Literatures in English

You do not have to come to Brno personally to take the entrance exam. The result of the admission process depends on the quality of the documents that you provide. Those will be assessed by the admission committee and you will be notified about the results via e-mail.

Terms of Admission

It is recommended that you choose and contact your supervisor before sending your application. For more information click here .

1. Submission of an electronic application in the Masaryk University Information System.
2. Submission of three letters of recommendation in English.
3. Submission of a copy of the applicants Master's Thesis (in English). If this is not available, an English-language summary of the thesis must be provided together with a minimum twenty-page sample of the applicant's academic or scholarly writing in English. Graduates of Masaryk University need not submit a copy, as their theses are available to the Doctoral Studies Committee via the Masaryk University Information System.
4. Submission of a transcript(s) of university/college studies, which must include:
   • Dates you attended the institution(s)
   • Titles of courses and examinations you completed and the marks received
5. Submission of a research proposal for the doctoral dissertation (in English).
6. Submission of a statement of motivation to pursue a doctoral degree in the English Language at Masaryk University (in English).
7. Submission of an academic Curriculum Vitae (in English).
8. Demonstrate English-language skills at the C2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Language by submitting one of the following certificates (not more than one year old at the time of the submission of the application):
   
   • IELTS Academic score of 8.0 or higher
   • Certificate of Cambridge Proficiency in English with a mark of A or B
   • TOEFL iBT score of 110 or higher
   • Graduates of colleges or universities located in English-speaking countries (i.e. the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand) need not submit test scores.
9. Receive a positive recommendation from the English Language Doctoral Studies, which is based on a complex evaluation of the materials set out in Items 1 to 8.

Application Deadlines

1 January - 30 April for the enrollment in the Fall semester
1 July - 31 October for the enrollment in the Spring semester

Documents set out above in the Terms of Admission are required to be provided in digital form and attached to the online application by April 30th or October 31st.

Contact

admission@phil.muni.cz

The doctoral degree programme in literatures in English provides advanced instruction in traditional areas of literary studies and in contextual, interdisciplinary, and transnational approaches to literature and culture. Students can specialize in one of the four major Anglophone areas – British and Irish literature, North American literature, Australian and New Zealand literature, or other literatures in English – or they can do a comparative study in two or more of these areas. Methodological approaches may include national/transnational, ethnicity, gender, queer, postcolonial, regional, and other aspects shaping literary studies. The programme is designed to encourage students to expand their literary-critical focus while developing their teaching, networking, and professional skills.

The main objectives of the programme are: 1) to expand rigorous research and methodological skills in literary-critical and critical-theoretical work; 2) to obtain detailed knowledge of the critical scholarship in the selected area of Anglophone literatures in Czech and international contexts; and 3) to acquire personal experience with and professional growth within Czech and international academic environments.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• demonstrate a complex overview and detailed knowledge of the field of literary studies (literary history, criticism, literary genres)
• apply established literary approaches to the subject of their own research
• demonstrate profound expertise in one of the four Anglophone literary areas (British and Irish literatures, North American literatures, Australian and New Zealand literatures, other literatures in English)
• apply the selected aspects (ethnicity, gender, postcolonialism, regionalism, etc.) in their own literary analysis
• produce well-developed academic and non-academic publications
• review and revise academic production in the field
• work in prefessions requiring competent textual processing and production and critical thinking

The program endeavours to reflect the latest developments in the field of Anglophone literary studies. This allows the graduates of the program to enter the job market not only in academia but also in journalism, diplomacy, various national and transnational NGOs, public service, and the commercial sector.

The program does not require practical training in addition to the practice the students receive when participating in the activities of the department.

The dissertation should demonstrate the student's ability to carry out independent research and must make an original contribution to the discipline of Anglophone literary scholarship. The text of the dissertation is submitted in two hardcover copies and its minimum length is 180,000 characters.