In this post, I give a basic overview of what undertaking a PhD in the Humanities can entail. The post is based mainly on the UK and US academic systems because those are the two systems of which I have first-hand experience. Programmes can vary not only across countries but also across individual institutions so always check the requirements that apply to the programmes and systems that you are considering.
I decided to write this post because so many potential PhD students are unsure of what a PhD actually involves or how to go about obtaining one before they get started, so I wanted to provide an accessible overview for people in that position. I hope that it will also be helpful for the family and friends of those who are undertaking a PhD, if they do not already have an understanding of what the PhD student in their life may be experiencing!
First question: What actually is a PhD in the Humanities?
In a nutshell, a PhD in the Humanities involves completing a substantial piece of research that advances scholarship in your subfield. This research is usually conducted independently as opposed to as part of a research group, although collaborative projects in the Humanities do exist and have become more common over recent years. The research is presented in the form of a dissertation (US) or thesis (UK), of which the typical length can range from 75,000 – 100,000 words. Some institutions allow longer projects and some also accept shorter pieces of work. In certain countries and institutions, students may submit a set of articles or shorter papers in lieu of a single dissertation or thesis.
The Humanities encompass a range of disciplines. I plan to write a post in the future that explores the origins of the discipline and its complexity, but for now, this paragraph is intended to alert readers to the fact that lots of funding opportunities and most universities organise disciplines under a few umbrella terms, most commonly the Humanities, the Sciences, and the Social Sciences. Disciplinary boundaries shift constantly and should continually be debated and discussed. However, when you apply and undertake a PhD, you have to do so as part of a university department that will fall under one of the major disciplinary areas, regardless of how you might wish to interrogate this classification in your work, so for now, if the topic you are planning to work on belongs or seems like it could belong in a department classified as part of the Humanities, read on!
Many institutions group areas such as literature, languages, classics, history, history of art, religion and theology, and philosophy under the Humanities umbrella. Depending on the institution, some places also include the fine arts and the performing arts within the Humanities, or geography, area studies, archaeology, anthropology, and some other subjects. Check how the institutions that you are applying to organise subjects and also with any external funding bodies that you are applying to; for example, students planning to do their PhD in the UK in some disciplines such as history can sometimes choose between applying for funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council, depending on which funding body fits best with the methodology and scope of their project. We'll talk more about PhD funding later in this post...
Second question: What do you need to do to qualify to undertake a Humanities PhD?
In many countries, including the UK, you typically need a Master’s degree to enter a PhD programme. You can apply during your MA to start the PhD immediately after you have completed it, or you can wait a year or more before applying. In some cases, you may not actually need an MA before starting so always check departments’ individual entry requirements.
Some institutions require you to obtain a specific grade in the MA (or an international equivalent of this degree) if the degree is graded, for example a Merit or a Distinction. Others do not stipulate a required grade. Universities should list these entry requirements on their websites alongside their information about PhD application processes, and also explain how to convert international qualifications for application purposes.
Many programmes in the US allow you to gain an MA en route to your PhD if you do not already have one when you enter the programme. If you arrive with an MA degree, you may be able to take fewer courses in the coursework stage of the programme and gain credit for other degree requirements if you transfer your MA credits or equivalent work.
In some cases, relevant research experience, either during your BA or MA or another opportunity such as an internship, job, or summer programme, can help you to prepare your application and may help you to stand out to selection committees, but it is not usually a hard requirement for entry to Humanities PhD in the way it can be for some programmes in the Sciences. Similarly, publications, conferences, and committee work can help prepare you for the demands of your PhD programme, but they are not usually required for admission. Again, check with each institution and department that you apply to to get precise information about requirements.
I am not aware of any programmes anywhere in the world that allow students to enter and work towards a PhD without completing at least an undergraduate degree. Sometimes, you may see famous people or others who have achieved highly in their field receive an Honorary Doctorate or the equivalent title without formally enrolling in the University and completing requirements; that process is entirely separate from what I talk about on this blog, namely earning a PhD as a student.
