CALL
Annual, by the end of June.
GRANTS
The SELLT doctoral programme offers three positions each year, two with a Sapienza scholarship and one without a scholarship, according to the ranking established by the admission test. The University of Silesia in Katowice offers two scholarships, which are awarded to the first and third ranked students,
APPLICATIONS
Applicants have 30 days to apply. Prerequisite for admission: Cambridge or Ielts certification. (Also possible at CLA Sapienza). The required level is C2.
ADMISSION TEST
The admission exam takes place between July and September.
The Examination Commission is appointed by the end of June and consists of 3 full members - 2 Sapienza and 1 Silesia - and 3 alternates. The Commission is approved by the Doctoral Board and then by the Departmental Council.
The admission examination consists of a written test (short essay), an oral test and the presentation of a research project. For the preparation of the written test, candidates will have to refer to two separate reading lists attached to this page, one for the linguistic-translational curriculum and one for the literary and cultural curriculum (English literature and Anglo-American literature).
On the day of the written test, the Commission will prepare two sets of titles, for each of the two curricula. One title will be extracted from the two terns.
The assessment of the written test will select the candidates admitted to the interview, which will focus on the research project proposed by the candidate.
The research project must be attached to the application. Particular attention will begiven to projects that refer to the specific research areas of the Phd programme (see Presentation page) and to the profiles of the members of the Board.
CALL FOR INCOMING STUDENTS (FOREIGN AND ITALIAN STUDENTS WITH A FOREIGN DEGREE)
Annual call for foreign students for all doctorates divided into 'doctoral schools'.
Doctoral School for SELLT: Doctoral School in Sciences of Interpretation of Cultural Production
Coordinator: Prof. Roberto Nicolai.
Incoming candidates, upon enrolment, may express up to three preferences as their destination doctorate.
Committee: Prof. Roberto Nicolai and representatives of the various doctorates.
COURSES
The SELLT Doctorate programme covers 3 years.
It is aimed at students interested in acquiring a mastery of up-to-date critical and cognitive tools, enabling them to carry out specialised research in the field of literature, linguistics and translation, as well as in the cultural and disciplinary areas that may refer to them (Anglo-American literature, post-colonial Anglophone literatures, etc.).
The doctorate aims at training skills
a) in the framework of the history and periodisation of literature, with a focus on the issues related to the main periods, including the contemporary one;
b) in the analysis of texts, in the light of critical methodologies, especially those of English-speaking cultures
c) in the connection with theories of literature, and with other literatures;
d) in the investigation of linguistic problems, seen both in their communicative specificity and in their literary and non-literary values, through the tools of contemporary stylistics and discourse analysis;
e) in the investigation of the theories, methods and approaches of Translation and Adaptation Studies, especially updated to the last thirty years;
f) in the investigation of theories, methods and approaches related to the History of the English Language, with particular attention to the studies of historical linguistics and pragmatics.
Courses are designed each year to stimulate and refine the knowledge and skills of doctoral students in the areas listed.
Year I students: courses are compulsory (with a maximum of two absences).
Year II students: courses are recommended. PhD students are invited to participate in the events on the calendar. They must participate in conferences and initiatives related to Sapienza and extra Sapienza courses. They must produce at least one chapter of their final thesis.
Year III students: Courses are recommended. PhD students are invited to participate in calendar events, but their main activity will be the completion of the final thesis.
QUALIFYING EXAMS
End of the first year (September): students 1) discuss the texts of a reading list agreed upon with their supervisor and 2) present and discuss new elements of their research project before a committee composed of the supervisors of the doctoral students of the cycle in question.
End of year II (September): doctoral students 1) deliver at least one chapter of their thesis; 2) discuss the progress of their project before a committee composed of Silesia professors and their supervisors.3) Students who are not part of the joint doctorate take an interview with the Sapienza Board lecturers.
At the end of the tests, the board of lecturers will have to officially approve the passages of the year and communicate them by the first week of October in order to allow a smooth continuation of the grants.
STUDY PERIODS ABROAD AND AT SILESIA
A study period at the University of Silesia (max 6 months) (and at Sapienza for Polish students) is compulsory . Times and methods to be agreed with supervisors. During the three years, out of periods devoted to compulsory course, students may also spend periods at other university sites (times and methods to be agreed), where they can demonstrate that they can acquire tools and resources useful for their training and research project. Partial funding will be possible in this case, especially if the student does not already have a grant.
DELIVERY OF THESES AND EXTERNAL EVALUATORS
Doctoral students must submit their theses by 31 October of the third year, except for those cycles that have been granted an extension until the following 31 January due to COVID-19 issues. The thesis must be uploaded on the Infostud platform.
Three external evaluators, two selected by Sapienza and one by Silesia, are appointed and approved by the Board by September.
The evaluators may
a) approve the thesis as is;
b) request minor corrections;
c) request major corrections.
If the thesis is accepted as is, the doctoral student must defend their dissertation by 28 February with a designated committee (see below).
If the evaluators ask for revisions, the student must revise the work and submit the revised thesis to the same evaluators. Attached on this page is the offical document with the deadlines set by Sapienza.
COMMITTEE AND FINAL DISCUSSION
According to the established deadlines (see annex) , a commission for the final discussion will be proposed, composed of four members - three professors appointed by Sapienza and one by Silesia -. This commission will have to be approved by the Phd Board and then by the Department Board.