SWINC welcomes students who have been accepted onto a postgraduate programme at Edinburgh University. Various degrees and pathways are available and prospective students are invited to contact the SWINC directors for advice or an informal discussion by e-mail, or to arrange a meeting in Edinburgh. (International students may also wish to consult members of the SWINC International Network in their area).

Masters Degrees

If you are interested in studying Scottish Literature at Edinburgh we recommend one of the following programmes:

PhD and MPhil

SWINC supervises research students with an interest in Scottish Culture in the period 1780-1920. PhD students will normally have a research preparation masters degree.

The MPhil may be used as preparation for a PhD and we also welcome those returning to higher education who would like to pursue independent research at MPhil level.

Supervisory Team

The supervisory team includes:
Dr Sarah Dunnigan: Scottish medievalism in the 18th and 19th centuries; George MacDonald; fairy and folktale collectors
Dr Penny Fielding: 18th and 19th Century Scottish Literature
Dr Robert Irvine: 18th and 19th Century Scottish Literature, Scott
Dr Andy Taylor: 19th Century Scottish and American Literature.
Dr Tim Milnes: Romanticism, Scottish Enlightenment Philosophy.
Dr Alex Thomson: 19th and 20th Century Scottish Literature
Dr Anna Vaninskaya: 19th Century romance, politics, historicism, national identity, and the fantastic.
Dr Jonathan Wild: Thomas Carlyle, Edwardian Literature

Honorary Fellows

Prof. Ian Campbell: 19th and 20th Century Scottish literature, especially fiction; Thomas Carlyle and Jane Welsh Carlyle
Ms Aileen Christianson: Thomas Carlyle and Jane Welsh Carlyle; women writers
Prof. Richard Dury: Stevenson
Prof. Peter Garside: Scott, Scottish Romanticism
Dr Gillian Hughes:  James Hogg, Walter Scott, magazine culture and publishing
Dr. Karina Williamson: 18th century, Scotland and Slavery

We can also arrange co-supervision with the Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies

Research Culture

All postgraduate students participate in SWINC’s broad and friendly research environment of visiting speakers, workshops, regular roundtable discussions of recent work in the field, and reading groups. Past speakers have included William Christie (Sydney), Gerry Carruthers (Glasgow), Ian Duncan (Berkeley), Nigel Leask (Glasgow), Alison Lumsden (Aberdeen), Maureen McLane (New York), Caroline McCracken-Flesher (Wyoming), Julia Reid (Leeds), Janet Sorenson (Berkeley).

Application Details

Details of how to apply can be found here.
If you are applying for any of these programmes, please mention SWINC on your application form.