Key information
Duration
- Full-time: 36 months (3 to 4 years)
- Part-time: 72 months (5 to 6 years)
Start dates & application deadlines
- Starting October 2026 – Application deadline not specified.
- Starting January 2027 – Application deadline not specified.
- Starting April 2027 – Application deadline not specified.
Although there is no fixed closing deadline for applications to research degrees, we strongly recommend that you apply as soon as possible.
Language
English
Delivered
On Campus
Campus Location
Canterbury, United Kingdom
Disciplines
French studies
Overview
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 French. Previous doctoral theses have included ‘Deleuze and Anti-Humanism: The Sense of Deleuze's Spinozism’, ‘Haptic Experience in the Writings of Georges Bataille, Maurice Blanchot and Michel Serres’, ‘Photobiographies: pour une écriture de notation de la vie (Roland Barthes, Denis Roche, Annie Ernaux)’, ‘De l'abject et du sublime: Georges Bataille, Jean Genet, Samuel Beckett’, ‘The Regulation of Female Fertility and the Maternal Body in French Medical and Literary Writing, 1870-1914’, ‘La Corruption dans le Roman Francophone du XIXème au XXIème Siècle’, ‘The Representation of Women Musicians in French, English and German Literature of the Nineteenth Century’, ‘Être et responsabilité. Phénoménologie et poésie de Jean-Louis Chrétien’, and ‘Domestic Architecture, Literature and the Sexual Imaginary in Europe, 1850-1930’.
The University of Kent’s Language Centre offers supervision from world-class academics with expertise in a wide range of disciplines, able to support and guide you through your research. 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, many of which benefit from the broader context of the Research Network for Languages, Linguistics and Literatures. You are also likely to gain experience teaching.
You may be eligible for a fully-funded PhD scholarship to support your studies with us. For a list of scholarships available, please see our postgraduate funding page.
Programme Structure
Courses include:
- Staff interests broadly fit within the parameters of French literature and thought from the 18th century to the present, with research clusters organised around the following areas: the European Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment; Ekphrasis; Franco-Japanese relations; Life Writing; Medical Humanities; Philosophy and Critical Theory; French Surrealism; Cubism; the Avant-Garde; the interface between visual arts and text.
- Recent publications have focused on authors, artists and thinkers including the following: Apollinaire; Artaud; Badiou; Barthes; Blanchot; Cocteau; Crébillon fils; Deleuze; Diderot; Djebar; Flaubert; Foucault; Garréta; Houellebecq; Lacan; Maupassant; Mérimée; Nimier; Perec; Picasso; Proust; Roubaud; Sade; Voltaire; Yourcenar; Zola.
Admission requirements
Academic requirements
GPA: Upper Second Class
English requirements
- Duolingo English Test: 110
- TOEFL® iBT: 80 (or 4 on the new TOEFL iBT 1-6 score, CEFR-aligned, equivalent to the 0-120 score)
- PTE Academic: 63
- OTE (Oxford Test of English): 118
- IELTS: 6
Other requirements
General requirements
- A first or upper-second class BA honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject, and a distinction or merit in an MA programme or equivalent in a relevant subject and the appropriate language skills.
- All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Fees and funding
Tuition Fees
fees tbc
Living costs
Canterbury, United Kingdom: 1,241-2,143 AUD / month
The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.
Scholarships
Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for French.
Available Scholarships
- Sports Scholarships Scheme – University of Kent, Grant 1000 GBP, Deadline 30 Apr 2027
- Fulbright U.S. Student Program – U.S. government, Grant Various benefits, Deadline 07 Oct 2026
- ACES Scholarships – ACES Education Fund, Grant 3500 USD, Deadline 15 Nov 2026
- ServiceScape Scholarship – ServiceScape, Grant 1000 USD, Deadline 30 Nov 2026
- Erasmus+ - Grants for study mobility – OeAD, Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation, Grant Various benefits, Deadline Not specified
- Scholarships for PhD Students – Junhua Li, Grant 19000 GBP, Deadline Not specified
- Boustany Astronomy PhD Scholarship – Boustany Foundation, Grant Various benefits, Deadline 28 Feb 2027
- Amberscholar Scholarship – Amber Scholar, Grant 6000 USD, Deadline 31 Jan 2027
- Voice Talent Online Scholarship – Voice Talent Online, Grant 1000 USD, Deadline 01 Mar 2027
- $1,500 Annual Video Contest Scholarship – IvyPanda, Grant 1000 USD, Deadline 31 Oct 2026
- Dream Chaser Scholarship – Salvado Law, Grant 1000 USD, Deadline 13 Jan 2027
- Commonwealth Shared Scholarship – University Bids – UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Grant 22500 GBP, Deadline Not specified
- Scholarship for students with disabilities – Anonymous Hope Fund, Grant 3000 USD, Deadline 31 Dec 2026
- The Annual IELTS from 6 to 9 Scholarship – IELTS from 6 to 9, Grant 1500 USD, Deadline Not specified
- Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme – The Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme, Grant 12000 USD, Deadline 11 Jan 2027