Information for prospective PhD students

Ph.D. studies in the Faculty of Divinity

Cambridge has a long tradition of excellence in Theological and Religious Studies. Many prominent scholars in the field have pursued their Ph.D. research in Cambridge.

The Faculty now offers both a full-time Ph.D., which normally takes three years, and a part-time Ph.D., which takes five years.

Graduate studentships

The Faculty of Divinity is offering additional studentships to support doctoral research by graduate students commencing in 2009.

Graduate booklet

You may want to take a look at the graduate booklet.

General information for prospective applicants

Resources

The wealth of resources available makes Cambridge an outstanding context within which to pursue research.

All the scholars on whom we can call to supervise students, both in the Faculty and in the Colleges, have international reputations for excellence in their fields. There is plenty of information available on who is teaching in Cambridge at present.

In October 2000 the Faculty moved to its state of the art purpose-built £8 million building which is adjacent to most of the University's other humanities faculties.

In addition to the Faculty of Divinity's own library, students have access to the University Library, one of the most important research libraries in Europe, which not only has extensive modern holdings but contains such important treasures as the Codex Bezae, the Nash Papyrus and the Cairo Genizah. Other institutions within the city, such as Tyndale House (an international centre for Biblical research) and the Cambridge Theological Federation contribute to the impressive facilities for advanced study.

Students will also find that their work benefits from the Faculty's strong ties with cognate faculties in Cambridge, in particular Classics and Oriental Studies, and the intellectual stimulus of regular contact with staff and students in other disciplines, a consequence of undertaking research within a collegiate university of international standing.

How to apply

Do not contact the Faculty in the first instance, but download all the information about postgraduate degrees from the Board of Graduate Studies, the central body which deals with all applications for the whole University.

The material you find on this page will tell you all about how to apply and the choices you will have to make.

It is wise to apply for a place as soon as you have decided to study at this level, as the process of application and acceptance can sometimes be lengthy.

Once your application has been received, the Board of Graduate Studies will forward it to the Degree Committee of the Faculty of Divinity for approval or rejection. References are taken up at this stage and, if it is unclear whether you would be suited to studying for a research degree at Cambridge, you may be asked for some written work to prove it.

Information on funding

You must ensure that you have adequate funding in case your studies take you longer than originally planned. There is very little funding available for those who go over the minimum number of years allowed for.

The full-time Ph.D.

The full-time Ph.D. degree is awarded at the end of a minimum of three years, during which time you are required to be resident here in Cambridge. Your studies will lead to a piece of original research work - a thesis - of up to 80,000 words.

The expected standards and degree of independence of postgraduate study in the UK often come as a shock to our overseas applicants. The following is a guide as to what to expect.

Course requirements

It is important to note that Ph.D. studies in UK universities differ considerably from Ph.D. programmes in many other countries. There are no course requirements, although there will be plenty of opportunities and strong encouragement to broaden and deepen knowledge of the whole field in your chosen area. The only requirement for completion of the Ph.D. is a substantial research dissertation which makes a contribution to scholarly knowledge. It is the normal expectation that a Cambridge Ph.D. will be published.

Our own one year M.Phil. (or its equivalent elsewhere) is increasingly being recommended to students in need of substantial preparatory work.

Teaching

In the first week of your course, you will be invited to attend a series of research skills seminars to prepare you for the work ahead. After this, there are no taught courses for the Ph.D.; you will have your own academic Supervisor with whom you will meet on a regular, one-to-one basis.

Your Supervisor will normally be a Lecturer or Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty, but may be from another Faculty within the University if the appropriate person to deal with the topic proposed is not located in Divinity. If no one in Cambridge can be found to supervise your thesis, you will have been recommended to apply to another university instead.

The format of supervisions depends entirely on the arrangements made between you and your Supervisor. Many Supervisors start by meeting their graduate students weekly or fortnightly, and then once every 4-6 weeks, once written work has been produced.

Graduate students also attend fortnightly Research Seminars, along with established scholars, some of whom are spending their sabbatical leave in Cambridge. These Seminars have been running for over 50 years; many influential books and articles have had their first airing in this setting.

Research students are also free to attend any course or seminar offered throughout the University, without further payment (although prior agreement should normally be sought from chairmen of graduate seminars as a matter of courtesy).

Languages

The importance of languages cannot be overemphasised, particularly in the biblical subject areas.

