Film Studies

Doctor of Philosophy in Film, Television and Digital Media

The Huston School of Film & Digital Media encourages PhD degree applications, its involvement is in collaboration with other disciplines within Arts; students undertaking doctoral studies in film will be supervised by a small team led by the Huston School but also involving an existing discipline of the university (e.g., English, French, History, Information Technology, Sociology and Politics for example) depending on the topic of their research.
The aim of this four-year, full-time (six-year, part-time) research programme is the generation of a contribution to knowledge and understanding in Film, Television and Digital Media by means of academic research. During the programme, students receive training in research methods and complete a thesis based on a key research question. The length of the thesis is normally 60,000 to 80,000 words. The duration of research is usually four years.

Doctor of Philosophy in Film, Television and Digital Media (practice-based PhD)

The aim of this four-year, full-time research programme is the generation of a contribution to knowledge and understanding in Film, Television and Digital Media by means of enquiry conducted through practice-based research methods. During the programme, students receive training in research methods and complete a research project based on a key research question. Students are also expected to:

• Pursue a defined key research question through practice-based research


• Investigate cognate practice-based research undertaken by others internationally


• Explore the theoretical and historical dimensions of the enquiry through scholarship


• Collaborate with others, as appropriate, to extend the range of the enquiry


• Produce a body of work that embodies new knowledge in answer to the key research question


• Write a brief summary of the contribution to knowledge and understanding together with a reflective analysis of the theoretical and historical context of the research and a critical review of the process of the research

Doctor of Philosophy in Film, Television and Digital Media (full-time and part-time)        
Doctor of Philosophy in Film, Television and Digital Media (practice-based PhD) (full-time and part-time)