We have an international postgraduate community of over 30 MPhil/PhD students, working on an extraordinarily wide range of topics in Greek and Latin, ancient history and archaeology, philosophy, rhetoric and the reception of ancient literature.
The Department is a vibrant and friendly environment in which to work and to meet other researchers. At several points during the academic year, the department runs one day symposia on broad topics when both staff and research students from all sub-disciplines present papers. Recent topics have included craftsmanship, political speech and encounters.
A series of Postgraduate Workshops includes career-oriented sessions, dry runs for papers that will later be given at conferences, and a showcase for the work of those who are about to complete their PhDs. Our Research Centres provide specialised seminars and involve postgraduate students fully in their programmes of events. The PhD community runs Auctor, a peer reviewed online journal where postgraduates can publish articles pertaining to the classical world. PhD students also benefit from access to a dedicated workspace on Campus in the department itself.
Our postgraduates are also part of the wider University of London research culture, especially through the Institute of Classical Studies in Senate House with its unrivalled library facilities and seminar programme. Other research facilities in London include The British Library and the Warburg Institute for the study of the Classical Tradition, as well as opportunities for collaboration and exchange of ideas with classicists in the other London University departments at UCL, KCL, and Birkbeck.
Further afield, our postgraduates take part in many national and international conferences. Royal Holloway students have recently taken key roles in the organisation of AMPAL (the Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient Literature) and AMPRAW (the Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Reception of the Ancient World) and have given papers at conferences in (among other places) the Netherlands, Hungary, Greece and South Africa.
We also offer postgraduate research programmes, an MRes in Classical Reception by Research, and an MRes in Rhetoric.
Applying
If you’re considering applying for Classics PhD, first see if there is a member of staff working in your area of interest, and get in touch with them to explore your project.
You can also contact Dr. Liz Gloyn, the department's Research Lead, to discuss who might be the best fit for supervising your project, and to ask any other questions you might have about studying for your PhD with us.
Funding
Enquiries from prospective doctoral applicants are welcome at any time of year. See how funding your PhD works.
