Studentships in Communications, Drama and Film

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:

• 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.

• 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.

Advert information