Doctoral Project Briefs

Falmouth University invites MPhil and PhD project proposals that align with and respond to the Doctoral Project briefs.

About Doctoral Project briefs

Doctoral Project briefs are prospective research calls devised by Falmouth University staff to indicate our priority areas of research interest for research degree applicants.

Each brief considers our overarching Research & Innovation strategy and has been subsequently designed to align with one, or more, of our Research & Innovation themes and the strategic aims of one, or more, of our Departments. It's expected that research MPhil and PhD applicants will emphasise the link between their proposed project idea and at least one of our Research & Innovation themes and programmes within their application.

Doctoral Project briefs are expressed in the form of challenges and have been designed to elicit a range of creative responses. In each case, it is imperative that applicants are able to demonstrate an imaginative, methodologically robust and independent response to the thematic area.

How to apply

Responding to a Doctoral Project brief is a straight-forward process, simply:

  • Check out the Doctoral Project briefs: we list them below so you can find the challenge you'd like to explore during your research PhD or MPhil.
  • Check out the Department aligned with the Project brief to understand the drivers behind the Project call.
  • Check out our Research & Innovation themes and strategy pages to understand the wider context of the Project briefs.
  • Check out our How to Apply for a research degree page for key dates, and to start your application.

Funding

We have a range of options to help you fund your research degree. Applicants responding to any of our Doctoral Project briefs are eligible to be considered for a Falmouth Doctoral Studentship or to make use of a Doctoral Loan.

List of project briefs

Creative Industries Futures

Three students sat at a table in a Graphic Design studio at Falmouth University
School Of Communication graphic design studio

Brand Ethics and Digital Communication Dynamics

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Brand Ethics and Digital Communication Dynamics
Student at mixing deck adjusting controls
Creative Music Technology_Main

Music Industry Futures: Sustainability, Innovation and Creative Economies

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Music Industry Futures: Sustainability, Innovation and Creative Economies
microphone and audio recording screen photo
Podcast recording

Futures of podcasting and audio journalism

We're looking for theoretical and and practice-based doctoral project proposals which explore produc...

Futures of podcasting and audio journalism

Dark Economies

Library shelves

Writing Sex in 21st Century Romantic Fictions

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Writing Sex in 21st Century Romantic Fictions
A group of students seated on sofas in a blue room with book cases and art on walls
Lighthouse school of communication students

Cosy Crime: Violent Death and Domestic Comfort From the Golden Age to the Present

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Cosy Crime: Violent Death and Domestic Comfort From the Golden Age to the Present
Barney Wilczak Restored Forest
Barney Wilczak- restored forest at dawn, Kenya.

Nature, Magic, and Myth: The Dark Arts in Cornish Writing

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Nature, Magic, and Myth: The Dark Arts in Cornish Writing

Design for Health and Wellbeing

Bafta Costume Design
Bafta Costume Design

Digital healthcare interfaces

This doctoral project develops on existing research that utilises 3D scanning technology to capture ...

Digital healthcare interfaces
Immersive Computing BSc(Hons)
Immersive Computing_2022

Chatbots for Students

This research will help provide an evidence-led approach to student support in higher education sett...

Chatbots for Students
Art student working in studio with large window on Falmouth campus and person walking past and looking in.
UG14 Page 023: Fine Art Studio
Art studio, Falmouth Campus

Re-thinking diagnosis: an artistic approach to diagnosis in mental health

The aim of this practice-led research project is to contribute to existing knowledge surrounding...

Re-thinking diagnosis: an artistic approach to diagnosis in mental health

Digital Creativity

Facilities: Penryn Campus 7
Academy for Innovation & Research, Penryn Campus

Immersive Broadcast

This doctoral-level research and development project proposes to explore approaches to digital event...

Immersive Broadcast

Digital Entrepreneurship and Financial Innovation​​​

Picturesque buildings on Falmouth High street.
Falmouth Town High Street

Investigating the success of SMEs in rural locations

This project builds upon existing staff research on the importance that SMEs contribute to the econo...

Investigating the success of SMEs in rural locations
Business Students Banner Image
Business Students Banner Image

Open innovation and the role of the entrepreneur to accomplish sustainable tourism.

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Open innovation and the role of the entrepreneur to accomplish sustainable tourism.

Environmental Futures

Falmouth University student immersed up to knees in river, bending down to view though camera on tripod.
BA(Hons) Marine & Natural History Photography 11
Photo by Adrian Brown

ENVIRO/PHOTO

Based within Falmouth’s Institute of Photography, but working with partners locally and globally, ...

ENVIRO/PHOTO

Inequality and Storytelling

BAIT story 1 - Mark Jenkin

Form and Fury

This project will contribute research into regional filmmaking in the UK, Celtic and ‘Small Nation...

Form and Fury
Student singing into microphone on stage and playing guitar
Popular Music - 2023

Sound and Voice as Strategy in Community and Culture

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Sound and Voice as Strategy in Community and Culture
Decolonising Dance doctoral project photo
Daniel Buda

De-colonising Dance: dance improvisation and identity politics on and off the screen

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

De-colonising Dance: dance improvisation and identity politics on and off the screen
Prospectus 2016 - BA(Hons) Acting

Diversifying UK actor training

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Diversifying UK actor training
Students in a stage fighting workshop in AMATA studio
Students in stage fighting workshop in AMATA studio
Stage fighting workshop

Relating to Others: Queering wellbeing for young people aged 14 - 18 through the lens of trauma-informed dance practice at the interface of arts and science

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Relating to Others: Queering wellbeing for young people aged 14 - 18 through the lens of trauma-informed dance practice at the interface of arts and science
Birds eye shot of the Games academy
Game Jam

Ludomancy: The Magic of Play

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Ludomancy: The Magic of Play
Man sat on the edge of cliff looking out to sun reflections on the water and coastline.
Living in Cornwall - sea, cliffs and man
Living in Cornwall

Remembered stories of a hidden Europe

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Remembered stories of a hidden Europe
Student wearing virtual reality headset with arms extended in front and images of hands and electricity bolts on screen next to him.
Games Academy virtual reality immersive computing hololens vr headset

How can we use augmented reality technology to offer empowerment and empathy experiences for diversity work in schools, organisations or gaming platforms?

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

How can we use augmented reality technology to offer empowerment and empathy experiences for diversity work in schools, organisations or gaming platforms?
A group of students can be seen through the gap in a rock
Mab Hudel Beach Shot 5

Volunteering, resource and the resilience of intangible cultural heritage

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Volunteering, resource and the resilience of intangible cultural heritage

Pedagogy Futures

Silhouettes of crew on set in red tent, supplies on metal shelves in background, paperwork strewn across the floor.
Film_Main_01

Imagining the future of UK film education in universities

This doctoral programme seeks to bring together pedagogical design for film education with a vital c...

Imagining the future of UK film education in universities
Facilities: Penryn Campus 2
Penryn Campus

Kernow Computes

This research will help provide an evidence-led approach to computing education in secondary-level s...

Kernow Computes
Art student working in studio with large window on Falmouth campus and person walking past and looking in.
UG14 Page 023: Fine Art Studio
Art studio, Falmouth Campus

Radical Spaces of Making

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Radical Spaces of Making