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Comparative Literature

MPhil/PhD

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Key information

Key information for 2026-27

Start date:
October 2026 | January 2027 | April 2027
Study route:

  • Seven years part-time, on campus

  • Four years full-time, on campus

Status:
Fully approved
Location:
Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Awarding body:
University of London
Study options:
Full-time | Part-time | On campus

Key information for 2027-28

Start date:
October 2027 | January 2028 | April 2028
Study route:

  • Four years full-time, on campus

  • Seven years part-time, on campus

Status:
Fully approved
Location:
Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Awarding body:
University of London
Study options:
Full-time | Part-time | On campus

Course Overview

This research degree is ideal if you wish to engage critically with the study of comparative literature - or other cultural forms, especially in the area of visual studies - across two or more linguistic, regional or national contexts. The research focus of our academic staff is on French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish-speaking cultures in a transnational context, and we welcome research proposals that focus comparatively on or across these areas. We have great expertise in a wide variety of themes both historically and geographically (in Europe, Japan and the Americas).

An MPhil/PhD is an advanced postgraduate research degree that requires original research and the submission of a substantial dissertation of 60,000 to 100,000 words. At Birkbeck, you are initially registered on an MPhil and you upgrade to a PhD after satisfactory progress in the first year or two. You need to find a suitable academic supervisor at Birkbeck, who can offer the requisite expertise to guide and support you through your research. Find out more about undertaking a research degree at Birkbeck.

Our indicative areas of research are:

  • Canon formation
  • French language, literature and culture
  • German language, literature and culture
  • Japanese language, literature and culture
  • Literary and film history
  • Intermediality, intertextuality and translation across genres and media
  • Portuguese language, literature and culture
  • Spanish language, literature and culture
  • Transnational cultural theory and criticism in all the above languages
  • Visual culture.

Attendance

Regular meetings with your supervisor(s).

More Highlights

Entry Requirements

The entry requirement for this MPhil/PhD Comparative Literature is usually a good first degree in an arts or humanities subject.

Specific indication of research interests or outline of proposed research prior to interview.

  • What are the English language requirements?

    If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this programme is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 7.0, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

    If you don't meet the minimum English language requirements, please contact us or see our international study skills page for more details about how we can help.

    Visit the International section of our website to find out more about our English language entry requirements and relevant requirements by country.

  • What are the visa and funding requirements?

    If you are not from the UK and you do not already have residency here, you may need to apply for a visa.

    The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

    • Courses of more than six months' duration: Student visa
    • Courses of less than six months' duration: Standard Visitor visa

    International students who require a Student visa should apply to study on our courses full-time as these qualify for Student visa sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Student visa, you will not be eligible to enrol to study part-time courses at Birkbeck (with the exception of some modules).

    As a Student visa student, you should also apply to study on campus only, as online and flexible options of study  (if they are available for your course) may affect the conditions of your visa.

    For full information, read our visa information for international students page.

    Please also visit the international section of our website to find out more about relevant visa and funding requirements by country.

    Please note students receiving US Federal Aid are only able to apply for in-person, on-campus programmes which will have no elements of online study.

School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication

The school's teaching and research is highly interdisciplinary, spanning cultures and periods. Academic and practice-based study will equip you for a career in the creative and cultural industries.

Visit the school

Fees

MPhil/PhD: Four years full-time or seven years part-time, on campus, starting in October 2026

Academic year 2026-27

Part-time home students: £2,780 per year
Full-time home students: £5,238 per year
Part-time international students: £8,230 per year
Full-time international students: £16,285 per year

MPhil/PhD: Four years full-time or seven years part-time, on campus, starting in January 2027

Academic year 2026-27

Part-time home students: £2,780 per year
Full-time home students: £5,238 per year
Part-time international students: £8,230 per year
Full-time international students: £16,285 per year

MPhil/PhD: Four years full-time or seven years part-time, on campus, starting in April 2027

Academic year 2026-27

Part-time home students: £2,780 per year
Full-time home students: £5,238 per year
Part-time international students: £8,230 per year
Full-time international students: £16,285 per year

MPhil/PhD: Four years full-time or seven years part-time, on campus, starting in October 2027

Academic year 2027-28

To be confirmed

MPhil/PhD: Four years full-time or seven years part-time, on campus, starting in January 2028

Academic year 2027-28

To be confirmed

MPhil/PhD: Four years full-time or seven years part-time, on campus, starting in April 2028

Academic year 2027-28

To be confirmed

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the College Fees Policy.

Lifelong Learning Guarantee

If you’ve studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a discount on the tuition fee of this course.

Fees and finance

PhD students resident in England can apply for government loans of over £30,000 to cover the cost of tuition fees, maintenance and other study-related costs.

Flexible finance: pay your fees in monthly instalments at no extra cost. Enrol early to spread your costs and reduce your monthly payments.

We offer a range of studentships and funding options to support your research.

Discover the financial support available to you to help with your studies at Birkbeck.

