CIRCL MPhil in Children’s Literature and PhD

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Sadly, the MA (M(Res)) in Children’s Literature was closed by the University of Reading in 2025-26. However, we now have opened the possibility for applicants with only a BA degree who wish to proceed with postgraduate study to apply for the CIRCL MPhil. For more information please read here.

The world-famous MA in Children’s and Young Adult Literature was the oldest in Britain based on literary and cultural studies approaches. The MA was taught by leading international experts in Children’s and Young Adult Literature and was run by the ‘Graduate Centre for International Research in Childhood: Literature, Culture, Media (CIRCL)’. It was formally a Master’s Research (MRes) because it provided excellent training for further research at PhD level, but it was a fully taught degree. This was an academically outstanding course on Children’s and Young Adult Literature and its history, critical approaches and theoretical issues. It also included engagement with childhood studies and children’s media. It is notable that the kind of critical thinking and reading taught on this M(Res) – and now on the new M(Phil) – could (and can) not be done by Artificial Intelligence (AI)! This remains the case also for CIRCL MPhils and PhDs.

Watch Professor Karin Lesnik-Oberstein and one of the former M(Res) students now doing the Children’s Literature PhD talking about the course here.

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CIRCL MPhil and PhD Students’ Application

If you have questions about applying for the CIRCL MPhil and PhD please read the MPhil information or the PhD page. For more questions feel free to contact our staff.

MPhil OR PhD Student’s Application

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