Doctoral Study Programme

The doctoral programme in English linguistics offers both theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of language. Our graduates are now working as academics at universities and colleges in the Czech Republic and abroad, in scientific institutions, in prestigious publishing houses and as language experts in EU institutions.

The English Language doctoral programme is in the form of a full-time or distance study programme based on an individual study plan, in compliance with valid accreditation. The full-time programme is accredited as a four-year programme. The study plan is HERE.

Students of the full-time (internal) programme are expected to be present at the department regularly and participate in most of the events - i.e. attend classes, lectures and workshops at the department, participate in educational activities and be involved in the academic research and grant activities of the department. In addition to financial support from the faculty, students can also obtain extra financial support for their pedagogical activities beyond the scope of the study programme or for their research activities.

When preparing the individual study plan for the distance programme, the student's time limitations are considered and a way to compensate for lower personal attendance and participation in classes is specified (self-study plan, summer programs, oral consultations, essays, conference and publishing activity, etc.). The supervisor always elaborates a plan with the student for a given period of time based on the current student's possibilities. The plan is consequently approved by the English language PhD board.

An integral part of both the full-time and distance study programme is academic publishing activity and conference activity. After agreement with the supervisor, it is possible to receive credits for a study or research stay at an academic institution abroad. Full-time students are expected to participate in such a stay.

Both full-time and distance students have the opportunity to participate in grant projects at the department's Linguistics section. For 2012-2014 the department was awarded  EU ESF grant Language Diversity and Communication, which, apart from financial research support (as a research assistant) and participation in conferences abroad, also provided students with the possibility to become part of a research team and allowed students to meet with renowned Czech and foreign specialists at regular lectures and workshops. Doctoral students also have the opportunity to receive other grants, for example within the scope of Student Grant Competition (IGA) or Higher Education Development Fund (FRUP  Fond rozvoje UP), in which our students have been very successful (e.g.: IGA grant: Ondřej Molnár - Text as a Dynamic Interplay of Text Parameters).

Useful Links:

Linguist list HERE

Journal SCOPUS rankings HERE

Olomouc Linguistics Colloquium  (Olinco) HERE

When and how to apply?

The deadline for the electronic application is 30 April 2024.
For application details and the list of required appendices please contact dr. Lucie Kovaříková at lucie.kovarikova@upol.cz, for information about the study programme dr. Michaela Martinkova at michaela.martinkova@upol.cz.

One of the obligatory application appendices is your research proposal. This concerns determining the area that you are going to focus on. For the purpose of the admission process for the English Language programme, your research proposal must be written in English, 400 to 700 words (plus a bibliography related to the topic). During the admissions interview, there will be a discussion in English about this proposal, during which the admission board and the applicant will discuss the theoretical and practical aspects of the proposal realization and the board may suggest elaboration or changes.

We look forward to seeing you!

Linguists at our department:

Professor Joseph Embley EMONDS

Doc. PhDr. Ludmila VESELOVSKÁ, Ph.D

Mgr. Michaela ČAKÁNYOVÁ, Ph.D.
Mgr. Markéta JANEBOVÁ, Ph.D.
Mgr. Michaela MARTINKOVÁ, Ph.D.
Mgr. Ondřej MOLNÁR, Ph.D.
Mgr. Václav Jonáš PODLIPSKÝ, Ph.D.
Mgr. Šárka ŠIMÁČKOVÁ, Ph.D.

Doctoral Profile (SP)         

The doctoral studies programme provides post-graduate students with qualifications for independent, creative, highly specialized academic and pedagogic activities at academic institutions and universities, or in other institutions or in the private sector; i.e. wherever a linguistic education, general knowledge and deeper understanding of Anglo-American culture, analytical skills and communicative competence can be made use of. The post-graduate will be prepared for participation in scholarly works at academic departments, the preparation of grant projects and for increased competence at their workplace.

Programme goals

The doctoral studies programme will improve the graduate’s ability to process, abstract, critically evaluate, and understand literary and academic texts in the broader cultural, political and social contexts.
The graduate will acquire a comprehensive understanding of today’s world, be familiarised with the main schools of thought which influence contemporary thinking and interpretation of texts. He or she will also gain an improved understanding of course development dynamics, the relationship between text and context (literary, cultural, political and social), text as structure, literary works as a specific form of communication and forming a critical view of the world.

Admission requirements

• completed Master’s degree in English or American Studies
• knowledge of the literature relevant to the subject (the applicant should produce a list of studied secondary literature and be prepared to discuss it)
• a concept for the Doctoral dissertation and the methods applied during its preparation (a written description of the dissertation – 2 to 3 pages)
• presentation of previous academic, organizational and publication activities

Main fields of research

Contemporary American and British Literature, Southern Literature, African-American Literature and Culture, Romanticism in American and British Literature, Contemporary American Poetry, Fantasy Literature, Contemporary Scottish Literature, Contemporary British Poetry, the Gothic Novel, Literature of Ethnic Minorities, Cultural Pluralism, Literary Regionalism, Popular Literature and Popular Culture, Film Adaptations of Literary Works.

Supervisors

prof. PhDr. Marcel Arbeit, Dr. (guarantor of the subject) – Literature of the American South, Contemporary American Literature, Film and Literature,  The Reception of American Literature and Culture in the Czech Cultural Environment.

prof. PhDr. Michal Peprník, Dr. – American Romanticism in Literature, Fantasy Literature, Literature of the American West, Representation of American Indians in American Literature, The Reception of American Literature and Culture in the Czech Cultural Environment, American Postmodernism

Mgr. Ema Jelínková, Ph.D. – Eighteenth Century British Literature, Satire, Contemporary Scottish Fiction

doc. Pavlína Flajšarová, Ph.D. – Contemporary British Poetry,  British Post-Colonial Literature, The Campus Novel

Individual study plan 

Timetable
Download the timetable for the Doctoral programme in the field of “British and American Literature” here.