Postgraduate research
We are a global, intellectual hub for research in religious studies and theology.
Why Manchester?
We have world-class research resources including The John Rylands Library - home to a substantial collection of manuscripts and papyri, including the oldest manuscript fragment of a New Testament book and the Rylands Genizah Collection.
One of our particular strengths is the ability of our research students to draw on the expertise of specialists in a wide range of disciplines. This offers the possibility of developing interdisciplinary projects with high level expertise in both disciplines.
For instance, recent PhD students have had supervision jointly between lecturers in Biblical studies and Roman social history, theology and music, and theology and philosophy.
Current students' research features theology and AI, gendered violence in the Hebrew Bible, and disability in Victorian Jewish Manchester. Students regularly conduct research with Manchester Jewish Museum and Manchester Cathedral.
Within Religions and Theology, our doctoral students participate in a thriving disciplinary research culture. There are regular research seminars in Religions and Theology, Biblical Studies, and Jewish Studies. Research students are also welcome at a wide range of seminars in other areas, for instance, in linguistics, material culture, or in gender, sexuality and culture.
PhD students in Religions and Theology get to meet and discuss with many top international visiting scholars at seminars and public lectures. These include The Manson Memorial Lecture in New Testament, The Sherman Lectures in Jewish Studies, the Bogdanow Lectures in Holocaust Studies, and The Ferguson Lecture in Theology.
Many of our students undertake some undergraduate teaching, following appropriate training which is offered to all doctoral students. Funds are available for students to organise conferences and travel to attend events and undertake research.
There are opportunities to organise, participate in, and present papers at conferences led by PhD students and joint events, such as the Northern Universities PhD student conference in Biblical Studies.
Many of our PGR graduates have published or have forthcoming monographs.
Programmes
We offer excellent supervision for students that's usually on a one-to-one basis, which provides students with the help, support and challenge that they need to get the most out of their studies.
At Manchester we have staff with research interests including:
- Biblical studies, especially the Bible in context (Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, Graeco-Roman), linguistic approaches, Bible and gender;
- early Christianity;
- papyri and other manuscripts in the John Rylands Library;
- Rabbinic and medieval Judaism;
- Jewish thought;
- Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations;
- Islamic philosophy and medicine;
- Christian doctrine;
- philosophical and political theology;
- applied theology;
- ecotheology;
- theology and technology;
- contemporary Christianity;
- religious archives in the John Rylands Library;
- religion and philosophy;
- existentialism;
- philosophy of law;
- ethics;
- religion and science;
- religion and politics;
- religion and gender.
Before you start your application, you must find a supervisor by browsing our academics’ profiles.
Before applying, we strongly encourage you to confirm that your chosen supervisor’s interests align with your proposed research and that they are willing to support your project.
Find out more about our staff's research interests on the People page.
The University's library not only provides an excellent general collection on Religions and Theology, but also houses many more resources of world importance.
Many of these are housed in the University's John Rylands Library, where there is a substantial collection of papyri, including the oldest manuscript fragment of a New Testament book along with several major archives, including the Methodist archive, which contains a large number of original documents by John Wesley.
Funding opportunities
Find out about the bursaries, scholarships and studentships available to support postgraduate research.
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Apply
Information about applying for a postgraduate research degree in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures.
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Our research
Find out more about our areas of specialism, how we structure our department and the Centre for Biblical Studies at Manchester.
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Doctoral academy
An online and physical community for postgraduate students to meet, access resources and organise events.
Facilities
Find out about the world class resources available at The University of Manchester.
Watch the short film 'Robots and religion'
Scott Midson tells us about the journey of his PhD research.