The University of Otago City of Literature PhD Scholarship

Posted: Friday Jan 13, 2017

The Department of English and Linguistics at the University of Otago invites applications for a new doctoral scholarship in literary studies: The University of Otago City of Literature PhD Scholarship.

The scholarship celebrates the granting of UNESCO City of Literature status to Dunedin, New Zealand, where the main campus of the University of Otago is located. Dunedin’s rich literary history is reflected in its many writers, literary festivals, and reading series and in its world-class libraries and special collections. Closely associated with the city’s literary heritage, the University of Otago’s Dunedin campus has been rated one of the world’s most beautiful. Located in the southern part of New Zealand, Dunedin is also close to some of the country’s most renowned natural scenery.

The scholarship is open to applicants of any nationality and to any area of literary studies.

The scholarship includes an annual stipend of NZ$25,000 per annum (approximately US$18,000 at current exchange rates) and a full fee waiver (aside from student services fee, currently $732 per annum, which covers some health services, gym membership, etc.). The scholarship does not cover insurance.

The PhD degree at the University of Otago is by thesis only. Over the course of three years of full-time study, PhD candidates are expected to produce an original piece of research of 80,000 to 100,000 words. All PhD candidates work closely with two supervisors.

The Department of English and Linguistics welcomes applications for PhD projects across a broad range of areas ranging from medieval to digital literature. Department strengths include New Zealand and postcolonial literature, Shakespeare and Renaissance literature, eighteenth-century literature, Romanticism, comparative literature, global modernism, cognitive approaches to literary studies, literature and language pedagogy, linguistic approaches to literature, contemporary poetry and fiction, creative writing, Irish and Scottish studies, the history of the book, and new media literature. The department also welcomes proposals from fiction writers and poets for projects that combine research with a creative writing project, such as a novel, or a short story or poetry collection. For more information, see our academic staff profiles.

Applications for the inaugural University of Otago City of Literature Scholarship are invited on or before 31 March 2017.

PhD students may commence their study at Otago at the start of any month. It is expected that the successful applicant for the 2017 City of Literature PhD Scholarship will begin their study sometime between 1 June 2017 and 1 March 2018.

Any applicant who is not offered the City of Literature Scholarship will be considered for a general University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship.

Please note, the application process comprises two parts:

• 1. You must first complete the online expression of interest form and secure the support and prospective supervision of a faculty member within the department.
  
• 2. Once departmental support has been obtained, you should make a formal application via the university’s online application portal.
  

Both parts of the application process must be completed by 31 March 2017 for your application to receive full consideration.

We anticipate the successful applicant will be announced sometime in late April or early May 2017.