MPhil/PhD Media and Communications

Application information

Application Code: P4ZM
Duration: 3-4 years full-time
Student offers/applications in 2009: 15/47
Financial Support: See Financial Support Office
Likely Fees in 2009/10: Full-time: Home/EU - £3,390 overseas - £12,588

For fuller details, download a copy of the Department of Media and Communications Doctoral Programme Handbook.

Introduction

Media and communications research is developing rapidly, both theoretically and methodologically, in keeping with the vast expansion in the penetration, technological diversity and social significance of the media globally. Media and communications research is essentially interdisciplinary, drawing on the theories and methods of a range of social science disciplines as they apply to the media, both old and new.

The mission of the Department of Media and Communications is to provide the highest quality graduate education and research training in media and communications and to undertake original interdisciplinary social science research in the field, emphasising in particular the relationship between media, technology and social change.

The Doctoral Programme offers research students the opportunity to develop their research skills and ideas in a global centre of excellence in media and communications research.

Application details

Entrance requirements for the programme are as follows. Normally, you should possess a high level of pass in an appropriate Masters degree, together with at least an upper second class honours degree in an appropriate subject from a UK university or its equivalent elsewhere.

The criteria for selection include:

the candidate's past educational background (both its subject matter and standard)
the degree of support expressed in the references provided
the appropriateness of the proposed research topic for supervision by members of the School
the availability of a member of staff with appropriate expertise to supervise the proposed research
the degree of precision, motivation for and insight of the research proposal (see below), as well as its implications (theoretical, empirical and practical).

Applications are handled by Graduate Admissions. They will provide an application form and other information, and these should be returned directly to them and not to the Department of Media and Communications.

The Department of Media and Communications requires the submission of a 2000 - 3000 word essay summarising and justifying the research proposed, to be attached to your formal application.

Informal enquiries prior to formal application are encouraged. These may be made by sending an email with CV and preliminary research proposal to media@lse.ac.uk or directly to the most appropriate member of the the Department of Media and Communications faculty

Formal applications should normally be submitted by 1 May in the year in which students wish to enter the School.

Please note that, unlike students on some LSE research programmes, Media research students may normally begin their studies only in October each year. This is mainly because the taught courses required for first year students begin each October.

Please note that each year the Department of Media and Communications receives many more applications than there are available places and inevitably candidates of high intellectual capability and promise very often fail to obtain a place.

Required courses

Students are normally required to attend in both first and second years of study, MC500 Research Seminar for Media, Communications and Culture. They will also normally be required to attend and pass in the first year at least one full unit of advanced research methods training, either MC4M2 Advanced Methods of Research in Media and Communications (one unit) or MC4M1 Methods of Research in Media and Communications 1(0.5 unit) , in conjunction with an appropriate 0.5 unit course taught by the Methodology Institute (chosen after consultation with their supervisor and with the approval of the PhD programme director). Students without the requisite background in media and communications theory will be required, in addition, to attend and pass (by coursework only) MC408/MC418 Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications. Students are encouraged to attend other graduate seminars and courses relevant to the subject of their research in their first and subsequent years.

Evaluation and progress

Students will be required to submit a full Thesis Proposal of 10,000 words to their Thesis Committee by 1 June in their first year (Part-time students can submit their Proposal by 1 March in their second year. This paper will include a substantive statement of the aims, theories and methods proposed for the thesis, a tentative chapter outline, an indicative bibliography and a timetable for its completion. Together with the Methods (MC4M1/2/3) and Theories & Concepts (MC408/418) examinations, this paper will form part of the evaluation process, and, together with an oral examination based on the Thesis Proposal, will determine whether students are permitted to upgrade from MPhil to PhD and continue into their second year.

All students will be expected to complete their PhD within 3 years or the equivalent for part-time students.

Supervision

Students are assigned by the Research Tutor to a supervisor with requisite knowledge in the student's chosen field. The supervisor is normally a member of the Media@lse faculty. Some students may be supervised jointly by two members of the Media faculty or by one member of the Media faculty and a supervisor from another Department, Institute or Programme.

Each student will be assigned a Thesis Committee consisting of a Chair who is not normally their supervisor, their supervisor and one other. This Committee will act as the review panel at the end of the first year of registration and in the decision to upgrade a student from MPhil to PhD. The Thesis Committee remains responsible for over-viewing the student's progress in subsequent years.

Current PhD students

See the list of current PhD students

How to apply

For full details see How to apply. Please also note section above on Application Details.

Financial support

For 2008 entry, the School is offering 20 full scholarships for new PhD students. The scholarships cover fees, plus living expenses of £13,000, each year for three years. NB in order to be considered for these scholarships, students must have secured a place on the PhD programme by mid February 2009, in time for submission to LSE Scholarships panel. For more details, click here.

The Department of Media and Communications Doctoral programme is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for the award of +3 studentships to Home and EU applicants, and our three Research-Track MSc programmes are recognised for the ESRC 1+3 scheme. Those intending to seek ESRC support must have applied to the PhD programme (or MSc programme in the case of 1+3) and secured a place by mid February 2009.

(Please note that the department can only consider applications to our programmes on a 1+3 basis from Home/EU students who are also applying for an ESRC 1+3 studentship)

LSE also provides Research Studentship support at the department level. All successful applicants to the PhD programme will be invited to apply for an LSE Research Studentship – deadline 11 June 2010. In 2009 the department made 17 awards ranging from £1,000 to £6,000 and expects to make a similar number of awards in 2010.

For more information on the above and more awards and scholarships, see LSE Financial Support Office.

There is intense competition for all forms of financial support and MPhil/PhD applicants are urged to begin exploring all possible sources of funding internationally and in their own countries, as early as possible.

More information

For more information, consult Graduate Admissions

This page was last updated on 03 December 2009