PhD IN FILM AND SCREEN MEDIA

CKH37 PhD (Arts) Film and Screen Media (Full-Time)
CKH38 PhD (Arts) Film and Screen Media (Part-Time)

To be eligible for consideration to enter on a programme of study and research for the Degree of PhD in Film and Screen Media, a candidate must normally have obtained a standard of at least Second Class Honours, Grade I, in a relevant Master's degree such as Film Studies, Communications/Media, Art History, Creative Writing, English Literature, Modern Languages/Cultures, or History.

The PhD in Film and Screen Media is based on a programme of study and research whose main focus is the writing of a major dissertation of no more than 80,000 words. Candidates will pursue a course of research, study and personal and professional development as prescribed by their Supervisor(s). PhD candidates undertake an equivalent student workload of 90 ECTS credits for each calendar year of full-time research, or proportional equivalent for part-time students. Students will complete a minimum of 270 credits (3 years, full-time) and a maximum of 360 credits, for consideration for the award of PhD.

PhD IN FILM AND SCREEN MEDIA (CREATIVE PRACTICE)

CKH95    PhD (Arts) Film and Screen Media (Creative Practice) (Full-Time)
CKH96    PhD (Arts) Film and Screen Media (Creative Practice) (Part-Time)

To be eligible for consideration to enter on a programme of study and research for the Degree of PhD in Film and Screen Media (Creative Practice), a candidate must normally have obtained a standard of at least Second Class Honours, Grade I, in a relevant Master's degree such as Film Studies, Communications/Media, Art History, Creative Writing, English Literature, Modern Languages/Cultures, or History. Candidates with a Second Class Honours, Grade 1 in a relevant primary degree and evidence of advanced creative experience will also be considered. This should constitute a substantial portfolio of relevant creative film or video work, of at least five years duration.

The PhD in Film and Screen Media (Creative Practice) has two components: practical and critical. The relationship between these components will depend on individual research choices and should be addressed as part of the overall dissertation. The first and main focus of the PhD will be a body of practice-based work designed for exhibition. This may consist of a substantial, original, high quality film or of a coherent portfolio of practical film and screen media work. The second part of the PhD will consist of a critical discussion, based on a body of critical reading and reflection, exploring ideas, themes, and concepts that have a relationship with the creative work being undertaken. This should be written in tandem with the creative practice. The choice of form for this part of the thesis will be at the discretion of the candidate, in consultation with the supervisor. Possibilities include explicit reflection on the creative process or the academic thesis. Normally, this part of the PhD will account for 40,000 words.

HOW TO APPLY

Students register through UCC's application system.

Applications are accepted throughout the year. Prospective students are advised to complete their applications at least two months in advance of their desired start date, as applications must go through different stages of approval. The four start dates during the year are: January, April, July, and September/October. A schedule for applications’ approval is available here.

Before making an application, candidates are advised to contact one of our staff with expertise in their proposed area of research who may be willing to act as their supervisor. Please note that we can only give consideration to applications that can be matched to one of our areas of expertise. For information on staff and their research interests, see the profiles of our permanent faculty in our People section and at these links: Dr Ciara Chambers; Dr Abigail Keating; Dr Barry Monahan; Dan O'Connell; Prof. Laura Rascaroli; Dr Gwenda Young.

Candidates may be asked by the potential supervisor to fill in a PhD Research Project Proposal Form, which can be downloaded here: FMT Doctoral Research Project Proposal Form.

Information on funding for postgraduate studies at UCC is available here. Further information on the PhD at UCC can be found at this link. Information on the FMT Doctoral School is online here.

Candidates may also approach the Department of Film and Screen Media’s PhD Studies Coordinator, Dr Barry Monahan (b.monahan@ucc.ie), with general queries. 

OUR GRADUATES

OUR GRADUATES

Visit our Graduate Students section to see what our current doctoral candidates are working on.

Below is a list of completed research dissertations that have been supervised by our Staff:

MPhil

• Aoife Deasy, ‘Drawn Only On Herself: Joan Crawford as Melodramatic Star’. Supervisor: Dr Gwenda Young (Completed 2009).

• Ruairi O’Kelly, ‘Male spectatorship and the image woman: An approach to screening the woman from the point of view of masochism and voyeurism’. Supervisor: Dr Gwenda Young (Completed 2002).

