Communication PhD

Royal College of Art

Our research degrees span the full range of communication, design and media environments. Research is a rich, central and essential part of the School of Communication. Our MPhil and PhD degrees are grounded firmly in research theory and methods, while maintaining and encouraging a high degree of creativity and experimentation. We welcome research projects that activate new kinds of knowledge formation; critically exploring, probing and creating ways to open dialogues on narratives and methods to positively change the terms of contemporary communication practices. Ours is a broad discipline ranging from, but not exclusive to, animation, experimental communication, sonic performance, media ecologies, intercultural communication, digital storytelling and immersive world building. We look for critical engagement, originality and proven skills in both practice and writing, and encourage questioning and experimental research approaches. The research ethos of our community can be summed up as fostering an ethically alert approach to practices of communication that are inclusive, culturally informed, and historically aware. We bring theory and practice together to offer new ways of thinking about the world, at a time when alternative paradigms and criticality are essential to mobilising imagination and action for the future.