Digital Media PhD

The Digital Media PhD at Newcastle University is a research-intensive programme situated within the Fine Art discipline, with a strong emphasis on transdisciplinary approaches that connect creative digital practice, science, and social technologies. The programme supports original doctoral research across two key areas: digital arts practice and digital media in museum, gallery, and heritage contexts. Digital arts practice, led by academic expertise in emerging technologies, explores experimental creative work involving live electronic performance, interactivity, human-computer interaction, critical artificial intelligence, post-digital theory, data visualisation, open-source culture, and crowdsourced creativity. This strand encourages the development of innovative artistic methodologies that engage with contemporary technological and cultural change. The second research area focuses on digital media in cultural institutions, examining how museums, galleries, and heritage organisations engage with digital technologies. Topics include online cultural experiences, social software in the cultural sector, mobile and ubiquitous technologies, visitor experience studies, and ethnographic approaches to understanding audience interaction. The programme is supported by experienced supervisors who guide students in developing rigorous, original research that contributes to both academic discourse and creative practice. It fosters critical engagement with the intersection of art, technology, and society, enabling doctoral candidates to produce impactful research relevant to contemporary digital culture and cultural institutions.