PhD Arab World Studies: The University of Manchester

Course description

Middle Eastern Studies at Manchester offers exceptionally wide-ranging opportunities for research and advanced training in the history, languages, religious traditions and politics of the Middle East. Training and research supervision in all major cultures and periods of the region are delivered by experts whose publications contribute to their subject on an international level.

The Centre offers specialised intensive training in Arabic, and in a wide range of other research skills and techniques; it organises seminars, workshops and conferences, and offers fully-funded MA and PhD studentships. Another major research centre, the Centre for Jewish Studies (based in the Faculty of Humanities), brings together a wide range of specialists from across the University, and a large and active body of graduate students working on various aspects of Jewish culture and history.

Research embraces the historical-literary study of classical periods, as well as current approaches in the exploration of the social, cultural, literary or religious characteristics of the contemporary Middle East. Staff research interests include modern Islamic thought, the role of women in the Muslim world, translation studies, Israeli culture, modern Jewish thought, 20 th century relations between Europe and the Arab Middle East as well as Iran, alongside classical Islamic history, Shiism, rabbinic Judaism, Turkic linguistics and the pre-Islamic and Christian history of the Middle East.

Career opportunities

Most doctoral students go into university teaching either in the UK or in their country of origin, sometimes via post-doctoral research projects.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview:

Successful completion of a Masters course, or its overseas equivalent, with an element of research training, is a prerequisite for entry to a PhD. A research proposal must be included with the formal application materials.

English language:

Students whose first language is not English require an overall IELTS score of 7.0 with 7.0 in the writing component or a TOEFL score of 600 (paper-based test), 250 (computer-based test) or 100 (internet-based test).