Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies (Hispanic Studies) PhD

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

As a PhD student in Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies (SPLAS), you will have mandatory training in research skills, methods and problems.

Between the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC), the Careers Service and the Institute for Academic Development (IAD), you’ll find a further range of programmes and resources to help you develop your postgraduate skills.

You will also have access to the University’s fantastic libraries, collections and worldwide strategic partnerships.

Join in

As part of our research community, you will be immersed in a world of knowledge exchange, with lots of opportunities to share ideas, learning and creative work.

Activities include:

• a regular seminar series in European Languages and Cultures (with talks by staff, research students and visiting speakers)
• our annual Cunninghame-Graham Lecture
• our weekly informal Spanish-language reading group ‘Poema de la semana’
• film screenings
• workshops

Our graduates tell us that they value LLC’s friendliness, the connections they make here and the in-depth guidance they receive from our staff, who are published experts in their field.

• Read our interview with student Elisabeth Goemans on how her PhD has helped her handle public debate on her research

On campus

The Main University Library holds academic books, journals and databases, including around:

• 27,000 books and 5,000 journals in Spanish
• 5,000 books and 2,680 journals in Portuguese

The Library is also the home of the University's Centre for Research Collections which brings together:

• more than 400,000 rare books
• six kilometres of archives and manuscripts
• thousands of works of art, historical musical instruments and other objects

Spanish and Latin American treasures in these collections include:  

• 1629 edition of Cervantes  
• early translations of The Lusiads, Luís de Camões' epic poem of 1572, widely regarded as the most important work of Portuguese-language literature
• paintings by Murillo and Picasso  
• renowned musicologist Jan Fairley’s rich collection of Latin American music recordings and interviews

Browse the University's holdings in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

Many of our Special Collections are digitised and available online from our excellent Resource Centre, Computing Labs, and dedicated PhD study space in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC).

• Look inside the PhD study space in LLC

Our in-house Portuguese Language Centre is one of only four in the UK sponsored by the Instituto Camões. It houses a dedicated student resource centre, including books and films in Portuguese.

We play a key role in the Centre for Contemporary Latin American Studies at the University. It brings together staff and students from a number of different subject areas at Edinburgh, including:

• film, media and art
• geography
• politics
• history
• social anthropology
• linguistics

The University of Edinburgh is proud to host the extension of the Cervantes Institute in Edinburgh, exploring cultural links between Spanish-speaking countries and Scotland.

This unique partnership has led to a global first in creating a Catedrático Cervantes/Cervantes Chair, held by Alexis Grohmann, Professor of Contemporary Spanish Literature.

The collaboration means that, for the first time, the Cervantes Institute (which spans four continents and 47 countries) is running events and activities in Scotland.

In the city

As a PhD candidate at Edinburgh, you will be based in a world-leading festival city with fantastic cinemas, theatres, galleries, museums, and collections.

Many of them are located close to the University's Central Area, making them very easy to access when you are on campus.

For example, the National Library of Scotland is less than one kilometre from our School. It has an outstanding collection of early modern Spanish material.

We have very close links with the Spanish Consulate in Edinburgh, and with communities of Spanish and Portuguese speakers in the city.

Meet our graduates

• Carolina Orloff, co-founder of Charco Press

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree and a masters degree, or their international equivalents, in a related subject. We may also consider your application if you have equivalent qualifications or experience; please check with the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) before you apply.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 65 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 7 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money
  • taking out a loan
  • family support
• personal savings
• income from work
• employer sponsorship
• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Featured funding

There are a number of scholarship schemes available to eligible candidates on this PhD programme, including awards from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Please be advised that many scholarships have more than one application stage, and early deadlines.

• Find out more about scholarships in literatures, languages and cultures

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding