In Cambridge School of Art there exists a vibrant and growing community of researchers at PhD level. In the area of fine art the topics for these PhD research programmes are linked to staff expertise together with student interests, and reflect the increasing potential of practice-based PhD studies. Informed by your particular discipline, you are asked to critically contextualise your work at a high level, clarify both the theoretical and practical research-based enquiries, and produce distinctive contributions to the research field.

Cambridge School of Art provides various research forums that accentuate the discursive and interdisciplinary nature of research, including the Fine Art Research Unit (FARU), click: www.anglia.ac.uk/faru, which holds regular seminars and informal presentations for postgraduate and research students and the Cultures of the Digital Economy Research Institute (CoDE), click: www.anglia.ac.uk/code

Work-in-progress can be presented at the FARU sessions, together with staff-led papers and discussions on current research and related topics. Strong links with institutions in the UK and abroad include: Kettle's Yard, Cambridge; Cambridge Film Consortium and Arts Picturehouse; Tate Britain and Modern, London; Camberwell College of Art; Central St Martins, London; ERBA Valence; and ENSA Bourges, France.

Various exhibition and conference opportunities are available to our PhD students studying in the fine art area, and participation in such opportunities is strongly encouraged. These subject-specific aspects of our research programme are enhanced and augmented by our University-wide research and training sessions.

Supervision and support

You will be allocated two supervisors, with additional members added if necessary.

Academic supervision is available in most areas of contemporary fine art, with emphasis on: recent issues in painting and the expanded field of contemporary practice; objects, installation and the virtual: examining transitions and tensions between the physical object, exhibition space, moving image and concepts of virtuality; and interdisciplinary work with sound and video.

Facilities

We have a range of excellent facilities, including studios and multimedia suites and equipment. Our research students also have access to our outstanding library resources, as well as access to the Cambridge University Library, Kettle's Yard and other resources.

Funding

There are a number of ways in which you can obtain external funding for doctoral research, from the full-time awards granted by the AHRC (Arts & Humanities Research Council) to smaller grants available from a range of grant-awarding bodies. Our programme periodically offers fully-funded and fees-only fellowships, and from time to time, Departmental bursaries are awarded to candidates showing exceptional potential. In addition to these, our programme has a Postgraduate Fund to which students can apply for help with travelling expenses, conference fees, and other research needs. We offer advice on external and internal funding to any interested prospective candidates for our PhD degree.

Career development and training

We are committed to offering training and career development opportunities for all research students.
You will be encouraged to be involved in external activities such as exhibiting, curating, and conference organisation and papers. In conjunction with University research support, specific support is provided for writing-up, conference papers, general research methods etc., on a case-by-case basis.

We welcome proposals from students wishing to work in the fields of fine art practice. Below is a list of current staff within fine art and their research specialisms:

David Ryan
Current research includes abstraction and indeterminacy in painting and music, and the relationship of sound and image in recent video work.

Martin Salisbury
Children's book illustration, painting for exhibition, the study of theory and practice in illustration

Will Hill
Typography and graphic design, use of visual language, design of experimental display typefaces and revivals and historic references in type design.

Paul Marris
Film, narrative and sociological and interpretative methodologies.

Benet Spencer
Contemporary attitudes in painting; relation of painting to architectural practices.

Robert Holyhead
Recent abstract painting; relationship of painting to exhibition practices and installation.

Each of these staff have published and exhibited nationally and internationally. Recent publications include: La Peinure Presque Abstraite (Arles 2009); Rob Holyhead paintings (Riding House 2009), Ashgate Research Companion to Experimental Music (2009); Reconstructing the Old House Catalogue (2009). Exhibitions include Rob Holyhead, Karsten Schubert, London; David Ryan in De la Warr pavilion, Bexhill (2010) 'Crossing Abstraction' Kunstraum Bethianen, Berlin (2009), and Benet Spencer in Reconstructing the Old House, Nunnery gallery, London (2009).

• MPhil: Candidates must hold a BA or equivalent in a related subject area.
• PhD: Candidates should normally hold an MA or equivalent in a related area subject area.
• For candidates whose first language is not English, a minimum IELTS score of 7 or equivalent is required with a minimum score of 6.5 achieved in each of the four language skills. We welcome applications from EU and international students.