A good first degree in English or a closely related discipline is normally required. Applicants are required to send, together with their application:

(i) a short tide and statement (300-500 words) of the research proposed. This should be sufficiently specific to permit its evaluation as a realistic research topic. Note that such a statement is required of all applicants, including those not intending to proceed to the M.Litt. or Ph.D;

(ii) a piece of written work (such as an essay or course-assignment), of any length up to 5,000 words; this work will be returned if postage is prepaid.

If the research demands special skills (for example, knowledge of an ancient, medieval or modern language, musical notation, etc.), an applicant should indicate precisely and briefly what standard of proficiency has already been achieved.

Closing dates for receipt of application forms by the Board uf Graduate Studies for admission in October: 15 February. Decisions not taken before early April.

Students wilt be expected to submit a substantial dissertation, on a subject of their own choice, at the end of the course. Close guidance on coursework essays as well as individual supervision of the dissertation, will be given. Two English Faculty Graduate seminars, ‘Restoration to Reform’ and ‘Romanticism’, in which invited speakers present papers, run in all three terms.

M.Phil, course teaching will take place in the Michaelmas and Lent terms. It will take the form of:

One year courses offered by this Faculty: M.Phil. Degrees

A subject of research should have a unifying principle and should aim to make a contribution to knowledge. The subject should be one for which facilities exist in Cambridge and for which supervision is available. Within tfwse constraints a wide range of work is possible. The Faculty welcomes proposals for specific research on specific materials.

Sequence and Duration of Work

All students wishing to be registered in due course as candidates for the M.Litt. or Ph.D. Degree, including those offering topics from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, from the period 1700-1830 and on American literature who will normally take the M.Phil, course as a preparative to further research, will be expected in their first year to attend a programme of seminars and courses providing specific training in research skills and methods; these are to assist in the acquisition of appropriate proficiency and in the accurate definition of an individual research project. At the conclusion of this period, the registration procedure enables students to proceed, subject to satisfactory progress, to individual research towards the M.Litt. or Ph.D. At this stage the topic already under research must be realistically capable of completion and submission for examination within not more than one (for the M.Litt.) or two to three (for the Ph.D.) further years – i.e., within either two or three to four years from the date of commencement as a graduate student. Applicants must therefore frame their plans with regard to these limits to the time available for completion of research and submission of the resulting dissertation Applicants who propose to procede to the PhD via an MPhil course should normally ensure that they have funding for four years study.

All dissertations must show knowledge of sources, authorities, and methods of research;

they will be judged on clarity, accuracy, organisation and argument. In keeping with the

longer period of study and greater length required, a Ph.D. thesis is expected to make a more significant contribution to knowledge. The M.Litt. dissertation is expected to be not more than 60.000 words and the Ph.D. dissertation not more than 80,000 words long.

Students not seeking formal qualifications may be admitted for up to one year working under supervision.

It should be noted that formal application and acceptance is required in all cases, and that on average only about 45 masters students and 30 new research students are admitted each year.

For research students in the Medieval and Renaissance periods, in literature from 1700-1830, in American Literature, and in English and Applied Linguistics, the M.Phil, course serves as the first year of study. Students applying to work in these areas will normally be expected to complete the M.Phil, course before being registered as candidates for the MXItt or Ph.D. Degree, unless they have obtained an equivalent qualification elsewhere. Applicants may be accepted as candidates for the Certificate of Postgraduate Study in the first instance. Registration, either for Ph.D. or M.Litt., depends on the student providing satisfactory evidence of progress. In most cases the Faculty’s registration procedure is successfully completed by the end of June in the first year.

The Faculty’s teaching strength includes 6 Professors, 7 Readers and 26 University Lecturers and Assistant Lecturers as well as Research and Teaching Fellows from among college teaching officers.

There are normally about 200 Research Students under supervision in the Faculty, working on a wide range of research topics within English studies (including editing work, textual, linguistic, historical, critical, comparative, and theoretical studies) from the medieval to the modern fields.

Cambridge’s resources for research in English are unusually rich, including, of course, the University Library (over five million volumes), and the collections of rare books and manuscripts in the college libraries. The English Faculty has its own borrowing and reference Library of over 75,000 volumes.

