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Cultures and Creative Practice at University of Nottingham - UCAS

Course options

2026 - 2027
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

This PhD will be particularly relevant to creative practitioners from a broad range of fields (artists, curators, critics, journalists, game designers, media producers, cultural translators etc.) who wish to utilise the time and resources offered by doctoral study to develop and critically reflect on their practice and enhance their careers in a relevant creative sector. ​Candidates will be supported in both their creative and scholarly work by research active staff with expertise in (among other areas):

  • ​Art writing, criticism and curatorial practice
  • ​Virtual and immersive experience design
  • ​Museums, Heritage and Sound Studies
  • ​Practice-based research with screen media industries
  • ​Journalism and political communications
  • ​Translation Studies
Course content The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies welcomes applicants with an established creative practice (very broadly conceived) who wish to enhance and critically reflect on that practice through engagement with contemporary research and scholarship in a supportive and intellectually vibrant environment. For the duration of your course, you will receive support and guidance from academic staff who are active researchers and experienced PhD supervisors. The thesis you will submit at the end of your programme will combine a substantial creative practice element, which can take a variety of forms, but which reflects sustained work over the duration of your programme, and a written thesis that identifies and develops the research questions explored in that creative practice and articulates its original contribution to knowledge. ​​For a PhD submission, the written thesis will be between 40,000 and 60,000 words. The creative or practice-based element will take the form of a portfolio containing materials which allow the examiners to understand and evaluate the practice you have undertaken. These materials could include text, image, video, audio, software, data, or any other items which represent the practice. The precise nature of the portfolio will be agreed with your supervisors as part of the supervision process. The written thesis and practice portfolio elements will form a coherent whole, each reflecting on and enriching the other. Together, your critical research and creative practice will represent an original contribution to knowledge in an identified area. You will also take a verbal examination at which you will explain both your creative practice and the written thesis to an examination panel. ​The nature and scope of the practice element, the appropriate materials to be included in the practice portfolio, and the length of the written thesis, should be agreed between candidate and supervisors and presented at the first annual review for the approval of annual review assessors. ​Throughout your research there will be research training sessions and work-in-progress seminars. The seminars provide an opportunity for you to present your ongoing research to peers, supervisors and other invited staff and research students. You'll get feedback in a supportive and constructive environment.​

Entry requirements

2:1 (or international equivalent) in arts, humanities or social science subject; and a masters degree in a relevant subject. Established creative practice and/or professional experience in the cultural sector may be considered. ​

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Cultures and Creative Practice at University of Nottingham - UCAS