Birmingham Institute of Art and Design: Research

BIAD DOCTORAL AWARD 2010/11

We have one BIAD Doctoral Studentships award available for October 2010 start.

Applications are sought which align with our areas of research strength in: Art History and Theory, Architecture, Design, Fine Art, Jewellery, Landscape Architecture, Photography and Visual Communication.

Further details on research interests and areas of supervisory strength can be found here.

Doctoral

BIAD Doctoral Awards provide support for up to three years of full-time study leading to a doctoral degree. A full award includes tuition fees and a maintenance grant. The maintenance grant will meet the National Minimum Doctoral Stipend level set by the UK Research Councils. The full-time maintenance stipend level for 2009/10 for Doctoral Awards was £13,290 p.a.

Eligibility

BIAD Studentships are open to UK, EU and International applicants. However, fees are only funded at standard UK/EU rates. International applicants will therefore need to fund the difference between UK/EU fees (£3390 p.a. – 2009/10) and International fees (£8950 p.a. – 2009/10). In exceptional circumstances, or for outstanding International applicants, the Faculty may use its discretion to offer a further fee waiver to make up this difference. (The maintenance grant is the same for all students).

Applicants must have gained an undergraduate degree from a recognised university, or be a current undergraduate expecting to graduate before 31 July 2010. Those applying for a doctoral award should normally have, or be studying for a Master's degree.

If you are unsure about eligibility please contact us prior to submitting your application.

HOW TO APPLY

Students who wish to apply are strongly advised to contact the potential supervisor before submitting an application. This is particularly important for doctoral applications. If you do not know who this is, please email your enquiry to the address below and you will be put in touch with the appropriate person.

Doctoral applications will need to contain the following:

A completed application form.
These can be downloaded here (BIAD Doctoral Application Form). The form requires you to compose an outline proposal, the content of which is described below. (Please note there is a strict limit of 1000 words. The number of words used must be provided. Please use a font size no smaller than 10 point.) Please append any supporting documents to the application (e.g. transcripts of degree results).
Supporting visual material.
Where appropriate you may supply additional visual material (up to 1-2 pages scanned and captioned images).
Two letters of support from academic referees.
These should be from individuals who are in a position to assess your potential to undertake higher degree research and offer a provisional view of the promise of your outline proposal. You should provide your referees with copies of your application form, including the outline proposal and any supporting documents, and ask them to complete the following reference form (BIAD Doctoral Reference Form) and return it by email or post to the BIAD Research Office at the address below by 12 April 2010.

Outline Proposal

This is a key document in assessing your application. In preparing this statement you should consider the following (you may wish to use these as subheadings):

Your reasons and purposes for undertaking this project
1. Key areas/issues of the project, and why you wish to pursue this research;
2. How the proposed work relates to what you have studied already;
3. How the doctoral research relates to your eventual career aims.
Your research project
1. A working title
2. The research problems or questions you intend to address;
3. The research context in which those problems or questions are located;
4. The particular contribution to knowledge and understanding in this area that you hope to make, explaining why the work is important;
5. The methods and critical approaches that you plan to use;
6. Any ethical issues relating to the research project;
7. How the project will develop or how you will structure the work over the period of the award.
Preparation and previous experience
1. A brief indication of any previous experience or preparation that is relevant to your proposed research project (e.g. aspects of your Master’s study, additional degrees, qualifications, training or relevant skills);
2. For practice-led subjects, you should include details of relevant professional experience.

Students wishing to be considered for a BIAD studentship must submit their application as an email attachment (word or PDF) or by post to the BIAD Research Office at the email/address given below no later than 4.00pm on Monday 12 April 2010.

The Selection Process

All applications will be assessed by a Panel consisting of Research Supervisors in the relevant subject areas. The panel will evaluate the applications against the following criteria:

Quality and preparedness of the applicant – taking into account prior academic performance, and, if relevant, professional experience, and the extent to which the applicant’s academic studies and/or professional experience prepare the applicant for the proposed project or programme.
The proposed project or programme of study – taking into account the intrinsic quality, coherence and feasibility of the project or programme, the merits of the applicant’s intellectual and/or professional goals, and, in the case of doctoral applicants, the potential contribution to knowledge.
The alignment with our strengths and priorities – taking into account: a) how well the applicant’s research/professional goals fit with our course and/or research training provision and strategic priorities; and b) the specific support available to the applicant, in terms of supervision and teaching, subject-specific training opportunities, and library and other appropriate resources.

Following the application deadline, the Panel will shortlist applicants to be invited for interview. The dates for these have been set as follows:

Week beginning 10 May 2010

All applicants should ensure they are available to be invited for interview. We regret that we will unable to consider applications where the candidate is not able to attend for interview. A final list of successful applicants for nomination will be identified following the interviews.

Timetable:
12 April (4.00pm) – Deadline for Applications
Late April – Short-listing
w.b. 10 May – Interviews for Short-listed Doctoral Applicants
Mid-late May – Applicants informed of outcomes

ENQUIRIES

Please direct all enquiries in the first instance to the BIAD Research Office.

Research Office
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
Birmingham City University
Gosta Green
Birmingham
B4 7DX

Tel. 0121 331 7824/7850
Fax. 0121 331 7824
Email: biadresearch@bcu.ac.uk

This information and downloadable application and referee forms can be found online at: http://www.biad.bcu.ac.uk/research/studentships

Research: BIADResearch@bcu.ac.uk

BIAD, Birmingham City University, Gosta Green, Birmingham B4 7DX

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design - Research