Celtic Studies / Léann Ceilteach - Structured
The Structured PhD in Celtic Studies is a four-year, full-time or six-year, part-time programme of study and research and applicants must have a high honours standard in their primary degree or present such other evidence of fitness as will satisfy the Head of Discipline and the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies.
| Award Name | Degree - Doctoral (Level 10 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 10 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Doctoral (Level 10 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 10 NFQ |
Duration
4 years full-time or 6 years part-time
Entry Requirements
Candidates must have a high honours standard in a primary degree in Irish, Welsh, Celtic Studies, Classics, Medieval Studies, or similar, or present such other evidence of suitability as will satisfy the Head of Discipline and the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies. Many successful applicants will already hold a Master's degree also.
Admission to the PhD is at the discretion of the potential supervisor and the Head of Discipline. Initial enquiries should be made to the Head of Discipline.
Careers / Further progression
Graduates have been very successful in finding employment, in teaching and academic research, publishing, television and radio, print and electronic media, and the management and interpretation of culture and heritage.
Further information
Fees: EU
€5,750 p.a. (€5,890 including levy) 2024/25
Fees: Non EU
€14,500 p.a. (€14,640 including levy) 2024/25
Extra Information
EU Part time: Year 1 €4,250 p.a. (€4,390 including levy) 2024/25
All students, irrespective of funding, must pay the student levy of €140.
Structured PhD (Celtic Studies/Léann Ceilteach) - full-time
Structured PhD (Celtic Studies/Léann Ceilteach) - part-time
Applications are made online via the NUI Galway Postgraduate Applications System.
As part of the doctoral training available on the Structured PhD programme, students avail themselves of a range of interdisciplinary taught modules. The wide menu of available options include modules that:
- Are discipline-specific in that they augment the students' existing knowledge in their specialist area (e.g. in languages or literatures);
- Are dissertation-specific in that they supply core skills which are essential to completion of the research project (e.g. in writing);
- Support students' professional development (e.g. through presentation of a paper at an international conference);
- Enhance students' employability through generic training (e.g. in computer-based skills).
Students will be assigned a primary Supervisor or Co-Supervisors, and a Graduate Research Committee made up of experienced researchers, to help plan their programme of study and to provide on-going support to their research.
Research Areas
The PhD in Celtic Studies usually involves close study of Celtic languages and literatures (e.g., Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic), but may encompass religion, history, archaeology, and the interface with the Latin and Germanic traditions of the Celtic-speaking regions. Doctoral research usually entails some degree of comparative work. The sources utilised tend to be medieval, but some topics may require the use of written sources of earlier or later date. For certain topics, knowledge of research methodologies other than those associated with Celtic Studies may have to be attained. The Structured PhD programme provides students with opportunities to acquire such training, and to learn non-Celtic languages (medieval and modern) that may be relevant to their research.
PhD students of Celtic Studies are usually supervised or co-supervised by scholars of Irish, Welsh, or Celtic (languages and literatures), but for some theses, supervisory expertise in archaeology, history, classical languages and literatures, or other disciplines may also be essential. The list of researcher profiles below is drawn from the disciplines of Archaeology, Classics, History, Old and Middle Irish, and Welsh.
Current research projects
Staff are keen to provide supervision in any area of studies relevant to their specialist interests. These include:
Comparative and general linguistics of the Celtic languages.
Ancient Continental Celtic languages.
Early Welsh language and literature, especially the transmission of early Welsh poetry.
Medieval Irish language and lexicography.
Old and Middle Irish poetry and metrics.
Dindshenchas and the study of landscape, place and identity.
Editing and close reading of medieval Irish prose and verse texts.
Early Irish law and legal texts.
Medieval Gaelic literary tradition, including issues of genre, gender, hybridisation, patronage and provenance.
Prof. Máirín Ní Dhonnchadha
T +353 91 493 010
E mairin.nidhonnchadha@universityofgalway.ie