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Communication; Cultural and Media Studies (PhD)

2025-26 (also available for 2024-25)

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This course is eligible for Doctoral loan funding. Find out more.

Start date

1 October 2025

12 January 2026

20 April 2026

Duration

The maximum duration for a PhD is 3 years (36 months) full-time or 6 years (72 months) part-time with an optional submission pending (writing-up) period of 12 months.

Sometimes it may be possible to mix periods of both full-time and part-time study.

If studying on a part-time basis, you must establish close links with the University and spend normally not less than an average of 10 working days per year in the university, excluding participation in activities associated with enrolment, re-registration and progression monitoring. You are also expected to dedicate 17.5 hours per week to the research.

Application deadlines

For September 2025

13 June 2025 for International and Scholarship Students

04 July 2025 for Home Students

For October 2025

13 June 2025 for International and Scholarship Students

04 July 2025 for Home Students

For January 2026

17 October 2025 for International and Scholarship Students

14 November 2025 for Home Students

For April 2026

23 January 2026 for International and Scholarship Students

20 February 2026 for Home Students

About the research degree

A PhD is the highest academic award for which a student can be registered. This programme allows you to explore and pursue a research project built around a substantial piece of work, which has to show evidence of original contribution to knowledge.

A full time PhD is a three year programme of research and culminates in the production of a large-scale piece of written work in the form of a research thesis that should not normally exceed 80,000 words.

You are expected to work to an approved programme of study including appropriate programmes of postgraduate study (which may be drawn from parts of existing postgraduate courses, final year degree programmes, conferences, seminars, masterclasses, guided reading or a combination of study methods).

Your main supervisor will normally head a supervisory team which will comprise of up to three members. The research supervisor will advise and support you on your project.

Entry requirements

The normal level of attainment required for entry is:

  • Master's degree or Honours degree (2:2 or above) or equivalent, normally with a classification of merit or distinction, in a discipline appropriate to the proposed programme to be followed, or
  • appropriate research or professional experience at postgraduate level, which has resulted in published work, written reports or other appropriate evidence of accomplishment.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

What can I research?

Research in Communication, Cultural and Media Studies focuses on a wide range of aspects of the interplay between media audiences, industries, technologies and texts. We have significant expertise in contemporary digital media and culture, including the internet and social media, and its impact on legacy media, such as journalism, film and TV. As well as focusing on contemporary developments, we can also supervise projects interested in exploring the histories of communication, culture and media. One of the distinctive features of our subject area is that we combine expertise in sports, gaming and music, with expertise in the internet, social media, television, film, radio and journalism. This means we are well placed to supervise topics across a range of media and cultures, as well interdisciplinary topics that cross the boundaries between different forms of communication, culture and media. We have particular expertise in:

Audiences, Fans and Participatory Culture: addressing how people are engaging with and responding to a rapidly changing media culture; exploring people’s affective relationships with media and how these are created, managed and enabled by industry; examining the cultures, practices and identities associated with cultural participation, social media use and fandom.

Politics, Journalism, Gender and Identity: addressing the global political upheaval characterised by the rise of populism, identity politics and new forms of media and communication; exploring questions of gender, identity, equality, diversity and inclusion as they pertain to media industries, audiences/fans, technologies, production and cultures; examining the consequences of changes to journalism, news and political communication, including the rise of social media and platforms.

Media Industries and Cultural Production: addressing the industrial contexts of production internationally, nationally and locally, often working in collaboration with industry; exploring how media industries, regulators and policy-makers are responding to a rapidly changing media culture; examining the nature and practices of media work and labour.

Digital Culture: addressing how digital culture is transforming communication, culture and media; exploring new theorisations to understand digital culture; examining the impact of digitalisation and platformisation on audiences, politics and industries.

We are home to the Centre for Participatory Culture, the only research centre in the world dedicated specifically to the analysis of all forms of participatory culture and the shifting boundaries between media industries and media users. The Centre offers a focal point for our postgraduate students as well as a regular programme of research events.

There are different ways to find the right research topic for you:

  1. Find a supervisor and design your own research project – explore the Huddersfield Research Portal to find research and researcher expertise to find the area you’re interested in.

  2. Browse our listed funded opportunities.

  3. To find out more about the research we conduct, take a look at our Research, Innovation and Skills webpages, where you will find information on each research area. To find out about our staff visit ‘Our staff list’ which features profiles of all our academics.

Your completed research proposal outlining your areas of interest as part of your application will be used to identify the appropriate supervisors for your project. If you have already discussed your application with a member of staff, please identify them in your online application.

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Researcher Environment

Our postgraduate researchers contribute to our thriving research [culture] community at Huddersfield, in return, we provide an experience that enhances your potential and inspires you to think big and become a globally competitive researcher.

Join our community of like-minded people who are passionate about research and gain access to world-leading facilities, advanced research skills training, and expert career advice.

Reduced inequalities

  • We recently ranked 6 out of 796 global institutions for reduced inequalities in the Times Higher Impact ratings – this recognises our research on social inequalities, policies on discrimination and commitment to recruitment staff and students from underrepresented groups.**

World-leading

  • We are in the top 50 UK universities for research power, and nearly two-thirds of our research environment is classified as world-leading and internationally excellent.***

As a researcher, you’ll gain access to our Researcher Skills Development Programme through The Graduate School, to help broaden your knowledge and access tools and skills to improve your employability. The programme is mapped against Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework (RDF), you’ll benefit from Vitae’s career support as well as our own programme. We also have a team dedicated to improving the academic English needed for research by our international PGRs.

Our training is delivered in a variety of ways to take advantage of online platforms as well as face-to-face workshops and courses. You can access a range of bespoke training opportunities and in-person events that are tailored to each stage of your journey;

  • Sessions on PhD thesis writing, publications and journals, post-doctoral opportunities, poster and conference presentations, networking, and international travel opportunities

  • opportunity to work and study abroad via the Turing Scheme through The Graduate School

  • Externally accredited training programme with Advance HE (HEA) and CMI

  • Online research training support accessed through a dedicated researcher module in Brightspace, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment

  • We also hold a series of PGR focussed events such as 3 Minute Thesis PGR led research conference informal events throughout the year.

**THE Impact Rankings 2022

*** REF2021

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

When you are offered a place on a research degree, your offer will include confirmation of your supervisory team, and the topic you will be researching and will be governed by our terms & Conditions, student handbook and relevant policies. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Whilst the University will use reasonable efforts to ensure your supervisory team remains the same, sometimes it may be necessary to make changes to your team for reasons outside the University’s control, for example if your supervisor leaves the University, or suffers from long term illness. Where this is the case, we will discuss these difficulties with you and seek to either put in place a new supervisory team, or help you to transfer to another research facility, in accordance with our Student Protection Plan.

Changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, for example the University being unable to access it’s buildings due to fire, flood or pandemic, or the University no longer being able to provide specialist equipment. Where this is the case, we will discuss these issues with you and agree any necessary changes.

Your research project is likely to evolve as you work on it and these minor changes are a natural and expected part of your study. However, we may need to make more significant changes to your topic of research during the course of your studies, either because your area of interest has changed, or because we can no longer support your research for reasons outside the University’s control. If this is the case, we will discuss any changes in topic with you and agree these in writing. If you are an international student, changing topics may affect your visa or ATAS clearance and if this is the case we will discuss this with you before any changes are made.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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