Overview
Ulster University pioneered the development of Communication and Media Studies in higher education, introducing one of the first communication and media studies degrees in the UK and Ireland in 1978. For over forty years Ulster scholars of Media and Communication have been at the forefront of pioneering research-led learning in the field and have played a significant and direct role in establishing the first RAE panel in the subject in the mid 1990s, as well as in subsequent research exercises in the 2000s. In 2003, our researchers were awarded a £3.1 million grant from SPUR (Support Programme for University Research) to set up the Centre For Media Research (CMR) and, since 2016, all research across media and communication at Ulster is conducted through the CMR, located within the School of Communication and Media. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), we ranked as the tenth best research department in the UK. In the 2014 REF, the research profile for Media Studies shows that 60% of all work has been judged as being of 'international excellence'; within this proportion, 21% is judged as having the highest accolade: 'world leading'. The unit also scored highly in the Impact section of the REF, with 100% of its impact case studies scored at 4*/3*.
Summary
Looking forward to REF 2021 and beyond, The Centre For Media Research at Ulster is supporting and developing the work of a new generation of researchers in the following areas of activity:
1) emerging media, pedagogy and creative industries (supervisors: Adrian Hickey, Alan Hook, Helen Jackson, Colm Murphy).
2) critical, cultural and political theory, media policy and political communication (supervisors: Richard Ekins, Robert Porter, Phil Ramsey,)
3) the politics of the image in Ireland and beyond (supervisors: Steve Baker, Gail Baylis, Sarah Edge, Jolene Mairs-Dyer).
4) health communication, organisational communication, inter-personal communication, PR/Lobbying and marketing (supervisors: Noreen Giffney, Maggie Long, Aodheen McCartan, Kerry-Ann Porter)
We welcome applications from prospective applicants working in and across any of these areas.
About
Facilities:
In order to support our internationally excellent and world leading research PhD candidates will have access to a range of high end production facilities and industry level equipment. PhD Researchers have access to both broadcast and black box television studios across the campuses, industry standard production equipment for film and televisual content (4K cameras, field recorders, lighting kits, outside broadcast equipment), immersive content (high spec edit suites, 360 cameras, VR Headsets), audio (sound studios, portable audio recording equipment) and access to high end edit and production computer equipment as well as the full Adobe CC suite.