Doctoral degree in English Philology

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Faculty: Faculty of Arts
Degree: Doctoral (Ph.D.)
Programme length: four years
Tuition fee: € 2,000 per year
Form of study: full-time, part-time

All the courses offered as part of the degree are taught in English, and communication with students (both at the department and faculty level) will likewise be in English.


Aim of the program:

to train highly qualified linguistic and literary experts who will be able to deal independently with theoretical, methodological and practical issues in English philology


Structure of studies:

Doctoral studies are based on an individual curriculum drafted by the student after consultation with an appointed supervisor. This draft curriculum is then approved by the Doctoral Program Committee and its Chair. The supervisor monitors progress on the curriculum on a regular basis, and reports on progress if so requested by the Chair of the Doctoral Program Committee.

The maximum length of studies is 6 years; during this period, the candidate must pass examinations in compulsory subjects, gain course credits from compulsory-optional subjects (chosen by the candidate from the subjects on offer), pass the State Doctoral Examination and defend his/her dissertation.

A compulsory component of the doctoral degree program is the candidate's participation in teaching and research activities at the Department, participation in selected conferences, publication of articles (e.g. presenting interim research results), and at least one study visit to a partner university abroad (one semester).


Overview of courses:

1. Common Compulsory Courses:

Doctoral Seminar I 30 credits
Doctoral Seminar II 30 credits
Doctoral Seminar III 30 credits
Philosophy 10 credits

2. Discipline-Specific Compulsory Courses:

2.a Linguistics-Oriented Compulsory Courses:
History of Linguistics
Czechoslovak Linguistics and the Prague School
Methods of Discourse Analysis
English from the Historical and Sociolinguistic Perspective

2.b Literature-Oriented Compulsory Courses:
20th Century Literary Criticism with an Emphasis on the Anglo-American Area
History of English and American Literature
Genealogy
Ethnicity in Anglo-American Literature

3. Major-Specific Semi-Optional Courses – based on the focus of the doctoral dissertation:

Students choose courses from the following offer of linguistic and literary section which are closely connected with their doctoral dissertation topic.
Jewish American Literature
English as a Lingua Franca
Anglo-American Environmental Literature
Text Interpretation
Literature and the Holocaust
Native Literatures and Cultures of North America

4. Semi-Optional Course – Foreign Language:

Students choose one of the following foreign languages:
German, Polish, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian

5. Semi-Optional Course – Project/Conference

6. Semi-Optional Course – Publication

7. Semi-Optional Course – International Mobility


General requirements

The admissions procedure may involves an interview (in English). Applicants must explain their choice of topic for their planned dissertation, showing a good knowledge of the relevant secondary literature on the topic in question; the dissertation may be related to the following topics:

  1. Linguistics: critical discourse analysis, genre analysis, comparative multimodal analysis, English as a lingua franca,
  2. Literature: Jewish American literature, Native literatures and cultures of North America, Anglo-American environmental literature, non-conformism and revolt in Anglo-American literature. It is also expected that the applicant will be capable of demonstrating an excellent level of knowledge when responding to various questions on linguistic and literary disciplines that traditionally form part of philological curricula at university English departments.

Tuition fees

We charge tuition fees for every year of your study.

The tuition fee is € 2,000 per year.


Admission requirements – you need to:

  1. Submit the application to study and pay the administrative fee for the admissions procedure.
  2. send to the e-mail address or attach to e-application:
    1. a doctoral dissertation research proposal
    2. a curriculum vitae, including information on the applicant's proficiency in foreign languages according to the CEFR,
    3. an overview of relevant activities (publications, participation in conferences, study stays abroad),
    4. if available, a letter of recommendation from a university teacher or researcher,
    5. any language certificates awarded to the applicant.
  3. Obtain an official document proving your previous education as stipulated by the Conditions for admission.

For a doctoral degree programme, full completion of studies in at least a Master's degree programme. If you completed the previous education in a foreign country (outside the Czech Republic), we recommend that you submit the Application for The Recognition of Foreign Education to the University of Ostrava – see Foreign Transcripts


We strongly recommend that applicants submit the required documents as soon as possible due to the complexity of the visa application process.

The deadline for application and submission of all required documents is 15 May 2021.


How to apply?

Applications may only be submitted in electronic form:

Full-time study:
application form
Part-time study:
application form

After entering the e-application system and login via the email address, applicant selects the study programme and follows the instructions of the application. The last step of submission the e-application is the payment of the application fee of 560 CZK. It is recommended that applicant pay the fee by card.


Documents for download


Contact us in case of any queries:


Updated: 30. 10. 2020