academic year and thus not have to pay the fees for the next course, you must confirm your deposit request before july, 18th, 2025.

At the time of making your online deposit, you must attach these documents to your application, in the section "Attach documentation":
 

All PhD students

• External expert 1: Eligibility Document (thesis data deposit tab)
• External expert 2: suitability document (thesis data deposit tab)
• Court proposal (no need to sign) (deposit attached documents tab)
• Turnitin report (deposit tab attached documents)
• Sworn declaration of the Turnitin report (deposit tab attached documents)

Compendium of publications: Mandatory documentation if requested

• Compendium: Resolution of acceptance by the CAPD (thesis data deposit tab)

Writing a thesis in a language other than Catalan, Spanish and English: Mandatory documentation if requested

• Resolution if the thesis is written in a language other than Catalan, Spanish or English (attachment documents deposit tab)

Exemption from the two months prior to the thesis completion date:

• Authorization from the Doctoral School regarding the exemption from the two months prior to the thesis completion date.

Information related to the thesis

Internal Quality Assurance System of the centers

Verification

Evaluation process previous to the implementation of the degree: presentation of a proposal for a new PhD programme for AQU-Catalunya (Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia) to issue the binding evaluation for the Council of Universities (Ministry of Universities), which is the responsible agent for verification.

• Report on the PhD programme
• Resolution on verification by the Spanish Universities Council
• Registry of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT)

Monitoring

Periodic monitoring process of the development and results of the PhD programme: self-evaluation carried out, every 3 years, by themselves.

• Monitoring report on the programme 2015-16
• Monitoring report on the programme 2022-23

Modification (from the las accreditation of the programme)

Process of substantial modification of the PhD programme for its improvement.

• 2025-2026 - Modification proposal (pending approval by AQU) [document in Catalan]

Accreditation

Degree implementation renewal process: presentation, every 6 years from the implementation of the programme, of a self-report so that AQU-Catalunya issues the binding evaluation for the Council of Universities, which is the body responsible for accreditation.

• Accreditation self-report
• Accreditation report
• Resolution of accreditation of the Council of Universities
• Register of Universities, centers and degrees (RUCT)

AQU VSMA Framework

Internal Quality Assurance System of the faculty

Set of processes to manage and monitor the different aspects of degrees, with the strategic objective of ensuring continuous improvement

• Internal Quality Assurance System
• Tutoring Action Plan (PAT)
• Standing Committee

Opina UAB

A channel for suggestions, complaints and praise regarding the functioning of the UAB

PhD data

• Satisfaction surveys of Doctors
• Satisfaction surveys of thesis supervisors
• Check here the results of the doctor's job placement survey
• The PhD figures

Recognition and awards

Consult the doctors who have obtained the Special Prize Award in this PhD programme.

The following prizes and honours have been awarded in relation to this PhD programme.

• Dr Maria-Josep Solé was awarded the Prize for Excellence in Research (PREI 2008) by the UAB for the work Experimental Approaches to Phonology (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
• Dr Melissa G. Moyer was awarded the prize for best book of 2008 by the Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL).
• 3rd AILA International Seminar on Language and Migration (2-3 February) organised by the research group.
• Organisation of the Indicities/Indices/Indicios conference. 1st International Conference on Hybridity in Indian Ocean Literature (23-25 April 2009), by the RATNAKARA research group.
• International SeminarIntersections of Gender, Social Class and Ethnicity in Research on Language, Migration and Mobility (18-20 March 2009), by the CIEN research group.
• Workshop on Sound Change, 21-22 October 2010, by the research group on Experimental Phonetics.
• 35th Conference of the Spanish Association of North American Studies, 16-18 November 2011.