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

Brand Ethics and Digital Communication Dynamics
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Music Industry Futures: Sustainability, Innovation and Creative Economies
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Futures of podcasting and audio journalism
We're looking for theoretical and and practice-based doctoral project proposals which explore produc...
Dark Economies

Writing Sex in 21st Century Romantic Fictions
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
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Nature, Magic, and Myth: The Dark Arts in Cornish Writing
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...
Design for Health and Wellbeing

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

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

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...
Digital Creativity

Immersive Broadcast
This doctoral-level research and development project proposes to explore approaches to digital event...
Digital Entrepreneurship and Financial Innovation

Investigating the success of SMEs in rural locations
This project builds upon existing staff research on the importance that SMEs contribute to the econo...

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...
Environmental Futures

ENVIRO/PHOTO
Based within Falmouth’s Institute of Photography, but working with partners locally and globally, ...
Inequality and Storytelling

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

Sound and Voice as Strategy in Community and Culture
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
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Diversifying UK actor training
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
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Ludomancy: The Magic of Play
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Remembered stories of a hidden Europe
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?
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...

Volunteering, resource and the resilience of intangible cultural heritage
This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research inte...
Pedagogy Futures

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...

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

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