Program Overview

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Children's Book Illustration MPhil, PhD

Overview

Academic interest in children’s book illustration is growing. Examine this field of illustration through a combination of practical work and theoretical enquiry.

Full Description

Our PhD programme encourages individual, practice-led research projects that explore aspects of the art of children’s book illustration from the perspective of high-level practice. We look for research proposals that are informed by personal practice and demonstrate an ambition to examine an area or aspect of children’s book illustration through a combination of creative and theoretical enquiry. Using your personal creative practice as a research tool, you’ll produce distinctive contributions to the growing knowledge pool in this area.

All your subject-specific studies will be enhanced and supported by our University-wide training sessions, where you’ll gain important research expertise in areas like ethics, presentations, intellectual property, and digital scholarship. You’ll also have access to many exhibition and conference opportunities.

At Cambridge School of Art, you’ll be part of a vibrant and growing community of researchers at PhD level. We provide various research forums that accentuate the discursive and interdisciplinary nature of research, including research clusters that hold regular seminars and informal presentations for postgraduate and research students, as well as the Centre for Children's Book Studies.

You’ll benefit from our strong industry links with many children’s book publishers, as well as Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Kettle’s Yard, and the University of Cambridge's Centre for Research into Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH) and the Centre for Children’s Literature at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.

Completion Times

• MPhil: full-time 1-3 years, part-time 2-4 years.
• PhD via progression from MPhil, including that period: full-time 2.5-5 years, part-time 3.5-6 years.
• PhD: full-time 2-4 years, part-time 3-6 years.

PhD Project Opportunities

• in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
• Cambridge School of Art research
• World-leading research at ARU
• Centre for Children's Book Studies
• StoryLab

Supervision and Support

You’ll be supervised and supported by staff who have published and exhibited nationally and internationally. Our expertise includes:

• Professor Martin Salisbury: practice and theory of children's book illustration. Co-author of Children's Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling (Laurence King, 2010), winner of the UKLA Academic Book Award 2013; author of Play Pen: New Children's Book Illustration (Laurence King, 2007) and Illustrating Children's Books (A&C Black, 2004).
• Dr Becky Palmer: illustrator and author of comics and picturebooks including Ellie and Lump’s Very Busy Day (Walker Books, 2017) and La Soupière Magique (Éditions Sarbacane, 2014).
• Katherina Manalessou: author of Zoom Zoom Zoom (Macmillan Children's Books 2014); commercial illustration commissions and personal projects such as artist’s books and limited edition prints.

Where You'll Research

Your Department and Faculty

At Cambridge School of Art, we combine the traditions of our past with the possibilities afforded by the latest technologies.

Using our expertise and connections in Cambridge and beyond, we nurture creativity through experimentation and risk-taking to empower the makers and creators of the future.

Our academics excel at both practice and theory, making a real impact in their chosen fields, whether they are curating exhibitions, designing book covers or photographing communities in Africa. They are also regularly published in catalogues, books, journals, and conference papers, their research classed as being of ‘international standing’, with some elements ‘world-leading’, in the most recent Research Excellence Framework.

Specialist Facilities

You’ll work within our dedicated illustration studios that surround Ruskin Gallery, a unique space that shows a range of work including student shows and touring exhibitions of international standing. You can also make use of our other facilities, including printmaking and sculpture workshops, photography dark rooms, life drawing studio, and computer suites for video production and digital imaging, as well as four Mac suites with Adobe Creative Suite software and high-quality 27-inch monitors.

You’ll have access to our Faculty’s PhD room, where all our doctoral students can meet up to work and take an active part in our postgraduate student community.

Fees & Funding

Course Fees

• UK students, 2024/25 (per year): £4,786
• UK students, 2024/25 (part-time, per year): £2,392
• International students, 2024/25 (per year): £15,900
• International students, 2024/25 (part-time, per year): £7,950

Bench Fees

In some cases, extra costs known as bench fees will be charged for a postgraduate research degree. These are to cover additional/exceptional costs directly related to a specific research project.

Some examples of these costs are (the list is not exhaustive): equipment hire, access costs to specialist equipment/workshops, volunteer expenses, specialist tissue/cell culture, specialist reagents or materials, specialist software, access to specialist databases, data collection costs, specialist media, recording or digital storage needs.

We charge bench fees in bands. They may apply for every year of your course. These bands are the same for full- and part-time students.

For 2024/25 the bench fee bands are:

• 1. £500
• 2. £1,200
• 3. £2,200
• 4. £4,500
• 5. £8,900

PhD by Published Work

• Initial registration: £1,500
• Full registration: £4,500

Writing Up Fees 2024/25

• £1,200

How Do I Pay My Fees?

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in instalments – though you won't need to pay until you've accepted an offer to study with us. Find out more about paying your fees.

Funding

For advice on the Doctoral Loan and other sources of funding, including ARU scholarships, visit our finance guide for postgraduate researchers.

You might also find The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding helpful.

ARU Research

ARU's academic excellence was recognised in 2021, as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), an exercise which assesses the quality of academic research. Sixteen areas of our work were classed as generating world-leading research. The results showed that we're making a significant impact on the societies we live in.

Careers

We’ll provide you with many opportunities for career development and training, and encourage you to get involved with external activities like exhibiting, curating, conference organisation, and presenting papers. There may be opportunities to take part in collaborative projects with our Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, and our annual trips to the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

Many research students in this discipline are seeking to combine high-level professional creative practice with academic careers. You can also request specific support for writing-up, conference papers, general research methods, and other research skills if you need it.

Entry Requirements

• MPhil or PhD with progression from MPhil: You’ll need a Bachelors degree or equivalent with first or upper second class honours, in a related subject area.
• PhD: You’ll need a Masters degree or equivalent in a related subject area.

Please note we consider candidates for PhD with progression from MPhil in the first instance. If you want to be considered for direct entry to the PhD route then this can be discussed at interview if you are shortlisted. Please note you’ll also need to provide academic justification for this request.

You'll be required to submit a portfolio of your practical work to date as part of your application.

If English is not your first language, you'll require a minimum IELTS score of 6.5, with a minimum of 5.5 in each component (or equivalent test). If you don't meet our English language requirements, we offer a range of courses which could help you achieve the level required for entry.

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Important Additional Notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the programme as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements. Contact our postgraduate research degree team for more information about studying a PhD, MPhil, or Professional Doctorate at ARU.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your research programme.

Suggested Courses That May Interest You

• Art and Design
• Fine Art
• Graphic Design and Typography

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