PhD Film by Practice

About the award

The University of Exeter College of Humanities is able to offer doctoral studentships to fund doctoral study in Film by Practice, as a joint degree with the London Film School. These doctoral studentships are tenable for up to three years and cover full tuition fees and a maintenance allowance.

This unique and exciting new programme provides students with the best of both worlds - belonging to an internationally recognised University and College with highest quality research, and immersion into the professional world of film creation instruction offered by LFS. This programme is designed for students wishing to take their filmmaking practice beyond an MA and to integrate their technical and practical skills into a more advanced cultural, aesthetic and critical context.

Increasingly, independent film practitioners feel the need not only to develop their skills and thinking beyond the received concepts of mainstream or, indeed, art cinema but also to bring greater critical, aesthetic and theoretical rigour into their practice. A new aesthetic is required if film is to move beyond its present parameters, one that acknowledges the historical imperatives of its culture.

The partnership formed by LFS and the College of Humanities provides a unique combination of strengths in all the areas covered by this PhD. College staff have the critical theoretical experience required to lead the supervision of a research degree, while LFS staff are professionals from within the creative industries with significant expertise in guiding students in filmcraft. More generally, the College and the University offer training in a range of research skills, and students will benefit from being a part of both the research culture of the College and the professionally-based environment of London Film School.

Entry criteria

We invite applications from candidates with a strong academic background and a clear and engaging research proposal which can be developed through available research supervision. Successful applicants will be expected to have considerable experience in filmmaking already, including a professional postgraduate degree in filmmaking and a good first degree (at least 2.1 or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline. If English is not your native language then you will also need to satisfy the English language entry requirements.

Visit the University of Exeter website for more information. For all enquiries regarding the course please contact on hass-pgradmissions@exeter.ac.uk or call the main University of Exeter switchboard on +44 (0) 1392 661000.