Cultural and Media Policy Studies News and Events

The University of Warwick and the University of Leeds have together secured one of only 10 prestigious Doctoral Focal Awards from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The Award will fund 20 PhD scholarships focused on the creative economy, with a specific emphasis on sustainability and diversity in the screen industries.

Led at Warwick by Dr David Wright, Director of Graduate Studies in the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies with Dr Sanjay Sharma (Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies) and overall by Professor Joanne Garde-Hansen, Head of the School of Media and Communication with Professor Anamik Saha (Professor of Race and Media) at Leeds, the Creative Bridges partnership will run from 2026 until 2033. It will train a new generation of interdisciplinary researcher-practitioners to work alongside – and within – the film, television, games and immersive media sectors.

The creative industries Policy Evidence Centre (PEC) have created a global network of research fellows. The network consists of "leading experts from diverse backgrounds, areas of specialism and parts of the globe. They facilitate knowledge exchange at Creative PEC through seminars, blogs and discussion papers and smaller thematic research networks." Dr Heidi Ashton from the Centre for Culture and Media Policy Studies was invited to join this prestigious group and is looking forward to working and learning with and from them: bringing that learning back to the centre and integrating it into her work with colleagues and students.

The AHRC-funded Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (M4C) brings together eight leading universities across the Midlands to support the professional and personal development of the next generation of arts and humanities doctoral researchers. M4C is a collaboration between the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, University of Warwick, Coventry University, University of Leicester, De Montfort University, Nottingham Trent University and The University of Nottingham.

The Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies is inviting applications from students whose research interests connect with our fields of expertise in cultural policy and the media and creative industries. You can read about our current research themes here
For full details of eligibility, funding, research supervision areas and CDA projects, and for dates of our November application writing workshops, please visit: https://www.midlands4cities.ac.uk/