• Maeveen Murray, ‘Conflict, Nostalgia and Disillusion: Images of the Sixties and Seventies in Italian Cinema of the Subsequent Decades’, Supervisor: Dr Laura Rascaroli (Completed 2001).

PhD

• Michael Holly, ‘Performative Feedback Filmmaking: Participatory Documentary and Creative Self-Representation in the Community.’ Supervisor: Professor Laura Rascaroli. Funding: Irish Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship. (Completed 2023).
  
• Humberto Saldanha, ‘The Cosmopolitanism of Contemporary Global Cinema: Strategies of Internationalisation in Brazilian Cinema Today.’ Supervisor: Professor Laura Rascaroli. Funding: Irish Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship. (Completed 2022).
  
• Caroline Schroeter. 'The Medi(atis)ation of the Slave Experience: A Journey from Page to Screen'. Co-Supervision by Prof. Lee Jenkins (Dept. of English) and Dr. Gwenda Young (Dept. of Film and Screen Media) (Completed 2019).
  
• Loretta Goff. 'Hyphenating Ireland and America: Examining the Construction of Contemporary Hybrid Identities in Film and Screen Media'. Supervisor: Dr Barry Monahan. (Completed 2019).
  
• Chen Yuanyuan, 'Rhythm in Experimental Chinese and European Animation: A Comparative Study' Supervisor: Prof. Laura Rascaroli; Funding: China-Ireland Scholarship (Completed 2015).
  
• Ian Murphy, "Corporeal Prisons: Dynamics of Body and Mise-en-scène in Three Films by Paul Schrader". Supervisor: Dr Gwenda Young, School of English (Completed Spring 2015).
  
• Abigail Keating, 'Locating the Transnational: Representations and Aesthetics of the City in Contemporary European Cinemas'. Supervisor: Dr Laura Rascaroli (Completed 2014).
  
• Niall Heffernan, "Scientism and Instrumentalism after The Bomb: Dr Strangelove, End zone, and The Wire". Supervisors: Dr Alan Gibbs, Dr Gwenda Young (Completed 2014).
  
• Jill Murphy, ‘ Hoc est enim corpus meum: Christian Art and Passion Iconography in the Work of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Jean-Luc Godard ’, Supervisor: Laura Rascaroli (Completed 2012).
  
• Aidan Power, ‘Continental Drifts: Travel and Transition in Post-National European Cinema’. Supervisor: Dr Laura Rascaroli (Completed 2011).
  
• Sarah May O’Sullivan, ‘‘Versions of the Masculine: A Comparative Analysis of Masculinity in Contemporary Canadian and Mexican Cinema’, Co-Supervisors: Dr Gwenda Young, Dept of English and Prof. Nuala Finnegan, Dept of Hispanic Studies (completed 2011, graduated 2012).
  
• Stefano Odorico, ‘Semiotics and (non)fiction. A semio-pragmatic analysis of documentary cinema’, President’s PhD Scholarship, 2006-2007; IRCHSS, 2008-2009. Supervisor: Dr Laura Rascaroli (Completed 2010).
  
• Marian Hurley, ‘Reworking the Neorealist Myths: Resistance Identities in Italian Cinema’. Supervisor: Dr Laura Rascaroli (Completed 2009).
  
• Stefano Baschiera: ‘Pasolini, Bertolucci, Bellocchio: Reframing Space in Italian New Wave Cinema’, Arts Faculty PhD Special Award, 2004-2005; President’s PhD Scholarship, 2005-2006; Arts Faculty PhD Scholarship, 2005-2006. Supervisor: Laura Rascaroli (Completed 2009).
  
• Deborah Mellamphy, ‘Gender, performance and transgression in the Depp/Burton films’. Supervisor: Dr Gwenda Young, Dept of English (Completed 2009).
  
• Nicole Sigl, ‘Identity in Recent Mexican and Quebecois Cinema’. Co-Supervisors: Dr. Maeve Conrick, Dept of French and Prof. Nuala Finnegan, Dept of Hispanic Studies (Completed 2008).
  
• Orla Borreye, ‘Invisible Prisons: Identity and Performance in Recent Mexican Cinema’. Arts Faculty PhD Scholarship, 2006-2007. Supervisor: Prof. Nuala Finnegan, Dept of Hispanic Studies (Completed 2008).