Resources and facilities

Facilities for research students

The University library offers first-rate provision for research in English Studies and cognate fields. It is particularly strong in sources for the study of 19th and 20th century literature.

Special Collections include 17th century religious writings, Victorian periodicals and modern literary archives including the papers of Joe Orton and Sue Townsend and material relating to the Beat Generation.

We encourage and advise on graduate involvement in the larger network of scholarship, through attendance at conferences, visits to archives and special collections, and publication.

Research training

Research students are closely and expertly supervised on an individual basis by a main supervisor and a back-up supervisor, or sometimes jointly.

You will also take a one-semester seminar course on research methods, bibliography and writing skills.

A regular "Research in Progress" seminar series, organised by graduate students themselves, provides a forum for presentations and the exchange of ideas amongst graduate students and staff. The other staff/graduate student seminar involves the presentation and discussion of formal research papers, often given by speakers from outside Leicester.

The Doctoral College provides an introduction to research at the University in the first week of the autumn term, and also provides a programme of training and development activities, including training courses and practical workshops, for postgraduate students throughout the year.