Study environment

All PhD candidates are allocated two supervisors, and are expected to meet with their primary supervisor on a regular basis, with progress reports submitted every six months. Students will normally be upgraded from MPhil to PhD status after 9-18 months, with a transfer to 'writing up' status usually occurring after three years of full-time study. Upon submission of the thesis, assessment is by means of an oral examination (viva).

Our postgraduate students are an integral part of the academic life of the Department. We are a growing department with many internationally recognised researchers and visiting academics. We have a wide range of both national and international projects, collaborations with other departments, as well as with other higher education institutions, cultural and memory organisations, and digital industries. Our students have access to good library facilities, and there is a research student room within the department.

The Department has an active PhD seminar series, which provides students with the opportunity to present their research and discuss its progress and its relationship to the broader discipline, and students are also invited to participate in the departmental seminar series. There is an annual PhD student conference, organised by the students themselves, as well as a range of seminars and other events both within King’s and at academic and cultural institutions around London.

London offers unparalleled diversity and richness for students in the humanities and cultural heritage, with the largest concentration of memory and cultural institutions in the UK, including the major document repositories at the National Archives, and the extensive digital and physical resources of the British Library. London also possesses extensive media and digital industries, with many opportunities for internships and employment.

Research students can apply to become Graduate Teaching Assistants to assist members of staff in delivering modules to undergraduate students on the BA in Digital Culture. Full training is provided to enable students to make the best use of this opportunity for acquiring valuable teaching experience.

Joint PhD programme

Exciting opportunities are available to undertake a joint PhD programme with the National University of Singapore (NUS). FAQs about joint PhDs can be found on the King’s Worldwide web pages.

Postgraduate training

Research students are expected to spend a week per year on training in transferable and research skills, and will have access to a diverse range of training opportunities. Students can attend a variety of specialist MA modules offered within the Department, on topics such as text technologies, spatial humanities, or metadata. The King's Graduate School runs a Researcher Development Programme of personal, professional and career development activities for all research students, and there is a centrally provided programme of ICT and related skills training. Students are able to take part in a wide portfolio of training courses ranging from generic study and employability skills, language courses at the College's Modern Language Centre, through to specific conceptual and methodological courses offered by the ESRC-funded King’s Interdisciplinary Social Science DTC.

King’s is also a partner in the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) collaborative doctoral training partnership (with University College London and the School of Advanced Study, University of London), which supports an extensive network of training courses and events for AHRC-funded students.

Our research students are also encouraged to submit papers to conferences, and there are Faculty funding schemes to which students can apply for financial support to allow them to travel and present their papers.