In addition to the courses offered for the M.Phil, and M.St. degrees, seminars for graduate students are usually arranged in the following areas: Resources for Research in various periods, English Historical Linguistics, Medieval Literature, the Renaissance, Restoration to Reform, Eighteenth Century, The Romantic Period, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, American Literature, Drama, Gender and Writing, Literary Theory, Commonwealth and International English Literature. The seminar programme involves a large proportion of senior members of the Faculty in regular meetings and discussion with research students. There are also interdisciplinary seminars. Many lectures and classes are offered by English and other Faculties (for example, Modern and Medieval Languages, Classics, History). Although these are often primarily intended for undergraduates, many will be valuable to individual graduate students in helping them to widen their background of literary studies or to acquire specific knowledge and skills needed in their own research. In general, however, doctoral research students are expected to work on their own, under an assigned Supervisor, in preparing a dissertation.

The examination consists of the following:

(a) a bibliography of an approved area of study, containing not more than one hundred items;

(b)  two essays, each not exceeding 4,000 words in length, or equivalent exercises, on

topics approved or prescribed by the Degree Committee for the Faculty of English;

(c)  a thesis, of not less than 10,000 words and not more than 15,000 words in

length (including tables, footnotes, and appendices, but excluding bibliography), on a subject approved by the Degree Committee.

The examination includes an oral examination on the thesis and on the general field of knowledge within which it falls, and, at the discretion of the Examiners, on the work submitted by the candidate under (a) and (b) above; save that the Examiners may, at their discretion, waive the requirement for an oral examination.

Applicants should provide the statement of proposed research, the piece of written work and the declaration of relevant special skills required of all applicants in research in the Faculty of English.

Closing date for completed applications: 15 February. Certificate of Postgraduate Study in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic

The course of study is designed to provide training in research in the fields of study comprehended by the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic: it offers the option of combining seminars, classes, and written work in the candidate’s chosen field of interest.

The course consists of classes, seminars, and supervised individual study, based on the resources of Cambridge libraries, particularly those of the University Library. The syllabus of the course of study is as follows: frequent individual consultation with the candidate’s supervisor; attendance at the course (running through the Michaelmas and Lent Terms) entitled ‘Introduction to scholarly methods in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic Studies’; attendance at the Department’s graduate seminars, which meet twice in each of the three University terms; attendance at other courses of lectures or classes in preparation for the required exercise(s).

Prospective students should write to the Secretary of the Department of Anglo-Saxon. Norse and Celtic for a more detailed description of the course.

Department of anglo-saxon, norse, and celtic

Faculty of English, 9 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP

The Department’s central field of study comprises the culture and history of the British Isles between the departure of the Romans and the coming of the Normans, including Latin, Old English, Old Norse, and medieval Celtic (Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Breton) language and literature. The Celtic origins of Arthurian romance are also studied. Expert supervision is offered in historical, literary or linguistic research in these fields to candidates for the M.Litt. and Ph.D. degrees as well as for a one-year M.Phil, course. The particular specializations of the teaching staff are: Professor D. N. Dumville, palaeography, and the history of the Celtic-speaking peoples from the fourth century to the twelfth; Professor S. D. Keynes, Anglo-Saxon history; Dr R. C. Love, Insular Latin literature; Dr M. N( Mhaonaigh, medieval Irish language and literature, and Celtic philology; Dr A. P. M, Orchard, Old English and Old Norse literature; Dr O. J. Padel, medieval Welsh language and literature and aspects of comparative medieval literature; Dr J. Quinn, Old Norse and Old English language and literature; Dr M. Syrett, Scandanavian history and Germanic philology. The rich collections of primary manuscripts in Cambridge libraries and the comprehensive collection of printed materials in the University Library represent exceptional opportunities for research. It is expected that a candidate wishing to pursue research in one of the languages or literatures within the Department’s field of interest will have previous knowledge of the language concerned. Training in palaeography, diplomatic and the editorial process is provided as required.

Closing dates for receipt of application forms by the Board of Graduate Studies for admlbsiou in October: not specified.

One year courses offered by this Department: M.Phil. Degrees

Groups C and D of the Theological and Religious Studies Tripos currently comprise the following papers:

Paper 14.          Theology and science.

Paper 15A.       Hebrew II.

