Purpose
ESSE organizes an annual Doctoral Symposium, which continues a tradition dating from 2012 and is designed to provide a platform for young scholars to present their work and receive feedback. The Symposium is open without charge to PhD students who are writing their theses in English Studies and are at least in the second year of their PhD studies at the time of the application for the Symposium.
The next Symposium will take place in Valletta (Malta) from 3rd to 4th September 2025.
Participants will have an opportunity to make a brief presentation of their work in progress in one of three strands:
- English Language & Linguistics,
- Literatures in English,
- Cultural & Area Studies.
Each presentation will last no longer than 10 minutes, followed by 15 minutes’ discussion. These presentations should deal with the issues addressed or hypotheses tested in their doctoral research, the results so far obtained, and, above all, the methodology applied, with the purpose of getting feedback from established scholars in the field and from their peers.
Each strand of the Symposium will be coordinated by two experts (to be known as Convenors). They will make a selection from the applications received, chair the discussions and respond to the presentations. Participants are expected to be available throughout the Symposium, to attend all the presentations in their own strand and to take part in the discussions.
Eligible students can submit an application to only one strand of the Doctoral Symposium and should specify in the application which strand they wish to be placed in.
Eligibility
To be eligible, either their supervisor or they themselves must be a member of an ESSE-affiliated association (or, in relevant countries, of a department that belongs to an ESSE member association) at the moment of application.
Students who have attended the Doctoral Symposium before need to demonstrate clear progress from their previous participation. In the event of a shortage of places, preference will be given to candidates who are applying for the first time.
Financial support
Applicants can apply for financial support to a maximum of €500 per applicant. Eligible expenses are airfares, ground transportation costs and accommodation, in accordance with the ESSE Budget and Reimbursement Guidelines. Applicants for financial support must themselves be members of their national associations affiliated to ESSE. In the event of a shortage of funds, preference will be given to candidates who are applying for the first time. Applications for financial support will be considered by a committee consisting of the Coordinator of the ESSE Doctoral Symposium and the Convenors.
Applications
The application should provide information on the following four points:
- the main topic and issues, including the thesis proposed/hypothesis defended;
- the methodology, theoretical perspectives and standpoints;
- the data/corpora/materials under consideration;
- the results obtained so far.
Applications must include a letter from the student’s PhD supervisor giving the (provisional) title of the dissertation and confirming that the student is working under his/her supervision and has completed at least his/her first year of PhD studies. In the case of students who ask for financial support, this letter should also include a declaration that it is impossible for the applicant to draw on other sources of funding, including funding earmarked for the ongoing doctoral project, for the purpose of participating in the ESSE Doctoral Symposium.
In the case of students who ask for financial support, the application should also include:
- information on the applicant’s eligibility and a full explanation of the need for financial support;
- the applicant’s CV;
- a provisional budget proposal. Please use the ESSE Expense Form, and check the ESSE Budget and Reimbursement Guidelines.
For your application, please use the following Application Form.
Questions about the Doctoral Symposium and the application procedures can be sent to the Coordinator of the ESSE Doctoral Symposium, Professor J. Lachlan Mackenzie, at lachlan_mackenzie@hotmail.com.
Dates
- The application deadline is 15th January 2025.
- The eligibility check and the selection of submissions by the Convenors will be completed and announced by 28th February 2025.
- The Committee’s definitive decision in the financial support will be communicated to all applicants by 31st March 2025.
Please note
ESSE’s decisions about selection for participation and about financial support are final and not subject to appeal.