Overview
You could get a fully funded PhD, plus get extra money for living expenses through the Midlands4Cities Arts and Humanities scholarships to study with the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research.
We are particularly keen to attract applicants who wish to study in one of the following areas:
We are one of the leading research centres and have a proven track record in producing internationally excellent research in a number of diverse areas. Our work includes studies of community radio, social media activism, hyper-local media and the role of media in projects in developing nations.
Our current projects include work in the Arab region on citizen journalism, on hyper-local media in Britain and as part of a larger project on rethinking 'humanitarianism in a globalised digital age'.
Our supervising academics are actively involved in research into the role of media in building communities, supporting development or bringing about political change:
- Dr Dima Saber leads projects in citizen journalism in the Arab region, with a focus on the role of digital media in fostering social change
- Dr Kirsten Forkert, who explored the conditions experienced by freelance artists in London and Berlin in her PhD thesis, researches the politics of cultural work and education
- Dr Nick Gebhardt, who has a background in community radio, is currently applying his extensive research into the music industries to projects involving music workers and music as an agent for social change.
We welcome enquiries and expressions of interest from potential doctoral students who want to pursue a research degree in the areas described above. Students can work on traditional dissertations or practice-based research.