The School brings together world-leading expertise in the visual arts and material culture, in film, television and media studies and in the literature, history, and culture of the United States, and the Atlantic and Pacific worlds.

Art History and World Art Studies is one of the leading centres in the world for the study of art and material culture and is the only institution in the UK concerned with the study of art worldwide.

Film, Television and Media is one of the longest established centres for film and television studies in the UK, internationally recognised as a pioneer in these fields. We have a thriving and active Postgraduate community with over 40 students currently working towards their PhD.

If you have a research proposal that you would like to discuss, or any questions about the postgraduate research that goes on here, please contact our Postgraduate Research Director, Dr Sarah Wade.

If you're interested in making an application for a PhD, we recommend you make contact with a supervisor to discuss your ideas. Please look at our staff and research pages for more information about expertise and specialism of our supervisors.

The interdisciplinary American Studies programme at UEA enjoys an international reputation. Our research areas encompass American studies, American literature and American history, with a focus on interdisciplinarity.

Our main research degree pathway is the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) which is taken over 3 years full-time (6 years part-time).

We offer both traditional research and creative-critical pathways on our PhD programme. 

We also offer Masters by Research which is taken over 2 years full-time (4 years part-time). 

Art

 A multidisciplinary community of art historians, archaeologists, anthropologists and museum professionals span research subjects from prehistory to the present. Our distinctive concerns include the study of art, material and visual culture, as well as cultural heritage. We welcome research applications in any of the areas represented by the faculty interests. Approaches may be established or innovative, with a focus on artefacts and/or theory.

Film, Television and Media

We are active in wide and varied fields of research, from film and television history to gender and post-feminism, national cinema studies (particularly British and Latin American), world cinemas and audience and reception studies. Our research output was described as producing work of ‘international excellence', that is ‘world leading' in the most recent UK government Research Assessment Exercise.

American Studies 

We have particular strengths in autobiography and biography; the historical and literary constructions of race, gender, sexuality and age as markers of difference; material culture; land, space and place in the American environment; post-colonialism; and visual culture. Please contact our Postgraduate Research Director, Dr Sarah Garland, for further information concerning specific expertise.

Art

We are located in the Sainsbury Centre. Designed by Norman Foster, under one roof, it provides a range of resources for our students, including the Robert Sainsbury Library, an extensive photographic collection, the renowned Sainsbury collection of art, dedicated student computing facilities, and relaxing light-filled communal areas which bring students and staff together in an informal environment.

We have active links with Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, and benefit from the thriving arts and culture scene in Norwich, which hosts the largest contemporary art festival outside London (Contemporary Art Norwich) and the annual Norwich and Norfolk Festival. Norwich has a number of museums, galleries and arts centres, including the Castle Museum and Art Gallery located in the city's Norman castle. The Norwich University College of the Arts is a leading educational centre for fine arts, design and media, with whom we have many links. And Norwich is home not only to the 12th-century cathedral but also to 36 medieval parish churches – more than any other city in northern Europe.

Film, Television and Media

We have a richly diverse and active research community of scholars from around the world including UK, USA, Central and South Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. We have a regular seminar series of talks and presentations that bring faculty and students together and provide students with supportive opportunities for presenting their work. We also hold thematic conferences each year organised through our Research Groups, involving PGR students in central planning, organisational and promotional roles.

Our students produce high quality, compelling research across a range of subject areas and students are encouraged and supported to attend conferences and other events relevant to their research and career development throughout their degrees. 

American Studies 

Our research base, the Arthur Miller Institute, promotes the study of American Studies throughout Europe and sponsors an annual prize for the best article published by a British scholar of American Studies. The Centre organises an annual International Literary Festival that brings major writers from around the world to UEA, including Arthur Miller, Norman Mailer, Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, Richard Ford, Toni Morrison, Stephen Fry, Germaine Greer, Seamus Heaney, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith and Jay McInerney.

We have a vibrant research community of scholars from the UK, USA and other countries, which regularly brings faculty and students together for seminars and social events. We also have long-established links to over 40 universities in the USA. Our research seminars allow visiting speakers and American Studies staff to present papers based on their research and provide a forum in which staff and Postgraduate students with varying perspectives on American Studies can come together. Research students are encouraged to present papers at a suitable point in their Postgraduate studies.

The School of Art, Media and American Studies (AMA) at the University of East Anglia is currently inviting applications to our PhD programme.

Applicants to our PhD programmes are eligible to apply for AHRC-funded CHASE studentships, and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities also offers eight PGR studentships each year. For information about these please consult the Arts and Humanities Graduate School page, which also outlines the training and support that PGRs receive as members of the Graduate School. 

American Visual Cultures

We see this as a broad and inclusive intellectual area that stresses the cross-disciplinary strengths of the School. Projects here could include aspects of American media, studies in America and the Americas, or issues around the trans-Atlantic. However, these are just indicative examples, and we would urge applicants to define and develop their relationship to American Visual Cultures in their proposals.

The School holds a wealth of expertise in Art History and World Art Studies; Film, Television, and Media; and American Studies. You may wish to consult our list of staff and their research interests for guidance on possible supervisory expertise.

Particular research strengths are in the following areas:

Art History

  • World Art
  • Techniques of Making
  • Material Histories
  • Museums, Exhibition and Heritage
  • Film, Television and Media
  • Feminist Media Studies
  • Media and Cultural Consumption
  • British Film and Television
  • Genre Studies
  • World and National Cinemas 
  • American Studies
  • Race, Gender, and Civil Liberties
  • Space, Place, and Environment
  • Popular and Avant-Garde Cultures
  • Transatlantic and Transpacific Studies

It's important that prospective applicants contact the School as a matter of urgency to start the application process, preferably no later than the end of November to ensure that you work with potential supervisors on developing your proposal prior to application.