University of Exeter Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences PhD Studentships in Communications, Drama and Film Ref: 5494

Supervisors

Prospective supervisors from the Department of Communications, Drama and Film to be named as part of application 

Project Information:

Exeter’s Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is offering two fully funded PhD studentships in the Department of Communications, Drama and Film for study commencing in September 2025.

Exeter's Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is offering two fully funded PhD studentships in the Department of Communications, Drama and Film for study commencing in September 2025. These PhD studentships are tenable for up to three years and cover full tuition fees and a maintenance allowance.

The Department of Communications, Drama and Film encompasses the long-established subject of Drama, renowned for practice-based research and teaching; with Film and Television covering a diverse range of areas and practices; and Communications providing approaches to the creative industries, media, and global communication.  The department has world-class facilities, and provides a supportive and high-quality environment for learning, with excellent links to cultural industry partners.  We have an established track record of supporting doctoral research by Global Majority students, and would strongly encourage such candidates to apply.    

Two different PhD studentships are being offered:

1.       PhD Film by Practice

This PhD studentship is designed for students wishing to take their filmmaking practice beyond an MA and to integrate their technical and practical skills into more advanced cultural, aesthetic and critical contexts. It is being offered in all film practice subject areas that can be developed through available research supervision in the department. Students produce a work of film practice, which may be a film or films, a screenplay, or other formats of audio-visual work, and a written thesis of up to 40,000 words.

2.       PhD in Communications, Drama and Film

This PhD studentship is being offered in the subject areas covered by research and teaching in the department, namely media and communications, drama, film and television. Proposals can be in any single subject area, and we welcome interdisciplinary approaches across those areas. We particularly welcome candidates working on topics related to cultures of the global south. The studentships are open to students wishing to undertake either a standard MPhil/ PhD or an MPhil/ PhD by Performance Practice. Note: this studentship is not open to PhD Film by Practice projects.

The University of Exeter is a portal to a rich variety of research resources offering unique archives in modern and contemporary film, performance and literature, medieval and modern history. Dynamic partnerships with arts, culture and heritage organisations – British Museum, Historic England, London Film School, National Trust, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Tate Britain among many others – give our researchers access to a remarkable range of research collections and facilities. We also have close collaborative partnerships with local organisations including the renowned Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, and the Exeter Northcott Theatre, both of which are based on the University campus.

Exeter offers PhD students exceptional support:

• A teamed approach to supervision combining research expertise from across our disciplines and access to a pastoral tutor
• A dedicated Doctoral College, a single point-of-contact for all programme and practical needs
• Access to a Digital Humanities Lab
• Research and career development opportunities within the Faculty and across the University
• Dedicated study space for HASS postgraduates
• A well-established postgraduate research culture including conferences, seminars and journals
• Funding opportunities for individual research needs

Awards will be granted to the strongest applicants based on an assessment of the applicant’s

·       Academic excellence

·       Research potential

·       Research proposal

·       Fit with research environment and supervision team

·       Portfolio of sample practice work (if applicable)

Applications will be assessed in line with the university’s commitment to supporting equality, diversity and inclusivity in postgraduate research.

Duration and value of award

The studentship will be for a period of up to 3 years (36 months), dependent on satisfactory progress, and will cover full tuition fees and an annual maintenance grant of £20,780 per year (2025/6 rate). This studentship also provides additional funds to help with visa fees and health surcharge costs, where applicable. Successful applicants will need to initially pay the costs of these fees themselves and top-up funding to cover these costs will be provided upon registration with the University.

 For further information on research opportunities in Communications, Drama and Film please contact Professor Kerrie Schaefer, Department Director of Postgraduate Research: k.v.schaefer@exeter.ac.uk  

Entry requirements

Applicants for the PhD Film by Practice studentship will be expected to have considerable experience in filmmaking already, and have obtained, or be currently working towards a professional postgraduate degree in filmmaking or screenwriting and a good first degree (at least 2.1 or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline. 

Applicants for the PhD in Communications, Drama and Film studentship will be expected to have a good first degree (at least 2.1, or international equivalent) in a relevant field of humanities, and have obtained, or be currently working towards a Master's degree at Merit level, or international equivalent, in a relevant discipline.

Applicants for the PhD Film by Practice studentship will be expected to have considerable experience in filmmaking already, and have obtained, or be currently working towards a professional postgraduate degree in filmmaking or screenwriting and a good first degree (at least 2.1 or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline.

 Applicants for the PhD in Communications, Drama and Film studentship will be expected to have a good first degree (at least 2.1, or international equivalent) in a relevant field of humanities, and have obtained, or be currently working towards a Master's degree at Merit level, or international equivalent, in a relevant discipline. 

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency. Click here for more information and a list of acceptable alternative tests. 

Applicants must have identified and approached a potential supervisor and have supervision agreed in principle. To help find an appropriate supervisor please use the Research Expertise search function on our Postgraduate Study pages: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/pg-research. 

·       Applicants would be expected to start their studies in September 2025.

·       Recipients are expected to commit to engagement with the research environment of their discipline and the Faculty by participating in research activities, accessing skills development training and opportunities and career development etc. Continued funding would be dependent on satisfactory evidence of this engagement having taken place.

This award is open to Home and International fee status applicants. 

Please note that these studentships are only open to applicants who will start their study in September 2025, not those who have already started. 

Applications for full-time or part-time study are welcome, however applications will only be supported for campus-based programmes as this studentship is not open to Distance-Learning programmes.

How to apply

Apply now

To apply, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button above. You will be asked to submit the following by 19 MAY 2025:  

·       A research proposal of 1500-2000 words, with supervisors agreed in principle

·       A 200-500 word statement on your fit with the department/Faculty research culture and your prospective supervision team. 

·       A CV

·       Portfolio of sample practice work (if applicable-further details below)

·       Proof of academic track record (transcripts/certificates)

·       Two references, at least one to be an academic reference

·       Proof of your English language proficiency, if relevant

Please submit all documents, apart from your portfolio of sample practice work, references and degree transcripts, as one combined file and submit this against the research proposal section of the application form. For the portfolio of sample practice please submit this against the sample of work section of the application form.

Portfolio of sample practice:

Applicants for the PhD Film by Practice studentship might select 2 films that you have worked on that you feel best reflect your technical and creative abilities as a filmmaker, specifying your role in each film (e.g. director, producer, cinematographer, editor, screen-writer). This portfolio of work should be submitted as a YouTube/Vimeo link clearly identified at the end of the research proposal.

If you are applying for the PhD Film by Practice studentship as a screenwriter, please also submit electronic copies of the relevant screenplays along with the films. Screenplays can be submitted against the sample of work section of the application form.

PhD in Performance Practice (Theatre/Drama) applicants might submit a 10-minute edited sample of practical work, or other visual evidence of practical work appropriate for the proposed project. This can be submitted against the sample of work section of the application form.  Please also indicate in your proposal what your planned practice-based research might consist of, e.g. three performances; a series of workshops, etc, and how the practice addresses the research questions.

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

Please note that we will seek a supporting statement from named prospective supervisors for all shortlisted candidates as part of the final assessment process.

Please quote reference 5494 on your application and in any correspondence about this studentship.

Reference information
It is your responsibility to ensure that your referees email their references to PGRApplicants@exeter.ac.uk, as we will not make requests for references directly; you must arrange for them to be submitted by 19 MAY 2025.  Please note that applications with missing documentation will not progress to shortlisting.

References should be in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

Summary