With our diverse and international community of staff and students, we have a global reputation as a QS World Top 50 ranked Department of English.
As a postgraduate student, you will experience cutting-edge scholarship, develop advanced analytical skills, and explore literature’s role in shaping cultural, social, and political movements worldwide. Whether your interests lie in British, American, or postcolonial literatures—or even beyond the traditional English-speaking world—you will have the freedom to explore a broad spectrum of topics with expert guidance.
Our vibrant academic community includes students and scholars from across the world. This fosters cross-cultural exchanges and provides you with opportunities to collaborate on projects, experience events that bring internationally-esteemed scholars to Durham, and develop connections that extend well beyond the classroom.
International students from North America talk about their experiences of studying and living in Durham, the world class sports facilities and the College environment.
International student Soumya tells us what life is like at Durham University.
Helena tells us why she chose to study English literature at Durham University.
Postgraduate business school student Sydney, explains the process of applying for a UK student visa to study at Durham.
Durham has a long history of welcoming students and academics from all over the globe. Our many collaborative partnerships with international universities allow us to share knowledge and promote inter-cultural learning, ensuring that our graduates are in high demand on the global stage.
Over 4,500 international students from over 156 countries choose to make Durham University their home, so you'll be more than welcome here. There are a number of societies and initiatives available to support international students during your time.
Our Department of English Studies is proudly based in a medieval city which features a UNESCO World Heritage Site at its heart. Durham also has a rich literary legacy. You'll find us in environs that have inspired many authors over the centuries, from the writer of one of the oldest English plays, the twelfth-century Peregrini, to modern novelists like A.S. Byatt, Pat Barker or Benjamin Myers. C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia was, allegedly, sparked by a particular lamppost in Durham when he was briefly based here!
The city also hosts literary and drama festivals throughout the year: Durham Book Festival is a Durham County Council event produced by New Writing North with support from Durham University and Arts Council England. Founded in 1990, it is one of the country's oldest literary festivals. Durham Fringe Festival is a grassroots performing arts event set up in 2021 that celebrates a variety of art forms and offers a platform for new and established artists. Durham Drama Festival has showcased the best new student writing for over 50 years.
Prebends Bridge is one of three stone-arch bridges in the centre of Durham that cross the River Wear. It features a plaque displaying Sir Walter Scott's words about Durham.
C. S. Lewis visited Durham in 1943, where he says he was overwhelmed by the magnificence of the Cathedral. He wrote 'The Chronicles of Narnia' between 1949 and 1954.
Sir Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate from 1999-2009, on stage with Professor Michael O'Neill at the Durham Book Festival 2009.
The North East region in general boasts a rich literary heritage and a series of lesser-known literary connections. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in Coxhoe Hall in 1806 and baptised in St Helen's Church in Kelloe. Lord Byron married his wife, Anne Isabella Milbanke at Seaham Hall, her family home, in 1815. In his great national tour of 1858, Charles Dickens gave readings in Darlington and Durham, walking thirteen miles to perform at the Theatre Royal in Sunderland.
Billy Elliott, a film set in County Durham during the 1984-5 Miners' Strike, was adapted into a musical that became a Broadway hit - its writer, Lee Hall, was born in Newcastle and also wrote the screenplay for War Horse and Rocketman. Dame Catherine Cookson was one of the best-known and most prolific British novelists of all time, selling more than 100 million books that are mostly set in her native borough of South Tyneside. Terry Deary, creator of the infamous Horrible Histories series, is from Sunderland.
Parts of Harry Potter were filmed in Durham Castle and Cathedral. World Heritage Day 2023 offered people the chance to play a game of Quidditch in the Castle grounds.
The "Crown of Light" was a prominent light installation showcased at the Lumiere light festival, which takes place in Durham every two years, in 2009. Created by Ross Ashton, Robert Ziegler and John Del'Nero, it featured illuminated manuscripts from the Lindisfarne Gospels projected onto the façade of Durham Cathedral.
As part of an installation at Lumiere 2021, poems commissioned from ten of the UK's most exciting poets were illuminated onto the walls of Durham Castle. Here are words written by Zambia-born author and Assistant Professor in the Department of English Studies Kayombo Chingonyi.
If you don't have British (or Irish) nationality and you're planning to travel to the UK to study at Durham, you may need to apply for a visa before you travel.
I managed to do more than one Research Assistantship (Internship) during my time at Durham as a PhD student...These experiences have shown me that the opportunities for innovative work in the Humanities, particularly in English Literature are limitless and taught me to remain optimistic despite the challenging times in Higher Education. The world has opened up for me through my work with Durham’s Department of English Studies.
In addition to core academic content, our taught and research programs will equip you with valuable transferable skills in research, writing, and critical thinking that are in demand in a wide range of careers, including academia, publishing, media, education, and international business.
Students may have the opportunity of taking up paid research internships. These adhere to the maximum number of hours you are allowed to work while on a student visa in the UK. One such appointment includes editing the Postgraduate English Journal, one of the world's longest running online journals for English in which postgraduates and early-career researchers globally can publish their work and receive feedback from established academics.
Previous projects on which postgraduates have worked include:
PhD students may also have the opportunity to teach students as a tutorial leader. This will develop your key skills in communication, leadership, classroom management, and problem solving. You may also mark essays and/or exam papers, gaining experience in providing constructive and thoughtful feedback to others.
According to Durham Institutional Destinations Survey, our international English Literature students have gone onto roles in finance, civil service, marketing, and academia both in the UK and internationally.
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