English and Creative Writing MPhil/PhD Fee Waiver

All fee waivers will be awarded via competition, on the basis of merit, as defined by the specified criteria, and not on the basis of need. Awards will be made only where applications are judged to have met the criteria convincingly.

Should students wish to defer their study please note that we cannot guarantee to carry over an award to the following year(s).

For new incoming students, we are offering up to an equivalent of two full-time fee waivers for full-time and/or part-time MPhil/PhD students, for the academic session 2025-26.

For continuing MPhil/PhD students, we are offering up to an equivalent of one full-time fee waiver, which might take that form or the form of up to two part-time fee waivers, for the academic session 2025-26.

Both new and continuing students will need to include an application letter that should be less than 650 words and:

• Provide a brief description of your research/creative project (50 - 75 words)
• Indicate its likely and potentially original contribution to the existing field of critical study/creative literature (100 - 150 words)
• Make a strong case for your ability to accomplish your project (350 - 450 words). In making this case, you may want to expand on some aspects of your CV, and you would certainly be well advised to frame this case with reference to the specified criteria above

New students should also include two academic references.

Eligibility criteria

Both new and continuing MPhil and PhD students within the Department of English and Creative Writing are eligble to apply for these fee waiver bursaries.

New applicants must have formally applied for entry onto their chosen MPhil/PhD programme.

When deciding about awards for research degrees, we are looking for:

• Evidence of distinction in a prior BA and/or MA programme
• Diligence and timely progress in the conduct of original scholarly research of high quality, or of creative writing of high quality
• Applications from students working in any field of creative writing, literary criticism, linguistics and translation are welcome. All other things being equal, the Department may give preference, in the case of one of the bursaries, to high-quality applications focussing on literature before 1830

Overseas students as well as home/EU students may apply for the fee waivers, but should note that the value of each award will be equal to the fees applicable for home/EU students.

Students who are holders of AHRC or similar publicly-funded studentships for the same academic year for which they are applying are not eligible for this funding. Other exclusions, based on other awards held, may also apply.