About

Humanities, Creative Industries, and Social Sciences is a highly diverse School. We teach and research in a range of disciplines, and our strategy is to capture the multidisciplinary potential and strengths of this breadth in our research and education portfolio, also looking outwards to our colleagues in health, STEM disciplines, and teacher education. Our five multidisciplinary groupings aim to bring academic staff together to find creative connections between education, research and with community and industry partners. We play positively into College and University priorities and programs.

We are distinctive: we have an emerging identity as a provider of innovative undergraduate education via our BA online, and a positive program of career-ready placements in all our degrees. Students have access to global mobility experiences outside Newcastle. We also collaborate with our partners across the spectrum of professions to drive innovations that contribute to the cultural and economic transformation of our regions. The future of work will rely on the skills we teach and that students are seeking to round out their portfolios for employment.

We have earned a strong reputation for delivering quality programs in the areas of creative industries. Our students – regardless of their primary program of study – have access to industry-standard facilities, while being taught by academics and creatives whose work is recognised and celebrated across the globe.

Our two specific focus areas are to:

  • attract, foster and support new research and teaching talent
  • drive strategic regional, national and international research initiatives to continue raising our profile in the sector

We look forward to seeing you.

Meet our Head of School

Professor Kate Nash

Professor Kate Nash

Professor Kate Nash commenced as Head of the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences in May, recently completing her role as the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom.

In a previous role as Head of Media and Communication at Leeds, Professor Nash focused on research impact, which contributed to a significant increase in research funding and led on the development of the school’s first internationalisation strategy that had a particular impact on undergraduate international student numbers.

Professor Nash has a background in media production, specialising in documentary, with a research focus on the production, circulation and impacts of long-form factual media. She is a leading scholar in interactive documentary, contributing to understanding how digital media technologies and cultures shape documentary practices and storytelling.

Kate has published in many leading journals, including Media, Culture and Society, the European Journal of Communication and Continuum.

She has been a Co-Editor of the leading journal in the field, Studies in Documentary Film, since 2018.

Professor Nash’s leadership has focused on her proactive approach to the industry and community engagement, fostering strong relationships and building valuable collaborations within the media, including with Channel 4 in England.

Top 200 ? in the world for Sociology
World Top 250 ? for Arts and Humanities