For the Old Testament, an advanced knowledge of Hebrew is essential and normally a good grounding in Greek as well. Other languages such as Aramaic, Ugaritic, other Semitic languages or Latin may also be needed, but there are facilities for learning them here.

For the New Testament, solid competence in German will be required, though it can be developed during study at Cambridge. A reading knowledge of French, too, is highly desirable. As for ancient languages, solid Greek is essential; a good grounding in Hebrew is highly recommended, but can be developed once you arrive, as can Aramaic and Latin which may be necessary for some research topics.

First Year Assessment

There is an obligatory first year of 'probation' before registration for the Ph.D. degree is confirmed. At the end of this first year you will have an assessment with both an internal and an external assessor, who will look at how you are doing so far.

The format of this assessment is a conversation between all three parties, based on a piece of your written work, mainly to see if you are getting on all right or if you are having any problems which can be remedied. Where appropriate, you may be required to sit a progress examination, e.g. in a language.

If problems turn out, in the view of the assessors, to be insuperable, they may recommend to the Degree Committee that you submit for a Certificate or an M.Litt. instead of the Ph.D. However, a way is usually found to help you face up to what is needed for progress. This assessment should, therefore, be viewed as a learning experience rather than an examination!

After this asessment, if you are permitted to proceed to the Ph.D., there will be no more course work or examinations other than the oral examination of the dissertation once it has been submitted.

Can you earn money while studying?

The Ph.D. is regarded as a full-time course and students are therefore not permitted by the Board of Graduate Studies to work for more than 6 hours a week during term, supervising undergraduates or other academically-related work. This may be extended to 12 hours a week if your Supervisor agrees that it would not detract from the progress of your dissertation.

You are not allowed to do any other kind of work.

Ph.D. students are not automatically offered the chance to supervise; each Subject Committee will decide how many supervisors it needs each year, and will offer training in particular papers. It will then recommend the names of those it has trained to the Directors of Studies in Colleges. After that it is up to the latter to select supervisors; this is not in the control of the Faculty.

The part-time Ph.D.

This might be suitable for you if you are employed in the Cambridge region and your employer views such a programme of study as representing valuable staff development; or if you work part-time, or are home based for whatever reason, and want to develop your research skills.

Attendance

The degree is a part-time, rather than a distance-learning, degree. Although there are no residence requirements, there are attendance requirements and you will need to live close enough to Cambridge to fulfil these. As a minimum you can expect at least two formal supervisions per term.

Duration of the degree

The normal period of study for a part-time Ph.D. will be five years, of which at least five terms must be spent in research in Cambridge. Supervised leave to work away from Cambridge for up to ten terms may be possible; you should discuss this in detail with your intended supervisor. (N.B. five terms of part-time study equate to three terms of full-time study.)

Academic criteria

You will have to meet the same academic criteria for admission and ongoing assessment as for full-time degrees. The usual requirement for admission to a research degree is a IIi honours degree, but extensive postgraduate experience may qualify you instead. In addition, we will want to satisfy ourselves that your proposed topic of research is suitable for a part-time approach, and that you will be able to cope with your different responsibilities.

College affiliation

You will become a member of a College, with access to library, computing and other facilities; in some cases, short periods of residential accommodation may be offered, particularly in vacations. However, please note that Colleges will not be able to offer accommodation during term time to part-time students.

Fees

In total you will pay the same fees as a full-time student over the duration of the course. In other words, each term you will pay 60 per cent of the full-time fees, including both the University Composition Fee and the College Fee. As with full-time students, before your admission can be confirmed you will need to demonstrate that you can pay the fees. Neither the Board of Graduate Studies nor individual Colleges can normally entertain requests for assistance with maintenance in case of hardship.

