STEP 1 – Check you are eligible.
To be eligible you should ideally have a first-class or at least a good upper second-class British Bachelors Honours degree (or equivalent) and either a Master’s degree with distinction or merit in any subject area OR equivalent creative industries professional experience, ideally in the film, television, gaming or immersive/digital media sectors in the UK or abroad.
STEP 2 – Draft your PhD proposal.
Take a look at the proposal requirements for the Project Studentship and the Themed Studentship. Draft your idea for what you would like to research and how it fits the criteria of Creative Bridges. You can use this when you approach your potential supervisor/s in the next step.
Themed Studentship proposal
For the Themed studentships you will need a research proposal outlining your planned project. Research proposals for Themed Studentship Applications will need to connect with one of the general themes below
a) Regional creative economies: regional and inclusive growth of the screen sector in the UK economy, for example: infrastructure, operations, transport, place-making, clusters and corridors, networks and support.
b) Screen sector freelancers :the precarity of the work, the diversity of the workers, the sustainability of that workforce, the support they need and the challenges/opportunities they face from automation and artificial intelligence
c) Diversity in the screen sector : policy and practice around race, ethnicity, gender, disability, class – how are these being addressed in screen production cultures
d) Sustainable screen production : policy and practice on greening production, computing power, energy, carbon, water, recycling, waste and the circular economy
We would expect proposals to be around 1,500 words in length and to contain: a working title of the project, a brief review of appropriate literature indicating your awareness of current debates, a statement of the aims of the research, an account of the methods, i.e. how it will be done and An indicative timeline.
Project Studentship Proposal
For the Project Studentship, based at Leeds, the supervisors are already in place, and you will not need to submit a Research Proposal as part of your application. In place of a Research Proposal for the Project Scholarship please can you submit a 500 word statement which conveys your motivation and enthusiasm for the Project, including your expectations of the partner’s role in your research.
STEP 2 – Find a supervisor ( or two)
We would encourage you to identify and contact potential supervisors as early as possible. It is sensible to discuss your application with potential supervisors. If you are applying for the Theme scholarships, they may be able to give feedback on your proposal in advance of application, and will be able to help in identifying co-supervision.
The Creative Bridges supervisory team can be found here
STEP 3 – Refine your proposal
Use any feedback from supervisors to shape your proposal into the format required for the studentship applications.
STEP 4 – Contact your referees
Applications for a place will require two referees. It would be advisable to contact your referees in plenty of time so that references have been received in time for the final submission deadline. You should make your referees aware that you are applying for a competitive UKRI scholarship as well as a place to study. Other requirements are slightly different depending on the scholarship route you are applying for.
STEP 5 – Apply for a place
Applications for a place will be done through the Admissions portals of the two universities. Please apply to the university you would like to study at and be living closest to.