Paper 15B.       Hebrew III.

Paper 16.          The religion and literature of the Old Testament.

Paper 17.          New Testament texts in Greek.

Paper 18.          Jesus.

Paper 19.          Paul and the early church.

Paper 20.          Study of theology.

Paper 21.          Christian life and thought to 461.

Paper 22.          Christian life and thought, 950-1300.

Paper 23.          Christian life and thought, 1500-1689.

Paper 24.          Christian life and thought since 1800.

Paper 25.          Philosophical theology.

Paper 26.          The study of religions I: The religious traditions of India; Hinduism and

Buddhism.

Paper 27.          The study of religions II: The Holy Land or Sufism.

Paper 28.          Old Testament and intertefttamental studies.

Paper 29.          Judaism in the Greek and Roman periods: special subject.

Paper 30.          New Testament exegesis.

Paper 31.          Biblical Authority and Interpretation since 1800.

Paper 32.          Doctrine: special paper: Jesus Christ in twentieth century theology.

Paper 33.          A special subject or subjects in Christian life and thought: (a) Augustine

or (b) The First Crusade or (c) Twentieth Century Ecumenism.

Paper 34.          A subject or subjects in Christian life and thought specified by the Faculty

Board: Body, self and society.

Paper 35.          Christian ethics.

Paper 36.          The comparative study of religions II: (a) (he self and salvation in Indian

and western thought or (b) Jewish and Christian responses to the Holocaust.

Paper 37.          Religion and the Human Sciences.

Prospective applicants seeking further details should write to the Faculty Office. This course cannot be counted towards a research degree. Closing date for completed applications; 31 January for DFID applicants; 28 February for all other applicants.

This is a taught course designed primarily for graduates of other humanities disciplines (including those who may have studied some theology as part of a broader interdisciplinary degree) who intend for professional, academic, or personal reasons to shift the focus of their studies into the area of theology and religious studies. Although this course cannot be counted towards a research degree, it can offer a very useful basis for graduates from other backgrounds who wish to go on to one in this area. It also offers an excellent introduction to the subject for those who wish generally to broaden/ their education or for those considering a career in ministry. Applicants should nave (or be about to get) at least a good Second Class Honours degree or its equivalent.

The examination consists of:

(a) Three papers chosen from Groups C and D of the Theological and Religious Studies Tripos (see below), subject to the approval of the Degree Committee. With the Degree Committee’s approval candidates may elect to offer four papers, in which case their marks in the paper in which their performance is judged to be least good shall be taken into account only if it is to their advantage;

(b) A dissertation of not more than 15,000 words, including notes and appendices, on a subject approved by the Degree Committee, to be submitted by 31 August in the year of candidature. At the Examiners1 discretion there may be an oral examination on the dissertation and on the general field of knowledge in which it falls.

Applicants for this course must gain admission as Graduate Students, and should therefore normally hold a First or good Second Class Honours degree or the equivalent. They should also normally have a grounding in the appropriate areas of theology or cognate disciplines, which would include the relevant biblical languages. North American applicants should give their G.R.E. results.

The examination consists of:

1 (a)

a thesis, not exceeding 15,000 words in length, including footnotes and appendices but excluding bibliography, on a subject approved by the Degree Committee for the Faculty of Divinity;

one written paper chosen by the candidate, subject to the approval of the Degree Committee, from the following list:

Paper 1. Old Testament general paper.

Paper 2. New Testament exegesis.

Paper 3. The history of ecclesiastical historiography.

Paper 4. The Christian God.

Paper 5. The philosophy of religion.

Paper6. Religious thought since 1781.

Paper 7. The history and methodology of the study of religions.

three essays, each of not more than 5,000 words, on subjects chosen by the candidate with the approval of the Degree Committee from a list of subjects announced by the Degree Committee;

one written exercise, in a form prescribed by the Degree Committee, on a subject chosen by the candidate with the approval of the Degree Committee from a list of subjects announced by the Degree Committee.

3 The examination includes an oral examination on the thesis and on the general field of knowledge within which it falls and, at the discretion of the Examiners, on the written papers and on the other work submitted by the candidate. Candidates should state which written paper they hope to take. Closing date for completed applications: 28 February.

Certificate of Postgraduate Study in Theology and Religious Studies.