Application procedure

The application procedure is the same as for full-time students. However, please note the following:

• If you wish to apply for a research degree, but are not able to commit yourself for at least five years' study, you might discuss with our Local Co-ordinator (see below) whether you should apply for a shorter course in the first instance (e.g. the Certificate or M.Litt.). Upgrading to a PhD may be possible later, subject to progress and financial requirements.
• Use the same application form as for full-time students, and tick the box indicating 'part-time'. Further into the form you are asked to provide a statement saying why you need to study part-time. Please note that difficulty in getting funding for a full-time course may not be regarded as sufficient reason for applying to study part-time.
• Your referees will be asked to comment on your ability to handle different responsibilities simultaneously.
• You will be interviewed by the Faculty.
• If you are in employment, you must provide a letter from your employer confirming that you may have time off, if necessary, for you to attend supervisions etc. as required throughout your course. If you intend to carry out research at your work place, this must be agreed with your employer and with the Faculty and access for your supervisor arranged.
• If your employer is claiming rights in the ideas or 'intellectual property' ('IP') which you create in the course of your research, you and your employer will be asked to sign a short agreement which, among other things, confirms the level of any sponsorship by your employer and also sets out the position on IP. This is administered through the Research Services Division. While your employer may wish to retain ownership in any IP which you create, the University will also want to ensure that regard is given to the IP rights in any contributions from your supervisor or other members of the Faculty, as well as its obligations to external sponsors. The University will also wish to make sure that your employer cannot restrict the use or exploitation of your share in any collaborative project in which you take part.
• If your employer is not asserting any rights in your IP, a statement to this effect must be included in the application. We would generally expect this to be the case where your employer is not paying you for your time of study nor contributing to your fees. In the absence of any claim on your IP by your employer, your position on IP will be identical to that of a full-time PhD student. More information on this is available on the Board of Graduate Studies website.

Progress and Supervision

You will have formal meetings with your supervisor at least twice - but probably no more than four times - a term. The Faculty will give you a progress log in which you can record details of these meetings and other information. At the end of each calendar year, you will be asked to submit a brief progress paper and make a joint report in the log with your supervisor. If your attendance and progress have been satisfactory, and if your supervisor confirms that your topic remains viable as a contribution to learning, there will be a recommendation that you proceed to the next year. You will be encouraged to start writing at an early stage.

Registration and Submission

If all goes well you can expect to be registered for the degree at the latest by the end of your seventh term. The Faculty may operate a policy of registering part-time students for a shorter degree in the first instance, and allowing students to apply for upgrading to a Ph.D., subject to a further assessment, later on.

The earliest you can submit your thesis is the first day of your fifteenth term, with the deadline being the last day of the vacation following your sixteenth term. The final deadline is the last day of the vacation following your 21st term.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I convert to part-time from full-time (or vice versa)?
  It is possible, using the equivalence of five terms part-time = three terms full-time, to convert from part-time to full-time, or from full-time to part-time, but only once in either direction, and only at the end of a completed year. You must still be within the minimum research requirement (ie the first none terms for full-time, or 15 for part-time).
• Can previous postgraduate work give me any exemption?
  Your MPhil, MSt, MEd or CPGS may in appropriate circumstances give exemption from up to five part-time terms. Please note that fees for these courses vary; if you seek exemption because you have completed the MEd or MSt, you will pay at PhD rates for the remaining terms for which fees are payable. Other research or work done after graduation may also give exemption if the Degree Committee and the Board of Graduate Studies agree that it has provided satisfactory training for your proposed course of research.
• I am an overseas student. Will I be eligible?
  Unfortunately visas are not currently granted for part-time study. However, if you are employed in the EU or are a dependant of a person employed in the EU, you may apply for a part-time degree, providing your visa is valid for at least the minimum duration of the course.
• What financial support is available?
  You may apply for a Domestic Research Studentship (fees-only award). Overseas Research Studentship Awards are not available to part-time students. The AHRB funds part-time students; apply in the normal way.
  Please note that part-time awards provide only 50 per cent of full-time tuition fees; however, applicants for doctoral awards are entitled to apply to the University Committee on Grants Domestic Research Studentship Scheme to make up the shortfall.
  The DfES Fee Waiver scheme does not apply to part-time graduate students.
• I want to convert from full-time to part-time. My College is not participating in the part-time scheme. What should I do?
  Discuss this with your College. Registration is not a lengthy or difficult process, and they may apply for registration at any time if they feel they are able to support part-time research students. The appropriate details and form are available from the Board of Graduate Studies.

Local Co-ordinator

If you would like further information, please contact the Faculty's Coordinator for the part-time Ph.D., Dr Justin Meggitt.

Contact details

Ms K. J. Williams
The Graduate Secretary
Faculty of Divinity
West Road
CAMBRIDGE
CB3 9BS

Tel: 01223 763002
Fax: 01223 763003
Email: The Graduate Secretary