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Culture, Media & Creative Industries Research MPhil/PhD

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Overview

Culture, Media & Creative Industries at King's carries out world-leading research across the field of culture, media and the analysis of particular creative industries. Specialisms include cultural work, creative cities, media industries research, cultural and creative industries policy, arts and cultural management, entrepreneurship and cultural production, memory and heritage. Emerging research areas within the department encompass gender, sexuality and critical race research, and cultures of care. 

  • Departments of CMCI & Digital Humanities – jointly ranked in top 10 in UK (REF 2021). 100% of the departments’ research impact and research environment were rated as either ‘world leading’ (4*) or ‘internationally excellent’ (3*).

  • Current staff: 38

  • Current PhD students: 49

Research funded by:

  • London Arts and Humanities Research Council (LAHP) 
  • National and regional governments and funding bodies
  • London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (ESRC)

Recent publications:

  • Narratives of migration, relocation and belonging: Latin Americans in London, by Patria Roman-Velazquez
  • Higher Education and Policy for Creative Economies in Africa: Developing Creative Economies, by Roberta Comunian, Brian J. Hracs and Lauren England
  • Women and TV Culture in Pakistan: Gender, Islam and National Identity, by Munira Cheema
  • Feminist Afterlives: Assemblage Memory in Activist Times, by Red Chidgey
  • Multimedia Stardom in Hong Kong: Image, performance and identity by Wing-Fai Leung 
  • Contemporary Art & Unforgetting in Colonial Landscapes: Islands of Empire, by Kate McMillan
  • The Space that Separates: A Realist Theory of Art, by Nick Wilson
  • Work That Body: Male Bodies in Digital Culture by Jamie Hakim

Key information

Duration Expected to be PhD three years FT. September to September, January to January or April to April.

Study mode Full-time

Further details

Awarding institution King's College London / King's and Humboldt for joint programme

Faculty Faculty of Arts & Humanities

Department Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries

Locations

 

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Applying for a PhD

In the heart of London

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Course detail

Description

Culture, Media & Creative Industries (CMCI) at King's carries out world-leading research across the field of culture, media and the analysis of particular creative industries. Specialisms include cultural work, creative cities, visual cultures, popular culture, cultural and creative industries policy, cultural management, entrepreneurship and cultural production, cultural regeneration, cultural history, culture and identity, and inter-sectionally and culture. Our approach is international in perspective and is characterised by a productive engagement of the theoretical and empirical.

CMCI is also developing, in concert with Digital Humanities, research into digital cultures, particularly into social networks, digital identities and digital activism.

We work in an inter-disciplinary mode: although we are based in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, much of our research has roots in the social sciences.

Next Steps

  • Identify a potential supervisor who you would like to work with
  • Contact the potential supervisor to establish if they might be interested in taking your enquiry any further.
  • If yes, please email them a 1500-word proposal (max) setting out:
    • the topic/issue they propose to research,
    • the rationale for doing so (including its importance and originality, as well as any gaps in the literature),
    • the proposed methodology (i.e. what, why and how?),
    • a prospective chapter outline, and
    •  a concluding section showing why this research should be conducted at 

Please also send a latest CV with your proposal. Your prospective supervisor will review the proposal and if they would like to take it further, they will invite you to a short interview (online or offline). A final decision will be taken at departmental level, subject to review by the CMCI PGR recruitment panel.

Please ensure that you read this essential guide from the department before applying to this PhD.

For further information, contact Jessica Rapson jessica.rapson@kcl.ac.uk

Course study environment

Postgraduate training

Joint PhDs - Benefits of collaboration

Our joint PhD programme with the Humboldt University Berlin offers students the opportunity to enjoy full supervision at both institutions. The Joint-PhD also organises international colloquia and workshops at which students can present and discuss their work with peers and academic staff across the institutions involved. The programme builds on an extensive network of existing institutional links, joint teaching experience and collaborative graduate programmes between King’s and the partners universities.

Applications are welcome from across a whole range of areas in culture, media and creative industries with a substantial German element.

Joint PhDs - Subjects/specialisms available for joint study

Head of group/division

Professor Nick Wilson

Contact for information

Dr Jessica Rapson jessica.rapson@kcl.ac.uk

or Postgraduate Admissions, Admissions Office tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 1649 fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200

 

 

Contact email

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/Admissions-contact-form.aspx

Course website

Find out more by visiting the course website

Further literature

Further literature link(s)

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/cmci/index.aspx

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

CMCI Research Entry Requirements
Minimum UK requirements  

  • A strong undergraduate degree ideally a Bachelors Degee with 1st Class honours. 

  • A Master's degree with high Merit/Distinction, with particularly high results (70% in the UK system) in the dissertation.
International requirements   Visit our admissions webpages to view our International entry requirements.
English Language requirements Band C Visit our admissions webpages to view our English language entry requirements.

Application is very competitive for these programmes, so meeting these requirements will not guarantee entry: the research proposal, and the fit with staff expertise, is the critical criterion for our assessment of an application.

