Film Studies

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Film Research (CIFR) provides a lively interdisciplinary research forum for research staff, academics, postgraduates and film practitioners. It encourages intellectual exchange between film theory, history and practice and regularly hosts external speakers from academia and the creative industries. Past speakers have included filmmakers Dn Boyd, Mike Figgis, Mike Leigh and Nicolas Roeg, screenwriter Andrew Davies and sound designer Tom Sayers, and film researchers such as Catherine Grant, Richard Dyer, Murray Pomerance, and Patrick Keating.

The wide range of expertise in film studies is reflected in the diverse range research projects that our current PhD students are working on. These projects include:

• Fairytale films and ageing female characters
• orphans in Spanish cinema
• girlhood in contemporary French cinema
• American independent cinema
• cinema and the city
• "Chineseness" in Spanish cinema
• Muslim representation in post 9/11 cinema
• the historical epic on film
• digital cinematography
• video games and literature
• gender and screenplays
• south African documentary cinema
• post-1987 South Korean cinema

Film Studies’ postgraduates are part of a vibrant research culture at Exeter. Staff and research students regularly present their research in the Centre for Research into Film Studies forum, which also hosts visiting speakers. Film studies staff and students also regularly organise conferences which attract a range of international speakers. Recent examples include the 2nd conference for the International Society for the Study of Surrealism (ISSS) in 2019, and the Stardom and the Archive international symposium in 2020.

As well as receiving extensive research training, mentoring and supervision to support their research projects, many PhD students also undertake training and practice in teaching, leading to a recognised qualification in higher education teaching. All PhDs are supported in learning to teach through our innovative shadowing scheme, pairing you with an experienced academic, and the Learning and Teaching in Higher Education programme.

Students also get to meet world-renowned film practitioners on a regular basis to test out their ideas and work. Honorary professors of film include – director, producer and screenwriter Don Boyd and and film critic Mark Kermode, who make regular visits to the University to deliver specialist workshops and tutorials.

Tuition fees per year 2025/26

• Home: £4,950 full-time; £pro-rata part-time
• International: £23,500 full-time

For those studying for more than one year, our fees are expected to increase modestly in line with Consumer Price Inflation measured in December each year. More information can be found on our Student Finance webpages.

Tuition Fees per year 2024/25

• Home: £4,786 full-time; £pro-rata part-time
• International: £22,600 full-time

For those studying for more than one year, our fees are expected to increase modestly in line with Consumer Price Inflation measured in December each year. More information can be found on our Student Finance webpages.

Our Postgraduate Funding webpage provides links to further information. If you are considering a PhD in the future, in addition to University of Exeter funding, we have been successful at securing postgraduate funding for PhD research through our Funded centres.

Current available funding

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum opened in 1997 as part of the British celebrations of the centenary of cinema. The Centre's remit is to encourage the ongoing enjoyment, understanding and study of film. The Centre provides a research collection of international stature, illustrating the development of optical recreation and popular entertainment from the late 18th century to Classical Hollywood and the present day.

Complementing the University's existing extensive resources for the study of popular culture, the Collection's 18,000 books give Exeter the country's largest University library on cinema. They are a permanent, uniquely valuable resource for postgraduate students and researchers, and also contribute to the remarkably varied undergraduate degree programmes at Exeter. Explore the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum collections.

London Film School (LFS) is the first film school in the UK. Since 1956 LFS has trained thousands of directors, cinematographers, editors and other film professionals now working across the globe. Alumni include many great filmmakers and very successful technicians, covering all kinds of cinema - names like Mike Leigh, Michael Mann, Tak Fujimoto, Roger Pratt, Ueli Steiger, Iain Smith, Danny Huston, Franc Roddam, Anne Hui, Duncan Jones and Bill Douglas. LFS is one of only three ‘Skillset Film Academies’, accredited by the UK film industry as a Centre of Excellence.

Working together

The University of Exeter and London Film School have entered into an agreement, which will enable postgraduate and doctoral film students to hone their filmmaking skills alongside their academic studies.

The alliance has enabled the institutions to launch a number of initiatives, including the MA International Film Business. This programme offers students the chance to develop a unique set of skills related to the business of the film industry on both practical and theoretical fronts. They will have access to the professional expertise, experience and facilities at the LFS as well as to the academic excellence of researchers, research culture, and academic resources at the University of Exeter.

LFS Governors

Members

Greg Dyke, Professor Diana Green CBE DL, Graham Easton, Kemal Akhtar, Olivier Kaempfer, Peter Armstrong, Helen Dudley CBE, Julie Parmenter, Guy Wilson.