Universities of Warwick and Leeds awarded funding for screen industries PhDs

The universities of Warwick and Leeds are set to receive PhD scholarships for their humanities departments, following being awarded a Doctoral Focal Award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The award will fund 20 PhD students between 2026 and 2033, with the specific goal of preparing inter-disciplinary practitioners for the film, television, and video game industries.

This scheme, officially titled “Creative Bridges: Connecting Diversity and Sustainability for UK Screen Industries”, aims to draw talent into the industry from beyond the Greater London area.

It will offer a new model of education through active collaborations with organisations such as ITV Academy and EA Codemasters in order to prepare the recipients for work outside of academia more actively.

Warwick and Leeds […] are reasserting the vital role of arts and humanities research in shaping the future of screen-based cultures

Professor Joane Garde-Hansen, Head of the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds

Professor Rachel Moseley, Chair of the Faculty of Arts at Warwick, said: “With strong regional ties to the creative economy and deep links across industry, both Warwick and Leeds are well placed to support this shift.”

Professor Joanne Garde-Hansen, Head of the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds added: “With Creative Bridges, Warwick and Leeds are not only addressing that gap – they are reasserting the vital role of arts and humanities research in shaping the future of screen-based cultures.”

The television, movie, and video game industries are still reeling from the early 2020s, and instability within them will likely continue for some time

However, it should be noted that while a Midlands university was chosen to best take advantage of the region’s burgeoning screen industries, only three months prior the Leamington Spa branch of the game developer Ubisoft was shut down, resulting in around one hundred jobs being lost.

Although this funding scheme does display a confidence in the region’s prospects, the television, movie, and video game industries are still reeling from the early 2020s, and instability within them will likely continue for some time.

This award bodes well for Warwick’s continuing success in receiving funding from the AHRC. This spring, the University announced it had also received one of 50 Doctoral Landscape Awards, and that it will become the Midlands’ hub for distribution of PhD funding afforded by the AHRC.

These both are testaments to Warwick’s continued successes in the humanities, and a reminder that STEM subjects aren’t the only viable option in higher education.