Music Film and Screen Digital Design Ashvita Sudhakar UNI-1198

Faculty of Arts, Cultures and Education

Digital Media research degrees

Postgraduate - Research

MA by Thesis PhD

Looking for a funded PhD?

Check out our current PhD scholarship opportunities now

About our programmes

Research in Digital Media at the University of Hull is wide-ranging, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, covering topics as diverse as immersive design, narrative and animation, human-computer interaction, games design and development, commercial design and visual communication.

By employing real-world approaches, we develop projects that contribute to the creative economy nationally and internationally and offer practical components that drive research and innovations in cultural and creative industries.

We support students’ development into articulate and critical thinkers who are acutely aware of how their work engages with current scholarship, new and emerging technology, social issues and debates within the contemporary media culture landscape.

We encourage MA projects investigating the following research areas:

  • Digital Creativity and Creative Practice – Design and Immersive design, gaming and gamification, Serious Games, narrative, and animation
  • Applied Research on Digital Media – Applications in Immersive Technology (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and extended Reality applications), Digital Design for Health and Education
  • Applications and design in Human Computer Interactions (visual and sound interactions); UX & UI designs including the traditional digital UX & UI design and Immersive UX & UI design; and other sensor-based applications for the digital future, such as motion capture, interactive projecting, shared immersion design for groups etc
  • Visual Communication and other forms of Digital Media Technology

As a design and arts discipline, we do not expect high levels of technical proficiency in our researchers however a willingness to engage with advanced digital technologies is paramount. Some applicants are digital specialists and others are specialists in other areas that overlap with digital design from diverse domains including journalism, psychology, film-making and graphics.

During the three-year PhD programme (five years part-time) you will research and write a dissertation of 70,000 to 100,000 words on a topic chosen in conjunction with your supervisor

Apply for a research programme in Digital Media

 

Details

Open for admission in 2024/25

Qualification Full time Part time
MA by Thesis 1 year* 2 years*
PhD 3 years* 5 years*

* The length of programme registration will be longer as it includes the maximum writing-up phase.

Start in January, May or September

Research

MA in Digital Media by Thesis

This is a one year programme (two years part-time). You will research and write a dissertation of less of 50,000 words on a topic chosen in conjunction with your principal supervisor as well as other members of the digital media staff. You will choose from a range of postgraduate training module(s) appropriate to your research experience and training.

We are open to the full range of digital media research topics with staff able to support anything from commercial design practice, games design, UX, animation, digital art, performance art and installations. We thrive on off the wall research as well as conventional academic proposals.

For an informal discussion please send a short summary of your proposed research (500 words) to Dr Yang Jiang.

PhD in Digital Media

This is a three year programme (five years part-time). You will research and write a dissertation of 70,000 to 100,000 words on a topic chosen in conjunction with your supervisor. You will choose from a range of postgraduate training module(s) appropriate to your research experience and training.

For an informal discussion please send a short summary of your proposed research (500 words) to Dr Darren Mundy.

At present, we are particularly interested in PhD proposals in these areas:

  • Immersive design and virtual reality particularly when applied to educational or health-related domains such as dementia
  • The use of Social Media to support governmental and/or personal brands
  • Game design or use of video game engines, with an emphasis on visualisation, immersion or representation
  • E-learning and virtual learning technologies
  • The impact of visual communication across multiple media forms

Staff

Fees and funding

Home


Full time:
£4,712 per year

Part time: £2,356 per year

International


Full time:
£17,300 per year

These fees are for all research degree programmes on this page. For courses lasting more than one year, annual increases apply. For more information, please visit the fees and funding page. 

Postgraduate research programme structures


PhD

  • Full-time: 3 years of research, with up to 12 months writing up if required
  • Part-time: 5 years of research, with up to 20 months of writing up if required

Masters

  • Full-time: one year of research, with up to 12 months writing up if required
  • Part-time: 2 years of research, with up to 24 months of writing up if required

Writing-up and thesis submission


A standard full-time PhD programme comprised three years of research plus up to 12 months of writing-up. Part-time is five years plus up to 20 months writing-up if needed. Full-time standard Masters programmes are comprised one year of research plus up to 12 months of writing-up if needed; and part time Masters programmes have two years of research with up to two years of writing-up.

For full-time students, the writing-up phase typically takes about three months but may be extended to one year without further paperwork. For part-time students, writing-up typically takes one year, but may be extended to two years without further paperwork. The maximum writing-up period is included in your overall programme length, which means that international PGRs will not need to apply for an additional visa to cover the writing-up phase.

