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.