The aims of the MPhil/PhD programme are to:

• advance the highest quality of research in Fine Art that demonstrates ambition, breadth of vision and creativity
• enable you to further your aspirations as a practising artist, and, or, writer
• encourage your practice, art and writing, to make an original contribution to knowledge, and to further understanding through the processes of research
• encourage a diversity of research outputs including the visual and verbal (exhibitions, events, performances, collaborations, publications, conferences)
• affirm the importance of Fine Art research while also exploring the possibilities of interdisciplinary research with other departments and faculties at UCL
• ask you to contribute to the research culture of the Slade and the wider UCL community and to  exchange ways of working, thinking, doing and being
• encourage the sharing of research with national and international research institutions and the wider publics

The Slade offers a choice between the following three options within the PhD programme:

• Practice-led: a thesis of studio practice that makes an original contribution to knowledge plus a written report of 15,000-40,000 words (or 10,000-20,000 words for the MPhil).
• Practice-related: a written thesis of 60,000-80,000 words with studio practice that together make an original contribution to knowledge (or 35,000-45,000 words for the MPhil).
• Written thesis only: a written thesis of 80,000-100,000 words that makes an original contribution to knowledge (or 50,000-60,000 words for the MPhil).

The MPhil/PhD programme has strong links to the taught programmes at the Slade and you will also have access to the School-wide lecture and visiting artists’ programme. The Slade provides excellent workshop and research facilities.  Current Slade research themes include: painting, sculpture, fine-art media, material, word and image, landscape and electronic media.

As part of UCL we offer an extensive range of research skill courses through UCL Graduate School plus support from the Arts and Humanities Faculty Institute of Graduate Studies (FIGS).

In addition to personal tutorials, students participate in:

• relevant research skills courses organised by UCL Graduate School;
• a bi-weekly Forum/Exchange for the presentation of research by Slade and other UCL research students;
• regular seminars responding to students' research interests;
• workshops on writing and research;
• exhibitions, events, symposia, conferences at the Slade Research Centre, Woburn Square;
• the staff Research Forum series on Slade Research themes where PhD students are invited to contribute;
  
• the organisation of an annual students’ event which can take the form of an exhibition, conference or symposium.

Students are also expected to attend:

• discipline specific MA/MFA studio seminars within the Slade painting, sculpture and fine art media areas;
• seminars and lectures given by Slade and UCL staff and invited artists and speakers: Slade staff talks, the Slade Contemporary Art Lecture Series and the UCL History of Art Centre for Contemporary Art lecture series.

In addition we would expect our students to be active participants in exhibitions, performances, events, conferences, and publishing both within and beyond UCL.

Head of the Doctoral Programme and Co-ordinator of the written and practice-related options: Dr Sharon Morris
Co-ordinator of the practice-led option: Dr Hayley Newman

Your primary supervisor will be a member of Slade staff, all of whom are practising artists or scholars in the history and theory of art, with national and international profiles.

Secondary supervision is also available from renowned scholars and specialists throughout UCL, including the sciences where appropriate. Second supervisors currently include: Dr Caroline Bressey (Geography), Dr Ben Campkin (Bartlett School of Architecture), Professor Susanne Kord (German), Dr Petra Lange-Berndt (History of Art), Dr Miriam Leonard (Greek and Latin), Professor Robert Lumley (Italian), Professor Timothy Mathews (French), Professor Chris Pinney (Anthropology), Dr Peg Rawes (Bartlett School of Architecture), Dr Alison Wright (History of Art), Professor Joanna Zakrzewska (Eastman Dental Hospital).

Recent and current visitors to the MPhil/PhD Programme 2010-2012 Guest Speakers: Peter Osborne, Sarat Maharaj, David Beech, Su Golding, Mel Gooding, Jen Harvey, Robert Hewison Guest seminars and workshops: Yve Lomax, Maria Fusco, Ruth Padel, Victor Buchli, Esther Leslie.

Outlines of current and archived MPhil and PhD Research are in the
Student Research section.

Application Deadlines

The application deadline is 19 November 2012. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place on 16 and 17 January 2013.

MPhil/PhD Open Day

Applicants can attend the MPhil/PhD Open Day, which will be held 10.30am – 1pm on Wednesday 17 October 2012. For details on how to book, see our tours booking page. There is also a UCL Joint Faculty Graduate Open Day on Wednesday 21 November 2012, from 11am.

Application Procedure for MPhil/PhD and Graduate Affiliate Research

All applicants for MPhil/PhD and Graduate Affiliate Research should Apply Online. A detailed guide to completing the online application is available for download in PDF and Word format.