If you need to move into the writing-up period of your research degree, you must enrol for this phase and you will be liable to pay a continuation fee.

The fees for the writing-up period for 2023/24 are:

Full time

  • Writing-up fee £345
  • Rebate for submission within first 3 months of the research period end date 100%
  • Rebate for submission between 4- 6 months of the research period end date 50%
  • Rebate for submission between 7-9 months of the research period end date 25%

Part time

  • Continuation Fee £170
  • Rebate for submission within first 3 months of the research period end date 100%
  • Rebate for submission between 4- 6 months of the research period end date 50%
  • Rebate for submission between 7-9 months of the research period end date 25%

Thesis submission timelines


It is expected that you will submit your thesis within the timeframes outlined below:

Masters degrees

  • Submission by one year and 3 months full-time.
  • Submission by 2 years and 6 months part-time.

Doctoral degrees

  • Submission by 3 years and 3 months full-time.
  • Submission by 5 years and 6 months for part-time.

Doctoral Loan

UK students who haven’t secured a scholarship can take out a Doctoral Loan to help with tuition fees and living costs. They provide up to £29,390 for full-time and part-time PhDs in all subject areas.

EU students starting a course on or after 1 August 2021 must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance. Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Additional costs

There are some extra costs that you may have to pay, or choose to pay, depending on your programme of study and the decisions you make. The list below has some examples, and any extra costs will vary:

  • Student visas (international students).
  • Books (you’ll have access to many books through the University library, but you may want to buy your own copies).
  • Optional conference/field/archive/library trips (Faculties support some travel and conference attendance financially. Details vary. Please check with the Department/School to which you are applying).
  • Laptop (you’ll have access to laptops and PCs on campus, but you may want to buy your own).
  • Printing and photocopying (There is a printing allowance in place for all students, currently £20 a year. Some Faculties grant PGR students access to printing and photocopying as staff. Please check with the Department/School to which you are applying).
  • Professional-body membership.
  • Graduation (gown hire and photography).

Remember, you’ll still need to take into account your living costs. This could include accommodation, travel and food – to name just a few.

For information about bursaries and how to fund your studies see our money page, or take a look at our PhD scholarships page for specific funded PhD opportunities.

Watch: find out more about postgraduate study at the University of Hull.

The University’s Postgraduate Training Scheme (PGTS) provides a range of generic and discipline-specific modules to support research students through their programme.

The library has an exclusive lounge for postgraduate research students and a dedicated Skills Team to provide a wide range of study and research skills help.

The Doctoral College provides support to postgraduate research students. Offering skills development opportunities and dedicated facilities, the school is here to help you achieve your potential.

Research at Hull tackles big challenges and makes an impact on lives globally, every day. Our current research portfolio spans everything from health to habitats, food to flooding and supply chain to slavery.

Entry requirements

You should normally have, or expect to obtain, at least 2:1 Honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject or related Arts or Humanities subject.

You should submit a sample of your written work in the relevant subject of at least 4000 words (for MA by Research) and at least 10,000 words (for PhD).

With your application, you should also submit a research proposal that should be tailored to your research area and should include the following:

  • project title,
  • project synopsis (of c. 500 words),
  • series of research questions,
  • discussion of research context,
  • consideration of the research methods and methodology to be employed,

Research proposals should not exceed 1500 words in length (excluding bibliography). 

How to apply

  1. Choose the advanced degree programme that most suits your needs and ambitions.
  2. Think about the topic you would like to research.
  3. Write a short 500 word summary and send it to y.jiang2@hull.ac.uk (MA in Digital Media by Thesis) or d.mundy@hull.ac.uk (PhD in Digital Media).
  4. We will arrange a video conference or telephone conversation to have an informal chat and to make sure we have the staff expertise to support your proposal.
  5. We will help you write a formal research proposal to submit with your application. Read our guidance on research proposal writing skills.
  6. While you are waiting for a response look into all the funding options available to you and contact us with any further questions.

International students

If you require a student visa to study or if your first language is not English you will be required to provide acceptable evidence of your English language proficiency level.

  • For 2024 entry, this course requires IELTS 6.0 overall, with no less than 5.5 in each competency.
  • For 2025 entry, this course requires IELTS 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in each competency.

See other English language proficiency qualifications accepted by this University.

If your English currently does not reach the University's required standard for this programme, you may be interested in one of our English language courses.

Visit your country page to find out more about our entry requirements.

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