Applicants with relevant work/life experience who do not strictly meet the academic entry requirements may also be considered.

Application procedure

Research proposal

The heart of your application is your research proposal. The ability to identify and propose a viable research project is a major indicator of your potential for doctoral study. This proposal should be a document of no more than 4 pages in which you explain in some detail precisely the field of study that you want to contribute to and current research gaps, what you want to do and how you propose to do it. 

A good research proposal typically includes the following components: 

  • a clear statement of the proposed research question

  • an explanation of the importance and originality of the proposed topic. This may include a section on the lack or shortcomings of existing academic work in your proposed area

  • a section describing not only your proposed methodology but also an explanation of why this methodology is the most appropriate for the proposed topic 

  • a prospective chapter outline of the proposed thesis

  • a timetable showing a realistic plan, including critical milestones, for the completion of your research and writing within three years

  • a concluding section showing why this research should be conducted specifically here, within the CMCI programme at King’s College London, rather than anywhere else.

 

Personal statement and supporting information

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

 

CMCI Research checklist
Research Proposal Yes The proposal should explain in some detail precisely the field of study that you want to contribute to and current research gaps, what you want to do and how you propose to do it. For advice on how to write a winning application, please visit the following page. 
 Previous Academic Study  Yes  A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English, will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
References   Yes  One academic reference is required. A professional reference will be accepted if you have completed your qualifications over five years ago.
Travel Plan   Yes (Joint programme only)  If applying for the joint programme please include the names of your supervisors from both institutions and include a completed travel plan form.
Other   Yes  Please your full CV (Resume) to help us to get a far more detailed view of you and your accomplishments



Course intake

No set number.

Joint PhDs - Application advice

Applicants for the joint PhD programme must contact the relevant departments at both universities before submitting an application in order to discuss the suitability of their topic for the joint programme and to locate potential supervisors. Applications should initially be submitted to the proposed home institution only, ie where the student will start and finish their programme. Students should note that acceptance onto the programme may take slightly longer than for single-institution PhDs because of the additional steps involved. Further details, including FAQs, can be found on the King’s Worldwide web pages.

Applicants who choose King’s as their home institution should apply through the online system, selecting the appropriate Joint PhD option from the drop-down list. In addition to the standard supporting documentation, applicants should submit a Travel Plan form indicating how they intend to divide their time between the two partner institutions. Students must spend a specified amount of time in each institution, details of which can be found in the ‘Notes’ section of the Travel plan form.

It is recommended that students submit applications for the Joint PhD programme by the end of March to begin the following September.

Application closing date

We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible as we may need to request further information from you to assess your application. This is also important if your application is successful and you are required to meet any offer condition, and/or you need a Student Visa to study here at King’s.

The final application deadlines are detailed below; on these dates, the programme will close at 23:59 (UK time) and we will open for the corresponding intake in 2023 soon after the same intake has passed in 2022.

· February 2022 entry – 12 November 2021 for Overseas fee status and 6 December 2021 for Home fee status

· June 2022 entry – 1 April 2022 for Overseas fee status and 11 April 2022 for Home fee status

· October 2022 entry – 29 July 2022 for Overseas fee status and 26 August 2022 for Home fee status

· February 2023 entry – 21 October 2022 for Overseas fee status and 22 November 2022 for Home fee status

· June 2023 entry – 3 April 2023 for Overseas fee status and 17 April 2023 for Home fee status

Please note that funding deadlines may be earlier than the application deadlines listed above.

Help and support

If you don't have a suitable qualification for direct entry to a UK university, or if English isn't your first language, our academic preparation courses can help you get ready for study in the UK.

International Foundation

Fees and funding

UK Tuition Fees 2021/22

Full time tuition fees:

£5,820 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries)

£5,820 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

Part time tuition fees:

£2,910 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries)

£2,910 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

International Tuition Fees 2021/22

Full time tuition fees:

£21,870 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries)

£21,870 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

Part time tuition fees:

£10,935 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries)

£10,935 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

UK Tuition Fees 2022/23

Full time tuition fees:

£5,820 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries)

£5,820 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

Part time tuition fees:

£2,910 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries)

£2,910 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

International Tuition Fees 2022/23

Full time tuition fees: 

£22,230 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries)

£22,230 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

Part time tuition fees:

£11,115 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries)

£11,115 per year (MPhil/PhD, Culture, Media, & Creative Industries with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

 

EU Students starting their programme in the academic year 2021/22 will pay international tuition fees.  

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

 

Financial help and support

Visit the fees and funding webpages to find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans and other financial help available at King's.

Career prospects

Career destinations

The PhD in Culture, Media & Creative Industries is a programme for those seeking an academic career or who wish to become professionals in the cultural, media or creative sectors.

Testimonials

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Rodolphe

I chose King's College London because I wanted to study at a top university. It offers a world-class education as you are taught by renowned teachers in fantastic facilities and this explains its international reputation.

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