Do you offer international scholarships?

We provide a range of scholarships for eligible international students, including our Global Future Scholarship. Discover if you are eligible for a scholarship.

Birkbeck's campus is located in the historic and vibrant Bloomsbury area of central London - named one of the best places to live in London 2025 by The Times.

Our Research Culture

PhD student experience

We attract a large number of research students and hold regular PhD colloquia, research seminars and conferences at Birkbeck and other venues in the University of London. We also organise workshops in postgraduate research methods and presentation skills.

Regular contact is maintained with past postgraduate students, and new and current students are encouraged to discuss their research programme with former students as well as with staff.

Read more about our vibrant research culture.

Training and methodology

You will attend a research skills course in your first year of studies.

Your supervisor will provide you with advice on your research and support on topics including:

  • planning your thesis
  • the nature of research and the standards expected
  • the primary sources and secondary literature required to support the project
  • research techniques (including arrangements for instruction where necessary)
  • questions of originality, plagiarism and publication of research results.

Finding a Supervisor

A crucial factor when applying for postgraduate study in comparative literature is the correlation between the applicant’s intellectual and research interests and those of one or more potential supervisors.

Find out more about the research interests of our academic staff:

  • Agnès Calatayud, LèsL, MèsL, MA: cinema and postcolonial studies.
  • Damian Catani, MA, DPhil: nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature; evil in modern French thought and literature; Mallarmé; Baudelaire; visual arts.
  • Peter Damrau, MA, PhD: devotional literature of the seventeenth century; women's writing of the eighteenth century.
  • Nicolette David, MA, MA, PhD: critical theory, especially psychoanalysis and gender; drama and the novel in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; German and Austrian Modernism; Weimar Culture; film studies.
  • Professor Mari Paz Balibrea Enríquez, LicFil, MA, PhD: modern Spanish literature and cultural studies.
  • Irene González-López, BA, BA, MA, PhD: Japanese cinema and modern and contemporary Japanese visual cultures; gender and sexuality studies, feminist film theory; representations of sex work in popular culture and media; Japanese female directors and female authorship; adaptations and remakes; stardom and authorship.
  • Akane Kawakami, MA, MPhil, DPhil: twentieth- and twenty-first-century French literature; orientalism and travel writing; photography and autobiography.
  • Professor Joanne Leal, BA, PhD: twentieth- and twenty-first-century German literature and film, especially literature/film and gender; the recent German novel; the films of Wim Wenders and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
  • Ann Lewis, BA, MSt, PhD: eighteenth-century literature and culture; text-and-image relations (especially illustration).
  • Professor Luciana Martins, BA, MSc, PhD: visuality and modernity in Latin America and the Caribbean; cinematic landscapes; urban encounters and performance; cross-cultural histories of tropical botany in Latin America; travel and image-making; cultural heritage in Latin America.
  • Anna Richards, MPhil, DPhil: eighteenth- and nineteenth-century German literature, especially the novel and its medical historical context; women's writing.
  • Michael Tsang, BA, MPhil, PhD: East Asian literatures; East Asian popular cultures; world literature; postcolonial theory; gender studies; critical theory.
  • Nathalie Wourm, LèsL, MèsL, DPhil: new French writing; literature in mixed media; post-structuralist and anti-capitalist thought in contemporary literature.

How to Apply

Follow these steps to apply to an MPhil/PhD research degree at Birkbeck:

  1. Check that you meet the entry requirements, including English language requirements, as described on this page.
  2. Find a potential supervisor for your MPhil/PhD research. Check the ‘Find a Supervisor’ area on this page or search our staff directory.
  3. Contact the academic member of staff - or the school they teach in - for an informal discussion about your research interests and to establish  if they are willing and able to supervise your research. (Please note: finding a potential supervisor does not guarantee admission to the research degree, as this decision is made using your whole application.) Find out more about the supervisory relationship and how your supervisor will support your research.
  4. Draft a research proposal. This needs to demonstrate your knowledge of the field, the specific research questions you wish to pursue, and how your ideas will lead to the creation of new knowledge and understanding.
  5. Apply directly to Birkbeck, using the 'Apply Now' link on this page. All research students are initially registered on an MPhil and then upgrade to a PhD after making sufficient progress.

Find out more about the application process, writing a research proposal and the timeframe.

What are the application deadlines?

You can apply throughout the year for commencement in October, January or April.

If you wish to apply for funding, you will need to apply by certain deadlines. Consult the websites of relevant bodies for details.

Related courses

Study routes for Comparative Literature (MPhil/PhD)

Please select a study route below to continue your application.

Please note that international students who require a Student visa to study in the UK can only apply for full-time, on campus routes.

Starting in October 2026

Full-time

Part-time

Starting in January 2027

Full-time

Part-time

Starting in April 2027

Full-time

Part-time

Starting in October 2027

Full-time

Part-time

Starting in January 2028

Full-time

Part-time

Starting in April 2028

Full-time

Part-time