In Cambridge School of Art there exists a vibrant and growing community of researchers at PhD level. In the area of children's book illustration, the topics for these PhD research degrees 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.

Our Cambridge School of Art provides various research forums that accentuate the discursive and interdisciplinary nature of research, including several research clusters which hold regular seminars and informal presentations for postgraduate and research students, as well the Centre for Children's Book Studies. Click: www.anglia.ac.uk/ccbs

We have close links with a number of children's book publishers, Bologna Children's Book Fair, Kettle's Yard, and the University of Cambridge's Centre for Research into Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH), amongst other partnerships including those with international institutions.

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

Supervision and support

You will be allocated a supervisory team which will consist of a first and second supervisor, with additional members added if necessary.

Academic supervision is available in most areas of children's book illustration, with an emphasis on practice-based research and its contextualisation.

Facilities

Our programme has a range of excellent facilities including dedicated Illustration studios surrounding our Ruskin Gallery. Our Ruskin Gallery is a unique space showing a range of exhibitions including student shows and touring exhibitions of International standing.

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 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 film projects, conference organization, participation and presenting 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. In the area of children's book illustration, for example, you may participate in collaborative projects with our Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, and annual trips to the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

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

Martin Salisbury, Reader: Practice and Theory of Children's Book Illustration.

Pam Smy, Senior Lecturer: narrative drawing, history and contemporary use of black and white artwork, the lyrical and natural.

Mick Gowar, Senior Lecturer: Contextual studies, creative writing and images.

• 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.