Faculty of Classics - University of Cambridge

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Applying for a PhD

Most applicants will be on, or have completed, a Master’s level degree course (M.Phil, M.St, MA, or other research preparation programme), and we are looking for a first class level of work on that course. Your qualification need not be entirely in classical subjects, but we normally expect some evidence of first-class attainments in areas directly relevant to your proposed research. The majority of research projects require a high level of Latin and/or Greek. The skills which you need to strengthen during your first year can include these languages, but it is unlikely that these could reach the high linguistic standards required for the Ph.D. if you did not arrive here with at least a good grounding in them.

All applications are made electronically, though the Board of Graduate Studies:

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/prospec/apply/

You should give as much information as possible about your likely subject of specialisation.  Please indicate this in the relevant section of the application form, and include a separate statement of about 500 words. This should outline the basis for your interest in the proposed subject (including some bibliography), detail your sense of the principal issues of current debate and where you stand with respect to them, and inform us of what exactly you hope to be able to achieve or contribute to our understanding of the field through your own research. This does not prevent you from negotiating a change in your topic later, but it does help us to decide how well we can cater for your needs, whether you are qualified to undertake the research, and who your initial main Supervisor should be. You are free, if you wish, to say on your application form who your preferred Supervisor would be, and you may find it helpful to contact possible Supervisors to discuss possible projects before applying.  (You can find on this site a list of Faculty members and their research interests).

Applicants from outside Cambridge

In addition, if you are applying from outside Cambridge to be admitted for a Ph.D., you should supply (on a separate sheet if necessary) detailed information about your previous attainments in Classics (including Greek and Latin Language) and in other relevant subjects, and should submit one or two samples of your written work in these areas. (If you want the work returned, please say so clearly.) The Faculty has no rigid requirements for the written work to be submitted in support of an application, though we typically receive two essays of up to 5,000 words each, or a single piece of up to 10,000 words (an MA thesis, for example). Ideally, this work should have been written recently and be on a subject related to that which you propose to work on in Cambridge. It is obviously a great help if the work is written in (or translated into) English.

If you are applying from inside Cambridge you DO NOT need to provide EITHER information about your attainments in Classics OR samples of written work. Please ignore the request for this information on your self-service page.

It is possible to begin Ph.D. studies in October, January or April.  We encourage you to apply as early as possible, and would draw your attention to the funding deadlines on the main graduate admissions page. 

Ph.D. applicants based in the UK are normally invited for an interview in Cambridge, and telephone interviews are arranged for applicants from overseas.