PhD Studentship: BFI / BEATS Collaborative Doctoral Award

King’s College London invites applications for a fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) examining East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) contributions to the British film and television industries.

This doctoral project focuses on organisational and production practices, lived experiences, institutional initiatives, and creative activism that address the invisibility and marginalisation of ESEA creatives in British screen culture. The successful candidate will undertake original research analysing industrial practices, public media organisations and broadcasters, and the experiences of ESEA practitioners working in the UK screen industries.

The award is delivered in collaboration with the British Film Institute (BFI) and British East Asians in Theatre and Screen Industries (BEATS), providing an exceptional opportunity for placement-based research, professional training, and sector mentorship alongside doctoral study. Through these partnerships, the project offers unrivalled access to industry expertise, networks, and archival and professional resources.

Key research questions include:

• How and to what extent do institutionalised diversity initiatives and discourses relating to ESEA groups in Britain contribute to ongoing under-representation in the British screen sector?
• How have on- and off-screen representations shaped the discursive construction of these minoritised groups?
• What are the policy implications for ensuring sustainable and meaningful contributions by ESEA creatives to the British screen industries?

The student will be based in the Department of Cultural, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College London and will be supervised by Dr Wing-Fai Leung (Reader in Cultural and Media Industries) and Professor Jeanette Steemers (Professor of Culture, Media & Creative Industries).

This opportunity is ideal for a passionate researcher-practitioner with relevant professional and/or lived experience and a strong interest in film, television, media industries, cultural policy, and diversity in the creative sectors.

Start date: 1 October 2026

Application deadline: 13 February 2026 (5pm GMT)

Outcomes notified: Mid-April 2026

Applicants must apply both for the studentship and for the CMCI PhD programme at King’s College London, quoting the funding code 2627AHCDA.

Funding Comment

Funding will be for 3.5 years (full-time) or 7 years (part-time)

Annual stipend (UKRI rate: £22,780 (including LWA) full time for 2025/26) plus additional CDA allowance (£600 for 25/26)

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