Museum, Gallery and Heritage Studies MPhil, PhD

• factors that determine how cultural policy is constructed, institutionally, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally
• how management strategies affect heritage resources
• the impact of large-scale constitutional change upon cultural policy
• intended and unintended consequences of implementing international conventions, charters and instruments
• contribution of research to cultural policy construction
• the intersection of political movements and agendas with heritage
• definitions and attributed values of heritage

• construction and representation of identities, places and communities through heritage
• how heritage is used by, and for, communities
• relationships between notions of place and identities, communities, and heritages locally regionally, nationally and internationally
• principles of community museology and ecomuseology practice in different contexts
• relationships between heritage tourism and identities, communities and places
• identities produced through the consumption of heritage
• relationship between identity construction and wellbeing

• how media works in heritage organisations and how organisations work as media
• factors shaping the production, morphology and consumption of media and media representations in heritage organisations
• representations made possible through institutional technologies specific to heritage organisations and how they are analysed to understand culture, society and knowledge
• study and design of digital heritage applications and digital cultural engagement

Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption, for example in response to Covid-19.

View our Academic experience page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2024-25.

See our terms and conditions and student complaints information, which gives details of circumstances that may lead to changes to programmes, modules or University services.

An MPhil is available in all subject areas. You receive research training and undertake original research leading to the completion of a 40,000 - 50,000 word thesis.

Find out about different types of postgraduate qualifications.

A PhD is a doctorate or doctoral award. It involves original research that should make a significant contribution to the knowledge of a specific subject. To complete the PhD you will produce a substantial piece of work (80,000 – 100,000 words) in the form of a supervised thesis. A PhD usually takes three years full time.

Find out about different types of postgraduate qualifications

Attendance on this programme is flexible and agreed between you and your supervisors depending on the requirements of your research project. The main focus of the programme is a piece of independent research carried out by you with the support of your supervisory team.

You'll also undertake research methods training and be encouraged to participate in our research activities. You'll be able to carry out fieldwork away from Newcastle, in other UK locations or abroad.

Depending on your modules, you'll be assessed through a combination of:

• Thesis
• Viva

Our mission is to help you:

• stay healthy, positive and feeling well
• overcome any challenges you may face during your degree – academic or personal
• get the most out of your postgraduate research experience
• carry out admin and activities essential to progressing through your degree
• understand postgraduate research processes, standards and rules

We can offer you tailored wellbeing support, courses and activities.

You can also access a broad range of workshops covering:

• research and professional skills
• careers support
• wellbeing
• health and safety
• public engagement
• academic development

Find out more about our postgraduate research student support

From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK

Check the government’s website for more information.

Home fees for research degree students

For 2024-25 entry, we have aligned our standard Home research fees with those set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The standard fee was confirmed in Spring 2024 by UKRI.

For 2025-26 entry, we will be aligning our standard Home research fees with those set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The standard fee will be confirmed in Spring 2025 by UKRI.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here.

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our searchable postgraduate funding page for more information. 

If you are an international student or a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland and you need a visa to study in the UK, you may have to pay a deposit.

You can check this in the How to apply section.

If you're applying for funding, always check the funding application deadline. This deadline may be earlier than the application deadline for your course.

For some funding schemes, you need to have received an offer of a place on a course before you can apply for the funding.