Film research degrees
Film Practice PhD
Our Film Practice PhD gives you a unique opportunity to develop your own film as a practice-led project at a leading centre for the growth of Film Practice PhDs in the UK.
Led by award-winning documentary filmmaker Dr Ian MacDonald., we've established a distinctive approach to non-fiction film education practice and research. This is grounded in an understanding of documentary film as a cinematic medium, and filmmaking as a mode of expression, critique, and social and historical intervention.
We offer practice-led PhDs in Documentary Film Practice in the following areas:
- most areas of documentary/non-fiction film practice (see supervisor profiles for specialisms)
- creative documentary practices in the UK, India, South Asia, Africa
- sports documentaries
- feminist film practice
- social linguistics, translation and documentary practice
Find a supervisor
Dr Ian McDonald is a sociologist and multi-award winning documentary filmmaker. Ian is an experienced supervisor interested in most areas of documentary practice.
He is particularly interested in supervising practice-based research in documentary filmmaking that leans towards the alternative, political and observational.
Dr Geetha Jayaraman, , known as Geetha J, is an internationally renowned writer, filmmaker and producer. Geetha's research area is primarily film practice, both as director and producer.
Geetha is interested in supervising practice-based research on India, the personal and the political, gender, dance/rituals, science and philosophy as well as other related areas.
Dr Alastair Cole is a documentary filmmaker whose films have been broadcast and screened in cinemas and film festivals internationally. His academic interests intersect documentary film practice with research in anthropology, language and politics, with regional interests in:
- sub Saharan Africa
- Scotland
- Southern Europe
- Oceania.
He is particularly interested in supervising any documentary film based research project that aims to creatively inquire into subjects within the humanities and social sciences.
Dr Evripidis Karydis completed his Documentary Film Practice PhD at Newcastle University in 2020.
He is an active documentary filmmaker and is interested in supervising in most areas of documentary filmmaking, with particular interests in political activism.
Co-supervision
We currently co-supervise a range of film and film-related projects with academic colleagues from:
- Media, Culture, Heritage
- Fine Art
- English Language and Literature
- Architecture, Planning and Landscape
- Geography, Politics and Sociology
- Philosophy
Postgraduate funding and scholarships
Postgraduate scholarships, prizes, and bursaries are often available to UK, EU, and international students.
Some of these are University-wide and subject to eligibility, whereas others are subject-specific.
You can find out more about the funding and scholarships that are available to you on the University's Scholarship and Bursaries website.
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