Applied Screen Studies: Practice as Research (Research)

This PhD enables students to incorporate practice into their doctoral study, taking an approach which understands practice as a mode of research, or as the application of research.

The project must be led by clear research questions, with the practice element working as a means to investigate, challenge or respond to those questions. The practice element can take a variety of forms and proportions (with a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 50%), but in all cases represents the exploration of critical, theoretical or historical issues in Film and Television/Screen Studies, through a practice-based output.

The various forms of this applied screen practice include, but are not limited to:

• A critical video essay

• A moving image and/or audio documentary or experimental film

• Curated screenings

• An exhibition of creative works or artefacts

• A digital installation

• An innovative collaboration with a partner institution

• An engagement and impact project at regional, national and/or international level

The balance between written and practical elements in this PhD will depend on the form that the applied practice takes. Those making a documentary, for example, might produce a 40,000 word written piece that would represent 50% of their PhD.

Those pursuing a more traditional research-driven written doctoral project would produce a 55,000 word thesis and an 'applied research' portfolio, which translates the research into a set of screen-based impact and public engagement activities. This element would then represent 30% of the PhD.

At the mid-year review in year one, the student will present a case for the percentage split of their particular project between the written thesis and practice work. This is also the point at which the format of the practice element will be decided.

This information is applicable for 2024 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply.

Our research

• Film and Television Aesthetics, History and Theory
• Classical and Contemporary Hollywood Cinema
• European Cinema (especially British, Italian, French and Spanish)
• British and US Television
• Documentary Film and Television
• Silent Cinema
• Feminist Film and Television Theory, History and Criticism
• World Cinema
• Queer Film Cultures
• Film and Philosophy
• Experimental Film and Video
• Film and Television Genre
• Film and Modernity
• Film Technology and Innovation
• Cities and Landscapes in Film and Television
• Critical Studies of the Archive
• Transnational Cinemas
• Screen Ethics
• Ecocinema