Third question: What do you need to do to actually get the PhD?
I plan to publish more detailed posts about various PhD requirements in the US system including coursework, qualifying exams, and the dissertation at a later date, and also to create a list of resources for Humanities PhD students based in the UK that speak to thesis requirements. For now, a brief summary of what you might need to do to complete your PhD...
Most Humanities PhD programmes in the UK list the thesis as the sole major requirement. There are various milestones that you have to meet along the way such as what is sometimes called a Transfer or MPhil to PhD Upgrade, where a committee reviews a sample of your work and decides if you can continue on your path to the PhD. PhD students in the UK typically register as either MPhil students or Provisional Researchers and undergo a review, usually towards the end of their first year, to determine whether they are deemed capable to completing their PHD. You may also have annual reviews, in which you have to participate to check that you are on track. A small number of programmes may mandate formal professional development such as attendance at trainings and seminars, but this is relatively uncommon in the UK system.
Humanities programmes in the US have several more formal steps. To give a brief idea of what a Humanities PhD may entail, here is what I did to complete my PhD in Romance Languages at the University of Michigan:
1) I arrived with an MA degree so I had to complete at least 30 credits of graduate-level coursework. In practice, this meant taking at least ten courses worth three credits each, spread across my first two years (four semesters in total). Each three-credit course would meet once per week for about three hours throughout the semester. People who had not yet completed an MA had to undertake at least 45 credits of coursework.
2) My department encouraged interdisciplinary and self-directed work so the only two courses I had to take were an introductory course to graduate studies and a teaching training course when I started to teach in my second year. I could choose the other eight courses from any U-M department, provided there was space and I met any prerequisites.
3) My PhD focused on French literature, but I also had to prove a certain level of competency in another language (other than English) to meet my programme’s second language requirement. I voluntarily took Latin classes throughout my first year, but I actually used my fluency in German to fulfil this requirement; I submitted proof of substantial undergraduate coursework in the language and that was enough to meet the requirement.
4) Every student in my department had to attend a fourth term review at the end of their second year where their advisor and two other faculty members would review the work they had produced for classes, their teaching evaluations, and any other relevant material. It was not something that you could fail; it was a good opportunity to receive feedback to incorporate into our future work.
5) I taught undergraduate language and literature classes for six semesters in total as part of my funding package in my second, third, and fourth years. Aside from our first-year fellowship, teaching was built into the subsequent years of my funding package. It was mandatory, unless you applied to fellowships, scholarships, or other kinds of employment to cover your tuition and living costs; I did this for my fifth and sixth years.
6) By the end of my third year, I had to pass my Preliminary Examination. This took the form of two take-home papers of about 20 pages each, written over a four-week period and based on reading lists that I had spent the previous two semesters compiling. There was also an oral discussion of these two papers with my committee.
7) At some point in my fourth year, I had to submit a Prospectus, a paper outlining my proposed dissertation structure and possible reading lists. I wrote mine in eight weeks, knowing that my ideas would evolve as I started to seriously work on my dissertation. This was followed by a hour-long discussion with my newly formed PhD committee, four professors, including my advisor, who would oversee my dissertation.
8) The dissertation, namely the main independent research project. My dissertation ended up being just over 100,000 words, which is pretty standard for my discipline. I began targeted research for it in November 2020 (I had been noting anything that I thought may be useful for my project and doing a ton of background reading all throughout my first three years), drafted my first chapter in March 2022, having spent 2021 writing a series of experimental snippets for my second and third chapters, then drafted my remaining thee chapters, introduction, and conclusion between May and December 2022. I edited my work January – March 2023 and completed my oral defence (an exam with my four committee members) in April 2023.
I plan to write posts in the future that focus on each of these requirements in more detail!
Fourth question: How long is a Humanities PhD?
Most programmes in the US are advertised as being between four and six years in length. It is usually possible to complete the requirements within these time frames if everything goes according to plan in terms of both research and the student’s personal life. However, many students extend their programmes for various reasons; MLA data from 2012 shows that the median time-to-degree for Humanities PhD was 9.0 years.
In the UK, a full-time programme in the Humanities officially lasts three years; most scholarships are designed to cover three years of study. Many students take four years and some take more than that. Part-time programmes usually last between six and eight years, although again, there is a lot of variation in individual timelines.
A PhD is therefore a big commitment in terms of the number of years, although the duration gives you the time to develop your research and writing skills and to take advantage of various academic and professional development opportunities while working on your dissertation.
Fifth question: How do you pay for a Humanities PhD?
Funding mechanisms for Humanities PhD students vary greatly across different countries and institutions. This section gives a very broad overview of the systems in the US and the UK; always do your own research before applying, and be sure to look for opportunities at both the institutions to which you are applying and any other organisations that may offer grants, scholarships, and other types of funding to PhD students.
In the US, offers for most full-time PhD programmes come with a promise of full funding for a set number of years, usually between four and six, depending on the department and the university. Sometimes you can apply for extensions and sometimes you can obtain funding from external sources and scholarships which may allow you to pause your department’s package, giving you extra time towards your degree. In some cases, external funding may replace parts of your departmental funding.
Funding packages usually consist of a tuition waiver, which means that you do not need to pay tuition while you are enrolled as a PhD student; a stipend, which can usually be directly deposited to your account and used by you to cover living expenses; and health insurance. Some programmes and types of funding also cover fees, a semesterly or annual charge which typically include things such as campus activities, legal services, and recreation fees; dental insurance; and vision insurance.
The funding can take several forms. Commonly, Humanities students teach one or two courses or lead one or more discussion sections per semester while assisting a professor in exchange for their stipend, tuition waiver, and other benefits. Many Humanities students will receive guaranteed departmental fellowships for their first year and potentially also for later years when they are working on their dissertations. The fellowship is often at or around the same level as the stipend and is designed to allow students to concentrate on their classes or research full-time.
Depending on what your university, graduate school, and department offer, you may also be eligible for several types of supplementary funding. This can range from travel grants and professional development grants to short and longer-term competitive fellowships, internship programmes and graduate and research assistantships. You may also be able to work extra jobs alongside your programme, depending on visa and departmental restrictions, to supplement your income and gain extra experience.
International students are usually eligible for the same departmental funding as their US citizen peers. Some university funding, most federal funding, and many privately-funded scholarships are only open to US citizens and/or permanent residents.
If you run out of guaranteed funding or choose a programme with partial or no guaranteed funding, you will need to consider other ways to fund your studies such as loans, savings, working, and support from family.
The funding system works differently in the UK. Aside from a small number of advertised studentships each year (these are far more common in the sciences), which give students the opportunity to apply to complete their PhD as part of a defined project in exchange for tuition fees and a stipend, students typically apply to a university and gain a place first before they are considered for funding from various sources, many of which are external to the university in question. In most cases, students are first admitted to their PhD programme and are then considered separately for funding; you are automatically considered for many funding opportunities and may have to complete an additional application for others. Always seek advice from your prospective supervisors about how to navigate this and do as much research as possible online about this process.
Humanities funding in the UK comes predominantly from organisations external to universities such as the Doctoral Training Partnerships funded by the AHRC, and from donor-funded scholarships and programmes which may only be available to students at specific universities including Clarendon and Gates. Most universities have pages that offer guides to major external funding opportunities and any department or university-level funding specific to the institution, such as these pages from Durham and Leeds. Eligibility for funding may depend on citizenship and/or home vs. international student status; always check the criteria of each opportunity before applying.
Humanities programmes in the UK do not typically include compulsory teaching in way that most US-based programmes do The main funding model is not based on students teaching or providing other services to the university in exchange for a stipend and tuition waiver. Students are sometimes offered the opportunity to teach alongside their programmes and are paid on top of their scholarship, if they have one, for this work; often, students are remunerated on an hourly basis. Examples of such opportunities include assisting on a large lecture course, teaching a language or translation class, or running undergraduate seminars.
