Museum Studies PhD - Museums: Social Agency and Organisational Change

Museum Studies at Leicester offers supervision for the degree of:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - full-time

This degree is available to study both on campus and by part-time distance learning.

We offer supervision in Museum Studies in areas compatible with the research interests of our academic staff including:

Art and Its Institutions: Histories and Practices

Cultural Heritage and Cultural Practice

Culture: Politics and Representation

Museums: Design, Space, and Innovation

Museums: Engagement and Participation

Museums: Experience and Affect

Museums, Heritage Sites, and Cultural Institutions: History and Memory

Museums: Social Agency and Organisational Change

Museum Work: Cultures and Practices

PhD students complete an independent research project under the guidance of a supervisory team.

PhD students complete an independent research project under the guidance of a supervisory team. The maximum period of registration permitted before thesis submission is 4 years full-time / 7 years distance learning. Active research (including all experimental work, laboratory work, field work, and data collection) will typically take 3 to 3.5 years full-time / 6 to 6.5 years distance learning. On completion of active research students may request approval to register for a writing-up period of up to 12 months.

The period of active research and writing-up together must not exceed the maximum registration period.

The thesis should not normally exceed 80,000 words and must make an original contribution to knowledge and contain work of publishable quality. The thesis must then be defended in a viva voce (oral) examination before a degree can be awarded.

Applicants must hold a UK undergraduate (Bachelors) degree with at least first class or upper second class honours or an equivalent qualification from a recognised overseas institution and a first class or 2:1 equivalent for a Masters degree. You should have a good knowledge of the field of Museum Studies; however, we recognise that knowledge acquired in other fields – from palaeontology to Modern Languages – can serve as a strong foundation for PhD study of museums, galleries and heritage. Students undertaking a PhD in Museum, Gallery and Heritage Practice will usually be working professionals. We will also consider individuals working outside of these formal relationships on the basis of their proposal or an agreed relationship with a museum or heritage organisation. We will consider individuals working in peripheral or commercial organisations associated with this sector (commercial gallery managers, trustees, environmental scientists, tourism officers and so on). We will consider non-professionals where the project has a strong practice-based element (such as a collection or heritage survey).