Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics
Discover your research degree study options, including areas of expertise for our academic supervisors.
Why you should join us
Our research degrees will help you advance or change your career, deepen your expertise, and expand your research and practical skills.
Our research areas
Discover our areas of expertise and browse our experts. We encourage you to discuss your research ideas with us – even if your topic is not listed.
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Applied linguistics with research methods
Critical reading and literature review
English for research
Redevelopment
Research methods
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French
Autobiography
Contemporary French cinema
French linguistics
French popular culture and popular literature (especially the bande dessinée and noir fiction and film)
Modern and contemporary French fiction (especially the nouveau roman)
Symbolist aesthetics
Translation studies
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German
German crime writing and science fiction
German media and popular culture
Modern and contemporary German literature
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Italian
Contemporary Italian cinema
Italian crime writing
Italian female-authored writing
Modern Italian society and culture
Twentieth-century Italian fiction
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Linguistics
- Sociolinguistics, applied pragmatics, forensic linguistics, applied linguistics, corpus linguistics, (critical) discourse analysis, intercultural communication, and stylistics.
- Interactions in digital contexts, including search engines, web technologies, social media, virtual realities (VR), extended realities (XR) and with, for example, big data, web information and the Internet of Things.
- Digital transformations in information and digital literacies, information discernment, information behaviour, information retrieval, user perceptions, user experience and the posthuman lens.
- Gender and race studies, and youth culture.
- (Alternative) political communication, computational journalism, digital creativity, the importance of media in user engagement, interactive media, media law, public affairs, and sports journalism.
- French, Hispanic interpreting and translation.
- Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), and technology in teaching.
- Digital anthropology/ethnography, film/media pedagogy, languages, film studies and media, and the sociology of digital technology.
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Spanish
Cervantes
Contemporary Latin American literature and urban imaginaries
Contemporary Spanish fiction and popular culture
Contemporary Spanish cinema
Lorca
Qualifications you can study
You can do a research degree on campus or remotely through distance learning. Choose from one of these programmes:
- PhD Languages — three years full-time, six years part-time
- PhD by Professional Practice Route 1: Languages — three years full-time, six years part-time
Find out about the research degrees we offer.
Start dates
Most of our postgraduate researchers enrol in October. You can also join us in January and April.
Application information
Entry requirements
To apply, you’ll need a first or 2.1 honours degree, or an equivalent qualification.
International postgraduate researchers must have strong English language skills.
We welcome applicants from non-standard backgrounds. We’ll take subject knowledge, professional experience, publications, or other relevant achievements into consideration.
Find out more about our standard entry requirements.
Scholarships, fees and funding
Contact information
Contact us
About this subject
For an initial discussion, contact Dr Marijana Macis, the research degrees co-ordinator for modern languages and applied linguistics at m.macis@mmu.ac.uk
General admissions
For further information on the application process, contact the admissions team at pgradmissions@mmu.ac.uk