School of Humanities and Cultural Industries

Bath Spa University is offering up to ten full-time PhD / MPhil fee waiver studentships starting in the academic year 2013/14. Up to 5 studentships are available for practice based and practice led PhD / MPhil awards and up to 5 studentships are available for interdisciplinary PhD / MPhil awards across more than one subject area. These are all linked to the university's areas of research strength in creativity, culture and enterprise.

A fee-waiver studentship provides:

A full tuition and registration fee waiver
An allowance of £1,800, which may be used across the period of the studentship, to support research needs such as specialist training, equipment or conference attendance
Opportunities to develop teaching skills by participating in Bath Spa's CPLHE course, leading to HEA accreditation

The application deadline is 1 July, 2013, with interviews conducted on 24 July, 2013, for an enrolment date of 1 October, 2013.

Digital Writing and Games Writing
Projects can be supported in creative computing, games writing, digital writing and digital humanities.

Potential supervisors include:
• Andrew Hugill
• Naomi Alderman
• Kate Pullinger
• Ian Gadd

Find out more – contact Professor Kate Pullinger

Cultural Entrepreneurship (Media/Sociology)

You will explore connections between cultural entrepreneurship and the regional and local contexts within which it is forged and grows. The importance of space and place to understanding the creative industries has been the focus of substantial interest and research from academics (Florida; Luckman; Peck; Pratt) and government and policy (British Council; DCMS; NESTA; Skillset). From the City of Culture programmes to the Cultural Olympiad, cities and regions are quick to celebrate their cultural heritage, special talents and unique opportunities. Indeed, a key aspect of recent urban development linked to the creative industries is to explicitly design and create environments to foster creative industries entrepreneurial activity.

This proposal will contribute to research and evidence in this arena by unpacking and exploring the specifics of place and location. Specifically, this project will focus on the South West and the cities of Bath and Bristol. Whilst both have strong and diverse creative economies, historically and culturally these cities reveal a distance that surpasses their geographical closeness. By examining two geographically close but culturally distinctive cities, this proposal is an opportunity to examine the range of factors which inform how and why creative industries and cultural entrepreneurs locate themselves and connect with their immediate networks and communities.

Supervisors: Dan Ashton and Ranji Devadason
Contact: Dan Ashton