PhD Scholarship Call 2025 – School of Communications, DCU

The School of Communications at DCU is home to almost 1,000 students at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD levels. With a tradition stretching back more than 40 years, the School is defined by excellence in both teaching and research in communication, journalism and multimedia studies.

The School’s academics undertake research that contributes to national and international debates and public policy formation. They also lead research projects supported by national and international funders. This cutting-edge research is across a range of (inter)disciplinary fields including (new) media studies, media history, journalism studies, science communication, political communication, social media studies, film and television studies, music industry studies, advertising, and cultural studies. In the past five years, the School has supported approximately 40 doctoral students to achieve PhD awards through this scheme.

Scholarship holders are required to contribute to the academic life of the school and are assigned paid tutoring duties as part of their career development. 

For the two funded PhD scholarships across a four-year duration, we invite applications in the following thematic areas:

Thematic Areas

In this call, we invite applications in the following thematic areas:

Identities and Cultural Production in the Digital Age. 

Fellowships in this area will engage with questions of identities (national, non-national, transnational, sub-national, gender-centric, and/or indigeneity-based), cultural production, and their intersections with society and digital technologies. Proposals should demonstrate the candidate’s potential to engage with the topic from a critical perspective and take advantage of interdisciplinary approaches. Possible research topics include (i) the formation, creation, and re-formation of collective identities via cultural production with digital technologies, (ii) comparative analysis of digital cultural production and its functions in the shaping of collective identities across contexts, (iii) entanglements of digital media technologies with identitarian conflicts centred on radical, alternative and resistant identities.

Ideally, candidates should be holders of Masters degrees in a relevant field from a degree programme. Practice-based doctoral projects are eligible. Industry experience and working knowledge of cultural production are desirable. For further information contact Dr. Andreas Rauh (andreas.rauh@dcu.ie) and Dr. Saumava Mitra (saumava.mitra@dcu.ie).

Hybrid Sounds, Digital Shifts & Global Music Economies. 

Fellowships in this area might examine: the historic evolution and contemporary dynamics of global music industry infrastructure, with a particular focus on how institutional power relations and organisational structures have shaped the interplay between local and global music markets; the complex relationship between cultural forces and market mechanisms in the global adoption and commercialisation of musical genres,  exploring how technology and hybrid sounds mediate between tradition and innovation across emerging economies and diverse cultural contexts; how digital technologies have transformed traditional music industry paradigms, market dynamics, and cultural practices across different geographical and temporal contexts, especially in relation to new forms of musical originality and cultural fusion; the evolving roles of industry intermediaries and cultural tastemakers - from traditional gatekeepers to digital curators and algorithmic recommendation systems - in shaping both commercial responses to hybrid musical forms and broader patterns of music discovery and consumption. Such projects will contribute to our understanding of structure and agency in music culture; how technological, cultural, and economic forces intersect to shape music industry development, distribution networks, and consumption patterns on both local and global scales, and how the industry itself responds (or responded) to emerging 'neo-tribes' and changing tastes. For further information, please contact Dr. Pádraig Murphy (padraig.murphy@dcu.ie) and Dr. Jim Rogers (jim.rogers@dcu.ie)

How to apply

Candidates can apply to only one of the two thematic areas listed above and should clearly indicate which area their application addresses. If candidates have applied (or are going to apply) for other scholarships at DCU, this must be clearly stated in their emails to the potential supervisors. Where candidates apply for more that one thematic area their applications are not considered. 

NB. Applicants must contact the relevant supervisors prior to submitting an application. Two co-supervisors are indicated at the end of the description of each topic area. Candidates are invited to contact both co-supervisors for the thematic area of choice as soon as possible. Applications submitted without prior contact with listed supervisors may be disqualified. 

Applicants are invited to submit:

• A 2,000-word research proposal 

• A brief CV detailing academic qualifications and professional experience to date.

• A personal statement (personal statement guidelines are provided here: https://www.dcu.ie/registry/personal-statement-guidelines

   

Indicative components of the research proposal are: 

1. a preliminary literature review, locating the work in the appropriate field(s); 

2. clearly defined research questions; 

3. proposed methodology (please be specific on the methods you plan to apply); 

4. indicative contribution of the research to disciplinary knowledge; 

5. a bibliography (not included in the word count).

NB. All applications should be submitted to Ms. Eileen Myers, Secretary, School of Communications, DCU (commsschooloffice@dcu.ie), clearly indicating the thematic area under which they are applying and the names of the two co-supervisors associated with the topic area.

Closing date for applications:  31 March 2025. 

Eligibility

Applicants must: 

• Hold a relevant undergraduate degree at 2.1 or first-class honours level (or equivalent). Ideally, they should also hold a relevant Masters qualification. Candidates who are currently completing a Masters qualification are welcome to apply. 

• Meet, where relevant, the English language requirements for non-native speakers of English.

DCU Entry Requirements apply, which are detailed here

Criteria for assessment and next steps

The initial assessment of the proposal is based on the criteria below: 

1. Quality of the research proposal (strong research question, relevant literature / theoretical frameworks, etc.) 

2. Merit of the proposed research methodology

3. Compatibility of proposed topic/field of scholarship with the thematic areas defined above

4. Suitability for research student teaching and related professional development

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to conduct an interview (either in person or online) to discuss their research proposal, academic and professional background and achievements, and their motivations to undertake PhD level research at DCU. The interviews will take place in the second half of April/beginning of May 2025. 

Criteria to assess the interviews include: 

1. Knowledge of topic / ability to speak competently to proposal 

2. Communication skills 

3. Prior publications / conference contributions and commitment to publish during 

studies 

4. Suitability for research student teaching and related professional; development 

5. Professional experience / ability to complete projects / meet deadlines; 

6. Motivation for taking on the challenge of a PhD project and awareness of what is involved. 

Successful candidates then will be required to apply formally to be admitted as PhD scholars, and may also need to show proficiency in the English language. Successful candidates will begin their studies in September 2025 and are required to be normally resident in Dublin for the duration of their studies.

Further information

For the scholarship details and fees please consult the FHSS scholarship policy, which is linked here.

General information on making a Postgraduate Research application is available from the Graduate Studies Office.