A postgraduate research degree from Humanities at Southampton offers you the wide and varied experience you should expect from a leading research university. We are committed to providing a relevant, modern and above all enjoyable environment in which to undertake your research project, along with the opportunity to gain the additional skills and understanding you need to start a career in any number of areas including academia.
How will you learn?
On a postgraduate research programme is led by academic staff, allowing you to engage with, and contribute to, the world-leading research carried out in Humanities at Southampton. Independent learning is the main element of undertaking postgraduate research, but we will guide you through the research experience by providing not only a dedicated supervisory team who will be on hand to help you to shape and direct your research project, but also a programme of research and transferrable skills training to prepare you not only for the project, but also for the career path you may wish to follow after its completion. If there are gaps in your knowledge when you start with us, you can join our taught masters students on one of their courses to provide you with the additional grounding you need.
We view our doctoral candidates as early stage researchers, so expect you to get involved with the wider research environment within, and external to, the university. Our disciplines have many unique and exciting additional opportunities for you engage with: such as visiting Chawton House Library, the former home of Jane Austen; studying the Broadlands Archive, containing the papers of Palmerston and Mountbatten; being part of one of our student-led interdisciplinary reading groups; and the chance to hear from visiting speakers from international universities who are frequent part of our research centre-led lecture and seminar series. You will have many opportunities to give papers and presentations, receiving feedback from peers and colleagues on how you can improve your work, maximise its effectiveness and gain recognition for your efforts.
Assessment
During the first year assessment of your written and practical work is a substantial element of the learning and teaching process and you will have regular tutorials with module tutors to plan coursework and receive feedback. You will be allocated a personal academic tutor, and will have timetabled meetings with them to review progress and set learning targets. All modules studied will also contribute to summative assessment of your general knowledge and understanding in the field. In addition students progressing to PhD will draft a formal proposal for an individual research thesis.
From year two onwards you will be allocated a supervisory team and your knowledge and understanding of your specialist research topic will be assessed through further taught modules plus a variety of research related tasks and through the written research thesis. Assessment methods for progress relating to your research thesis will include written examinations, oral presentations, written assignments, research proposal and progression reviews including Confirmation of PhD Registration. Summative assessment of the research thesis will include a viva voce examination with internal and external examiners.
Professional development
A PhD will enable you to further develop the key skills employers seek such as: time management; problem solving; team work; deadline and project management; cultural awareness; working independently; using your initiative; relationship-building; critical thinking and research analysis. Above all, you will learn to communicate your ideas and enthusiasm for your research to a wide range of audiences.
