Programme overview

Explore the intersection of art and social engagement to address contemporary societal issues and challenges.

Professional PhD focussing on practice and professional development across the arts sector.

Benefit from the opportunity to engage in biannual residential workshops and events.

2nd in the UK for Drama research (overall GPA, REF2021).

Programme description

Art and Social Practice is a broad term. It is inclusive of any form of arts practice seeking to engage or intervene in social, educational and community contexts.

Our pioneering PhD Art and Social Practice is designed for people who want to undertake advanced research which builds on their professional knowledge and practice. Professional practice may include:

applied practice,

arts and health,

community arts,

performing arts,

other related contexts across visual and creative media

The structure of the programme is devised to enable you to develop your career while simultaneously undertaking a research project that leads to a doctoral qualification.

This professional practice-focused doctorate will engage experienced professionals in advanced research. This programme matches the need for structured forms of professional development and reflective practice across the arts sector.

We take explicit account of the professional practice-base of the student, integrating this as a central knowledge base for the research project. We support the development of dynamic knowledge outcomes that can have an impact across academic and non-academic contexts.

Furthermore, we underpin the development of reflective practice. This practice can respond to and influence the complex, unpredictable and shifting social and cultural contexts in which arts practitioners operate.

The programme will introduce you to a range of dynamic and challenging concepts and methods. These methods enable you to reflect critically and constructively on your professional practice. Another feature is the opportunity to join a cohort of peers on other professional practice PhD programmes. Our students will have the ability engage with other research professionals through bi-annual residential workshops and events.

Career opportunities

As we are an inter-disciplinary department in Drama, our PhD students work across theatre, film and screen studies, digital humanities, and so on.

The skills gained through the PhD process are wide-ranging and varied. These include critical engagement, investigative thinking, effective communication, project management and reflexive practice.

Several of our graduates have moved on to academic positions in the UK and abroad, including Canada, Iran, and Singapore. Others are working in the arts, education and not-for-profit sectors, as artists, filmmakers, practitioners, teachers, librarians, curators, writers, and editors, and among others!