Contact

The Warburg Institute
School of Advanced Study, University of London
Woburn Square
London WC1H 0AB
email: warburg(at)sas.ac.uk
telephone (44) 020 7862 8949
fax (44) 020 7862 8955

Enquiries and Application Procedures

Enquiries should be made to the Institute Manager, via the contact information given above. Application forms may be obtained by post from the Institute Manager or downloaded from the SAS website at the following address: http://www.sas.ac.uk/apply.html

There is no closing date but candidates are advised to submit their applications by the beginning of March. This refers particularly to UK and EC students, especially those who wish to apply for grants. Applications received after the end of June may encounter delays.

PhD Applications

Candidates applying for research towards the PhD degree should submit with their application form a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words. Provided that the applicant appears to have the necessary qualifications and that the topic can be supervised by members of academic staff, the candidate will be asked to submit a piece of written work and may be invited for an informal discussion with the potential supervisor(s). If the Institute wishes to take the application further following these initial procedures, candidates will be invited for interview by members of academic staff. Candidates who are abroad will be offered a Skype or telephone interview. Depending on the nature of the primary sources relevant to the area of research, candidates may be asked to undertake a translation test (with dictionaries). All applicants will be required to demonstrate that their competence in English is sufficient to enable them to write a thesis of 100,000 words. Candidates will normally receive an initial response to their application within ten days. Those who have been formally interviewed will normally be informed within one week as to whether they are to be offered a place.

Note: in accordance with regulations research students will be registered for the MPhil degree in the first instance. Upgrading to PhD will be considered in the second year for full-time students and in the third or fourth year for part-time students’.

MA Applications

Students applying from the UK:
Eligible applicants will be invited for interview, when they will have the opportunity to discuss the course with members of staff, to meet current students and to see the resources of the Institute. As part of the interview programme candidates will be set a short passage of post-classical Latin to translate into English with the help of a dictionary. Those who are not yet ready to translate from Latin are given a passage to translate from another Renaissance language (usually Italian, French or German) into English, again with the help of a dictionary, and do a Latin translation later. In all these translations candidates are not expected to demonstrate more than a good foundation and an ability to improve. Language training is an integral part of the course. Candidates will normally learn the result of their application within a week of interview.

Students applying from abroad:
For students abroad the application process may be conducted by correspondence. On receipt of their application, eligible candidates will be asked to submit a piece of written work and will be sent translations to undertake from post-classical Latin and from one Renaissance language (usually Italian, French or German) into English. Dictionaries may be used. Candidates who require further preparation before translating a Latin passage can be accepted subject to passing the Latin translation at a later date. In all these translations candidates are not expected to demonstrate more than a good foundation and an ability to improve. Language training is an integral part of the course. Prospective students will normally learn the result of their application within two weeks of receipt of all application papers including references, written work and translations. Those accepted by correspondence are encouraged to visit the Institute before beginning their studies to discuss the course with members of academic staff. Arrangements can be made to suit individual circumstances.

Occasional Student Applications

Applicants should submit a short description of their research (200- 1,000 words) with the special application form for Occasional Students (this form is not available on the website but can be obtained from the Institute Manager, e-mail: warburg(at)sas.ac.uk). They will normally be informed of the result of their application within two weeks of its receipt.