PhD and Research Masters
Do you have a spirit for discovery? Is there a topic you’ve always wanted to explore? Delve into a humanities, creative arts, and social sciences specialisations and uncover what lies beneath the human experience.
With a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) you’ll have the opportunity to pursue your passion under the guidance of world-recognised leaders in the field.
Creative transdisciplinary HDR/Doctoral training programme
In creative areas we provide a cutting-edge research network of PhD and Masters students who are exploring the future of the creative areas that sit at the intersection of Arts, Music, Media, Communication, Design, Science, Technology and Engineering.
Designed as a trans-disciplinary doctoral training network, we seek to engage PhD and master’s students wanting to undertake research training where real-world challenges faced by private, public and third sector partners will provide the research training context. Transmission also presents an opportunity for industry to design research projects that can be worked on by PhD and Master’s students, who are supervised in tandem with industry professionals.
Discipline based HDR/Doctoral training programme
Doctoral and Masters students work collaboratively with staff and colleagues doing practice based and traditional research together in their respective discipline areas. All our researchers meet each other in research seminars and workshops to share their work and hear from visiting scholars, practitioners and industry professionals.
Project enquiries are welcome for all related topics outlined by the supervisor's research areas which can be found on their profile pages. A list of our researchers can be found on our researcher pages or by searching below. We encourage students to discuss criteria and topics with their potential supervisors well in advance of their application.
Discipline research topics
Anthropology is the study of humans and cultural differences, from the past to the present. To understand the full extent and complexities of cultures, and cultural understandings across all of human history, anthropology draws and builds upon knowledge from the social and biological sciences, the humanities and physical sciences. A central concern of anthropologists is the application of knowledge and experiences to the solution of human problems.
- Detective Fiction
- Theory and History of the Novel
- 19th Century Literature
- Comparative Literature
- Renaissance Literature
- Women's Writings
- Literary Computing
- Indigenous Literature
- Modern and Contemporary British/ American Literature
- Postcolonial Studies
- Critical Theory
- Indigenous Studies
- Contemporary Australian and World Poetry
- Popular Culture
- Children's Literature
- Fantasy Literature
- Creative Writing (Literary Nonfiction, Short Fiction, Novel and Poetry)
- Early and later Roman Empire
- Byzantine Empire
- History of violence
- Australian history
- Atlantic history
- Ottoman history
- Women's history/feminist history
- Histories of sex and sexuality
- Australian foreign and defence policy
- Napoleonic Europe
- Cultural history, including religion
- Intellectual history
- Australian and international wine studies
- Global Indigenous history
- Diaspora and transnational history
- Urban and regional history (especially Newcastle)
- Applied history and public heritage studies
- History of the environment and climate change
- Crime Fiction (French and Anglo-Saxon), especially the Série Noire
- Translation projects, both practical and theoretical
- Twentieth-/twenty-first century French literature, especially the works of Boris Vian
- Japanese studies in general
- intellectual and cultural history
- military history
- social history
- classical and modern literature
- Japan's relations with East and Southeast Asia
Our linguistics staff supervise a range of research thesis topics for Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees in their specialist areas of expertise. We encourage students to discuss criteria and topics with their potential supervisors well in advance of their application. PhD and Masters by Research proposals are invited in the following areas:
- Language documentation and description
- Australian and Pacific descriptive language projects
- Second Language Acquisition
- Bilingualism
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
- Political philosophy
- Deliberative democratic theory
- Secularisation theory
- Ethical theory
- Technological ethics
- Situated cognition
- Philosophy of religion
- History of ideas
- Film theory and history
- Television studies
- Gender and sexuality in the media
- Popular music and culture
- European cinema
- The Internet and social media
- Postcolonial studies
- Contemporary world cinema
- Race and ethnicity in media cultures
- Identity and taste in consumer culture
- Media structures and institutions
- New media technologies
Our Social Work staff supervise a range of research thesis topics for Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees in their specialist areas of expertise. We encourage students to discuss criteria and topics with their potential supervisors well in advance of their application. PhD and Masters by Research proposals are invited in the following areas:
- Evidence-based social work
- Knowledge production and transfer in social work
- Strength-based community development
- Neoliberal managerialism and its impact on social work
- Family estrangement
- Social policy
- Child protection
- The relationship between social work and art
- International and Indigenous social work
- Social work supervision
- Community development and natural disasters
- Disability policy and person centred practice
- Child and family well-being
- Rural social work
- Natural disaster planning, response and recovery
- Social support and early childhood intervention
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
- Rural social work
Sociology illuminates human behaviour by looking for the links between individual experience and the social context in which we live, work and play. Its central concerns involve questioning common sense views and personal opinion by asking you to consider the social influences that shape our lives. A sociological imagination questions the way things are, in order to think about the way things could be.
PhD Pathway Stories - Dr Ralph Kenke
How much will it cost?
Australian students are currently exempt from paying tuition fees for MPhil and PhD study. As a domestic student you are awarded a tuition fee scholarship for your higher degree by research (HDR) program under the Australian Government’s Research Training Program (RTP): four years full-time (or part-time equivalent) for a PhD, or two years full-time (or part-time equivalent) for Research Masters. You will be required to complete your degree within the RTP entitlement period.
The main type of financial support available to both domestic and international graduate researchers is in the form of scholarships.
Who can apply?
Even if you don't have an Honours or Masters degree, you can apply to undertake a Research Masters, and, depending on progress, transfer to a PhD after your first full-time year of study. Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Explore how to write a graduate research proposal, and talk to a supervisor to find out more.
Applicants whose first language is not English must meet the University's English proficiency requirements.
What support does the School provide?
Our HDR advantage package means that you will have access to the information and support you need during your MPhil or PhD journey. This includes:
- a detailed induction process to help make the transition to postgraduate research easier
- a rich program of workshops, seminars and courses that will enhance your research. skills, enable you to connect with other students, and provide timely support at key moments of your candidature
- awards and prizes celebrating graduate research achievements and contributions to our research culture
- access to resources tailored to our diverse graduate research cohort
Find a PhD or Research Masters Supervisor
Search for a research expert by researcher name, area of expertise or by research centre name.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.