Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Language, Literature and Culture

Undertake a PhD in Language, Literature and Culture

Gain expertise in a specialised area of language, literature and culture

Pursue an advanced research project in English literary studies, philosophy, communications, or applied linguistics, and expand our understanding of the cultural and social forces that shape and steer the world today.

Domestic

I am an
International Student

I am not a citizen of
Australia or New Zealand.

Switch to International

I am a
Domestic Student

I am an Australian or New Zealand Citizen.

I'm an Australian Permanent Resident
(including Humanitarian Visa holders).

Why undertake a PhD in Language, Literature and Culture

Gain expertise in a specialised area. You will become an international expert in your topic
Make a difference to the world. Your research has the potential to improve people’s lives by understanding how our culture, and how we communicate, enables us to express ourselves, create new things, connect with each other, and make sense of our surroundings
Explore a fascinating research question that no one has answered before. You will have the opportunity to fill a gap in current knowledge or answer a previously unresolved issue in your field

Discover more about research at the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

Your career

A PhD gained in an area of Language, Literature and Culture at Flinders provides a wide range of skills valued in all types of organisations and careers. It will enhance your creative practice, analytical and communication skills, provide you with skills to quickly learn new concepts and adapt to change, and enhance your time management, organisation and resilience skills.

A PhD is a stepping stone to a career as a professional researcher in the public sector, think tanks, charities, universities, and private corporations. Individuals with PhDs in languages, literature and culture are highly sought after for various professions in public and private organisations and have found roles in writing, the law, public service, consulting, advising, teaching and publishing.

Potential occupations include:

Academic
Writer
Consultant or advisor
Professional researcher

Potential employers include:

Universities
Think tanks
Public sector
Charities
Private corporations

Potential research supervisors

Flinders Language, Literature and Culture academic staff are recognised as leaders in their fields both in Australia and globally. Our academic supervisors draw on their extensive knowledge and exciting research covering topics related to Gothic and Romantic literature, graphic texts, Continental philosophy and English as a global language.

Dr Kylie Cardell	Life writing narrative across various media, diary studies, humour and autobiography, new media and self-representation, creative nonfiction, literary/cultural theory, graphic texts, journalism, war narrative (nonfiction), feminist literature/memoir
Dr Tom Cochrane	Philosophy of mind/psychology (particularly emotions, mental disorders, well-being), aesthetics/philosophy of art, metaphysics, ethics
Professor Kate Douglas	Life writing or auto/biography studies, studies in childhood and youth, trauma studies, memory studies, contemporary literatures of social justice, travel writing, and pedagogies of reading
Dr Jeffrey Gil	English as a global language, English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL), the global use and status of Chinese, soft power and Confucius Institutes
Dr Eric Parisot	18^th-century and Romantic literature, the Gothic, literature and death, the history of emotions
Professor Robert Phiddian	17th and 18th century literature, contemporary Australian political cartoons, and theories of satire, parody, and irony
Dr Erin Sebo	Anglo-Saxon poetry, Beowulf, wisdom literature, orality, influence and intertextuality, the history of emotion, gender and the heroic ethos
Associate Professor Craig Taylor	Ethics, philosophy and literature, Wittgenstein and applied ethics

Get inspired

How academic friendship transformed our PhD experience

While both completing a Life Writing PhD at Flinders, Edith Hill and Marina Deller reflect on how their friendship has supported their research.

Learn more

Best before date - Ingrained ageism in literary fiction

A middle-aged women herself, HDR student Rebecca Carpenter-Mews is researching exactly how older women are depicted in contemporary fiction as part of her English literature PhD.

Learn more