Institute of Communications Studies
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Research Students
ICS has a vibrant research student community, with more than 40 active PhD students from around the globe. They have their own dedicated research area, appropriately equipped with computers, digital satellite television and printing and copying capabilities, as well as access to research conference travel funds. Since 2008, 18 doctoral students have graduated from ICS and gone on to pursue successful careers in both academia and practice.
A PhD tutorial.
Current PhD topics include:
- The Impact of Social Media Sources on Mainstream News Reporting
- Discussing Africa’s future: Afro-pessimist Discourses and Myths in French and British News Media
- Balancing the Competing Interests of Consumers and Citizens in Commercial and Public Service Content Regulation in the Non-Linear New Media Environment
- The Treatment of Interfaith TV Content: The Case of Islam Channel UK
- Online Chinese Nationalism and its Nationalist Discourses
- Labour in the Chinese Internet Industries
- UK Local and National Government Attempts to Harness Social Media Technologies to Consult the Public, Increase E-Participation, Enhance Efficacy and Produce Tangible Policy Outcomes
- Fulbright Students and American Public Diplomacy
At ICS, PhD candidates are fully engaged in the department’s research and teaching activities and are strongly supported throughout their study with training and supervision. Each year, our first year students organise their own annual academic conference so that they can learn organisation and networking skills. The first such conference, ‘Communication Technologies of Empowerment’, was held in May 2007, and attracted over 50 speakers from 5 different countries, and the event continues to be a highlight of the departmental calendar. The students involved in organising the event are given careful mentoring and advice by ICS staff.
For more information about our research students’ work and interests, please visit the PhD students pages in the ‘people’ section of this website.