The Online Application

Applicants must complete the online form and upload the following supporting documentation:

1. An electronic Transcript from your undergraduate degree programme. If you have also taken a Master's programme, you should upload a second transcript;
2. a Research Proposal (approximately 2 A4 pages). The proposal should include: a summary of the proposed area of research; questions to be addressed; an initial statement of the relationship between written and practical/visual research if applicable; some indication of research methods to be deployed; and some reference to existing literature or other form of production (visual/practical) in the field; plus a bibliography of 2-3 A4 pages;
3. those students whose education has not been conducted in the English language should upload their most recent English Language Test Certificate;
4. a CV;
5. for practice-related or thesis only applications: a Writing Sample of writing of around 8,000-10,000 words (upload this as the Additional Document).
6. for practice-led applications: a short piece of writing of up to 1,000 words addressing or contextualising your own work (upload this as the Additional Document).

References

When you have completed the online form and entered contact emails for your referees, they will be contacted automatically giving them instructions on how to upload their references. All applications must include two references that must be uploaded by your referees. References are an important part of the application and it is your responsibility to ensure that your referees upload their references promptly so that the entrance examiners have them when they review your application. It is recommended that you complete the online application in advance of the deadline to give your referees time to complete their references.

Portfolio

If you are applying to take the practice-led or practice-related MPhil/PhD you should send a portfolio to Graduate Research Admissions, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT by the application deadline. This should be on CD-R with up to fifteen images (jpegs only). (Do not submit images in PowerPoint format.) Include the title of the work, date, dimensions and medium for each image. Videos and films should be presented in QuickTime on DVD. It is recommended that a showreel is compiled for these with a maximum duration of ten minutes. Please write your name on the disk (do not affix any labels to the disk) and stick the portfolio label to the outside of the case. Your disk should be a duplicate and will not be returned.

We regret that submissions that do not follow these guidelines cannot be considered.

Shortlisting

Dr Sharon Morris and Dr Hayley Newman, Co-ordinators of the Slade Doctoral Programme, Heads of Graduate Studio areas and representatives from the Slade Art History and Theory area meet to consider all applications and shortlist candidates on the basis of the quality of their studio work, their suitability for research, and the feasibility of their research proposal and its supervision. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed by the Slade Research and Doctoral Board, which includes senior Slade and UCL staff plus the proposed supervisory team. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place on 16 and 17 January 2013.

Registration

Successful applicants normally register in September.

Entrance Requirements

Applicants will hold a good first degree and will normally be expected to have studied to MA or MFA level.

English Language Requirement

All students whose first language is not English must be able to provide recent evidence that their command of the English language is adequate for their programme of study. See UCL's English language proficiency requirement for further details. Various English language qualifications are acceptable including the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with an overall grade of 7.0 and a minimum of 6.0 in each of the subtests or the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based version with a score of 100, plus 24/30 in the reading and writing subtests and 23/30 in the listening and speaking subtests.

Tuition fees

UCL’s tuition fees are set annually and cover registration, tuition and supervision for each academic year, or part of an academic year that you are enrolled. Tuition fees are subject to an annual increase. The fee does not cover artists' or other academic materials. Current fees and further information about fee status, how to pay and living expenses can be found on the UCL Money pages.

Scholarships

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Studentships provide funding for UK/EU students undertaking doctoral research in Fine Art and the Slade has one Doctoral Studentship per year. Applicants must indicate on their UCL application form that they wish to apply for an  AHRC Studentship and/or a UCL Graduate School scholarship. For details of UCL Scholarships  and other UCL funding opportunities please see the following links:

UCL Scholarships and Funding
UCL Graduate School
Faculty Institute of Graduate Studies

Please look carefully at the deadline for any funding that you are applying for. Many deadlines for scholarships fall early in the spring. Please note that the deadline for application to the Slade is November 19th 2012 for entrance into the programme the following September 2013.

Bursaries

Each year the Slade Bursary Committee awards a large number of £500 Bursaries, funded by donations from the Friends of the Slade and other benefactors to students with particularly difficult financial circumstances. All students are eligible to apply.

Jean Spencer and Malcolm Hughes Bursaries are available each year for MPhil/PhD students to enable them to further their research through projects, conferences, travel, or other research activities. The maximum size of any bursary is £500 and applications for smaller awards are encouraged. There are two deadlines per academic year and applications are considered at the Slade Research and Doctoral Committee.

Other sources of funding for research including conference, travel and project funds can be found on the UCL Graduate School web pages and the Faculty Institute of Graduate Studies website.