Many students in the UK self fund their PhDs from a combination of loans, working, savings, family support, and smaller scholarships that do not cover the full cost of tuition or living expenses. In 2018, the government launched the doctoral loan which currently allows home students to borrow X amount over X years, provided they do not already have a PhD or full funding from the AHRC or a source deemed equivalent.
Sixth question: Why would someone choose to do a Humanities PhD?
Many students enter their Humanities PhD programme with the ambition of becoming a tenured professor, or the equivalent in the local academic system. The first step towards achieving that goal would usually be to secure a tenure-track job following the completion of the PhD; you would be appointed at Assistant Professor level and would have between five and seven years to meet the requirements for tenure, including publications, teaching, and service, before having your post made permanent and receiving the title of Associate Professor, with the option to eventually become a full Professor. In all but very exceptional cases, in recent times, a PhD is a prerequisite for a tenure track job in the Humanities therefore if that is the pathway you would like to pursue, a PhD is your only option.
However, there are a very small number of tenure-track jobs available in the Humanities each year; see this page for reports on the MLA job list over recent years (the MLA lists most permanent academic job openings in English and Modern Languages across the US and some other countries). There are therefore many multiples of PhD graduates per tenure-track position. One goal that I have for this blog and website is to show that a tenure-track job should not and does not have to be the only socially and professionally acceptable goal for PhD students in the Humanities. If you want a tenure-track job, do all you can to try to make that a reality, but it is prudent and realistic to plan for a future outside the tenure-track at the same time. You also shouldn’t feel like you have to want a tenure-track job!
That doesn’t mean that doing a PhD in the Humanities is worthless. In fact, that is far from the case, in my experience and that of many people I know. Many people may enter their Humanities PhD programme with the goal of teaching and researching at a university, but this is by no means the case for everyone, and plenty of students develop new goals and interests during their time in their programme. Here are some other reasons why someone might pursue a PhD in the Humanities:
It will lead them towards another career path that they are interested in, even if the career itself does not necessarily require a PhD as a hard requirement. Many fields such as librarianship, archival work, research outside academia, development, learning design, publishing, and government work offer positions that may suit PhD holders and for which their training may make them excellent candidates.
Interest and curiosity. Some students are motivated to pursue a PhD purely because they love their subject and wish to spend a few years dedicating their time to exploring it further and developing new ideas in their subfield. They might come straight from their BA or MA, or take a career break, or do the PhD in their retirement. It is also possible to do some programmes part-time alongside a full-time job or other responsibilities such as caregiving. As long as the situation works for you financially and personally, there is no reason why you shouldn’t pursue a PhD for personal interest alone.
A good opportunity arises. You might come across a funded opportunity that really speaks to your interest or you might find a programme that allows you to combine the PhD with something else that is important to you, whether that is experiencing life abroad for a few years, having a flexible schedule, or taking advantage of a specific professional development opportunity that can be integrated into your programme such as an internship or the opportunity to teach at university level. There may be other ways to get these kinds of experiences, or the PhD might be the best option for you.
Seventh question: What should you do next?
You may have always wanted to do a PhD but have had little idea of how to go about it or what it actually entails. I hope that this post has helped clarify basic timelines and processes for you and that you now feel ready to find out more about institutions, opportunities, and projects that you're interested in.
If you weren't sure if you wanted to do a PhD, this post may have helped you to decide either way. If you're still unsure, don't panic! You can do a PhD at any age and you don't have to do everything all at once. You could talk to people you know who have done or are doing a PhD to see what their experiences have been like. Spend some time thinking through whether a PhD is the right decision for you in terms of funding, your life circumstances, and any future plans you may be working towards.
If you read this post because you are not doing a PhD yourself but someone in your life is doing one or is considering taking this pathway, feel free to share this post with them and anything that you think might be helpful. And stay tuned for future content aimed at those supporting PhD students!
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