Doctor of Education Creative & Media

Taught phase (2 years) – online for 34 weeks in each year, 2 x 2 day conferences (virtual Thursday/ Friday, early October and early June) in each year, 3 x tutorials (by video meeting), 1 day virtual workshop day each year (February). 

Research phase (2-4 years) – 2 x 2 day virtual conferences in year 3 + supervision by email, tutorials (by video meeting)

During your course you’ll attend two 2 day virtual conferences and 1 virtual workshop (5 days in total), giving you the opportunity to interact with other students in your cohort and participate in workshops.

Throughout the conferences, you'll explore methodological issues, philosophical underpinnings of research, and will have the chance to enhance your skills in areas that are not necessarily discipline specific. You’ll also be able to interact with researchers from our other faculties, and listen to invited speakers from other institutions, all of which will enhance your own knowledge, skills and perspectives.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the university’s taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

We would normally expect you to have one of the following:

• A Bachelors Honours degree at 2:1 or equivalent
• A Masters-level qualification, PGCE or equivalent professional experience in education, including research activity judged by the programme team to be satisfactory for admission to a doctoral programme. 

Entry requirements may vary so it is important to discuss your application in principle before submitting a formal application.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• China:  学士学位 (Bachelor degree) with a minimum of 70% overall
• India: Bachelor’s degree (4 years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 60% or second division
• Nigeria:  Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:1
• Thailand:  Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with a minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.7/4.0
• Vietnam:  Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of 75/10, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally: 

• IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with minimum 5.5 in each component or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

You can also find further details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our postgraduate entry requirements page.

This course has been designed for educational professionals with an appetite for enquiry, a passion for reflective thinking about your practice and a desire to take on the challenge of doctoral level study in your discipline context. 

At the application stage, you will need a viable proposal in the form of a short expression of interest, explaining your role and your prospective research project. You will also need the time to focus on this research, on average one day a week, or equivalent hours spread over the week for four to six years. 

Candidates will be selected on the basis of their application form, proposal and a Zoom interview. 

In the proposal we are looking for evidence that you have ideas with the potential for Doctoral-level research. This means that you should demonstrate the potential to design and implement a research project, which will generate new knowledge in your field.

A good proposal will exhibit a familiarity with the relevant literature, show an appreciation of the significance of philosophical and methodological frameworks, and have a clear and realistic plan of action.

You can apply for a Professional Doctorate by clicking on the ‘Apply now’ button and completing the application form. You can find further guidance about applying for a postgraduate research degree in our postgraduate research section.

You can find full information about the deposits required and how to pay your fees in our postgraduate fees section.

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per annum. Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course.

Continuation Status - research students who have completed their normal period of enrolment but are still engaged in research activity or writing up will be automatically transferred to Continuation Status, as outlined in the Code of Practice for Research Degrees. Continuation Status Fees will be £600 for the 12-month period, payable in accordance with the BU Student Fees Policy.

What's included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Allocation of a supervisory team to provide support and guidance throughout a research degree programme
• Access to Researcher Development Programme
• Copy of current Code of Practice for Research Degrees, the Student Charter and the Student Agreement
• Access to a desk and computer (full-time Doctoral PGRs only).
• Access to photocopying/printing facilities (as determined by the Faculty and programme of study).
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Disability and additional learning support
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices. 
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website.
• Travel costs and other costs associated with optional research activities.
• Text books, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Sport BU membership

Julian McDougall is Professor in Media and Education, Head of the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice and Principal Fellow of Advance HE. He runs the Professional Doctorate (Ed D) in Creative and Media Education at Bournemouth University and convenes the annual International Media Education Summit. In the field of media education, he is the author of a range of over 100 books, articles, chapters and research reports and has provided numerous research projects for research councils, media industry, charities and non-profit organisations.

Dr Karen Fowler-Watt is Associate Professor of Journalism and Global Narratives. Formerly Head of the School of Journalism, English and Communication (2007-2018), she is research theme lead for journalism education in the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP). As a BBC journalist, she worked in Radio 4 News and Current Affairs as an output editor on The World at One and PM and The World this Weekend, Karen made documentaries for File on 4 and she was a field producer in the Middle East, covering the Gulf Crisis and War in 1990/1 and producing news output from Moscow, Europe, Northern Ireland and the United States, with a stint as Washington bureau producer.

Mark works across the Faculty of Media and Communication, and the Centre for Fusion Learning Innovation and Excellence. His research and publications focus on critical approaches to creativity, media pedagogy, and representations of teaching and learning.

His work on creativity has led to several invitations to address arts educators and practitioners in the UK and abroad, along with consultancy work in Israel, Hong Kong and Turkey.

Isabella Rega holds a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and an Executive Master degree in Intercultural Communication from the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI). Her PhD dissertation dealt with the role of telecentres in socio-economic development.

She is currently Senior Lecturer in Digital Technologies and Education at CEMP – Centre of Excellence in Media Practice, Media School, Bournemouth University.