The PhD programme offers flexible supervision between the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and the University of Nottingham (UK). Students will be registered at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, and graduates will be awarded a University of Nottingham (UK) degree, which is also recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Education. Depending on the proposed area of research, students may be required to spend part of their studies at the University of Nottingham (UK). Supervision between the campuses will be settled for each individual student.

Some possible (not exclusive) PhD supervision areas in the School of International Communications:

Disciplines/Fields

• Alternative media
• Carceral studies
• Critical education studies
• Cultural studies
• Discourse analysis (corpus-based, critical and multimodal)
• Ecomedia and environmental media
• Game studies
• Gender and sexuality studies
• Infrastructure studies
• Jewish studies
• Journalism studies
• Landscape studies
• Media and conflict studies
• Media management
• Media studies
• Platform studies
• Political communication
• Political economy of communication
• Postcolonial studies
• Science and technology studies
• Sound studies
• Southeast Asian studies

Topics

• AI and digital governance
• Blockchain and crypto culture
• Critical approaches to technology
• Cultural and media policy
• Data centres and disconnection
• Digital copyright
• Documentary
• Film genre
• Framing and strategic narratives
• Gender and sexuality
• Media arts
• Media, war and propaganda
• Nationalism
• Popular music
• Sensory ethnography
• Social movements
• Strategic communication and public diplomacy in China
• Sustainability
• Technology, communication and social change
• Trauma theory
• Weird and horror media

Postgraduate Research Director

To discuss your research proposal and possible application, please contact the PGR Director of the School – Dr Stephen Goulding at Stephen.Goulding@nottingham.edu.cn.

All enquiries should be routed through the PGR Director.

If you apply to a PhD programme, you will generally need to hold an honours degree at 2.1 and a masters at merit level or above in a relevant subject (or international equivalent). 

The following will be considered when making an offer:

1. academic performance during the undergraduate and postgraduate study
2. research papers published in international academic journals
3. quality of the research proposal
4. research potential and attitude
5. English proficiency  

关键日期

We welcome qualifying applications all year round. You may consider either a Spring or Autumn entry that better suits your study plan. To ensure you will be able to register on your desired date, please submit your application at least 3 months in advance.

2026-27 Academic year (for self-funded applicants)

如何申请

Our step-by-step guide contains everything you need to know about applying for postgraduate research.

学费

Tuition fees are adjusted annually and are set for each individual degree. Please follow the Gradaute School's fee information for details.

奖学金

The School awards a full PhD scholarship once a year. Note that competition for this scholarship is very strong and students are advised to explore additional external sources of funding. Please see the University's PhD scholarships pages for further information. 

Dear Prospective PGR Students,

Please ensure that your research proposal is prepared in accordance with the provided template for the PhD Programme in the School of International Communications. Adhering to this format will help streamline the evaluation process and ensure all necessary components are included. Please attach your CV and transcripts of your degree results along with the proposal and submit them to the PGR Director.

PGR Director

To discuss your research proposal and possible application, please contact Dr Vikrant Kishore at Vikrant.Kishore@nottingham.edu.cn