PhD studentships in Media and Arts Technology

[Mark Plumbley <mark.plumbley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

PhD Programme in Media and Arts Technology

www.mat.qmul.ac.uk

Fully-funded Scholarships Starting in September 2010

Our PhD in Media and Arts Technology is an innovative inter-disciplinary training programme in the science and technologies currently transforming the creative sector. Our mission is to produce postgraduates who combine world-class technical and creative skills and will go on to become leaders in the on-going regeneration of the UK Creative Industries. Graduates of the programme with include both technologists with a strong creative flair, and creatives with excellent technological skills and awareness. 

Queen Mary University of London is one of the UK's leading research universities and is located at the heart of Europe's largest concentration of creative industries. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2008), we were ranked 13th in the UK by the Times Higher Education Supplement and 11th by The Guardian.
 
We are looking for inspiring applications for at least 10 fully-funded scholarships. Successful candidates will be provided with an annual tax-free stipend (£15,290 in 2010) plus tuition fees.
Please note, that due to external funding restrictions only UK citizens or EU students who have been ordinarily resident in the UK for the last three years are eligible for a scholarship. In exceptional circumstances, funding may become available for a candidate not meeting these eligibility criteria.
We also welcome applications from those with other sources of funding.

A unique PhD programme 
This four year PhD programme is unlike anything else currently on offer in the UK. In your first year you will take modules in Advanced Research Methods, Interactive Digital Multimedia Techniques and Contemporary Video and Audio Production. There is a also one chosen module from a wide range including; C++ for Image Processing, Design for Human Interaction, Performance Research, Advanced Software Technologies, Foundations of Information Retrieval  and Fundamentals of Digital Signal Processing.  We also run an exciting range of master classes and run team and project work  training sessions. You follow this with a bespoke six-month advanced placement project with one of our creative sector partners. 
In the second year, as well as starting your research, you will take further specialist modules ranging from digital audio effects and digital rights management to contemporary performance. 
Your research project will be under the supervision of internationally recognised experts in: Digital Music, Digital Video, Human Interaction, Performance and Live Art.

You will also develop a working partnership with one of our strategic collaborators. These include  BBC, BT, The British Film Institute, last.fm, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Qinetiq, Illustrious and Meridian Audio. You'll find a full list of our industrial and public sector partners is available at www.mat.qmul.ac.uk 


What our First Cohort of Students say about  the programme;
"MAT is a great programme for creative minds searching for challenge in the field of academic science and contemporary technology. The programme structure allows flexibility and support to shape your learning, its cross-disciplinary nature is quite unique and it's a great peer learning environment. "

"The diversity of the skills and backgrounds possessed by the student cohort means there is a constantly vibrant and active environment to work in. Furthermore, the training provided gives useful insight into designing and undertaking research."

"The most inspiring part of this course has been to work closely with people from such diverse backgrounds."


How to apply 
We invite applications from outstanding individuals with any Arts, Engineering or Science background. You must be able to demonstrate academic achievement to the level of an upper second class Bachelors degree (or higher), excellent creative, critical and analytic skills, and strong programming or mathematical abilities.  

There are two deadlines for applications: the first is 2nd April 2010 and interviews will take place in the week of 19th April, when most of the funded places will be allocated; the second is Friday 2nd July 2010, interviews in the week of 12th July, when the final allocation will be made.

Postgraduate resources
You will have access to Queen Mary's state-of-the art research and performance facilities. New for 2010 are the Media and Arts Studios (including the Listening Room, Control Room and Performance Room), the Augmented Human Interaction Laboratory, and the Pinter Studio Theatre as well as the extensive resources offered by our industrial and public sector partners. Students will have access to the full range of computing resources offered by the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, including several clusters. 
 
For more information, please contact: 
Media and Arts Technology Programme
School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Tel:  +44 (0)20 7882 7337
Fax: +44 (0)20 8980 6533
email: mat-enquiries@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.mat.qmul.ac.uk