Research Areas

Research Degrees can be pursued either through conventional text-based studies or through a combination of studio-based activities where individual creative practice forms a significant part of the intellectual inquiry supported by a critical commentary. The creative work can take any form but it must be presented in relation to the argument of the thesis and demonstrate an understanding of the appropriate theoretical/historical/critical/contemporary context of the research.

Art and Design research encompasses a broad range of media interests, practical approaches, and historical and theoretical perspectives. A key aspect of both teaching and research at Chester is the notion of interdisciplinarity and dialogue between disciplines and practices is something that is of interest to many of the researchers working within the Department. Areas of research interest that extend across disciplinary boundaries include:

• The legacies of modernism and their reinterpretation through contemporary practice
• The role of materiality and embodiment in thinking, making and knowing
• Themes of time, place and cultural memory
• Participatory practice
• Areas of communication, cultural awareness, and identity within digital environments

The ‘expanded field’ of textile practice and the critical discourses that surround the positioning of traditional textile materials and processes within the broader realm of contemporary visual culture, is an area of research activity that is also particularly distinctive to the Department.

Design thinking is emerging as one of the most valuable approaches to problem-solving and opportunity creation. Developed from human-centered design processes and fronted by understanding and empathy it provides tools to support communities, organisations and businesses in positively addressing some of the most pressing issues we currently face.

Design research at Chester has two connected strands. The selection, application and facilitating of design thinking approaches, including co-design and inclusive design, in collaborative research projects with local government, communities and business to tackle specific problems and the development and dissemination of new design thinking tools matched to industry and societal needs.

Another significant aspect of research activity is drawing, particularly in the context of Narrative Drawing. We aim to support, challenge and develop synergies between the study and practices of storytelling, material culture and depiction. We invite proposals for both theory and practice-based postgraduate and doctoral research in the fields of, but not limited to, visual narrative, drawing, embodiment, performance, material culture, production cultures, media, literature, illustration, and graphic design.

Contact

Dr Tom McGuirk, t.mcgirk@chester.ac.uk

Biological Sciences at the University of Chester is based around an innovative group of about 30 academic staff, research students and post-doctoral workers, committed to providing high-quality teaching and research.

Several external bodies collaborate with the Department, including Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Veterinary Tissue Bank Ltd, and Chester Zoo. These connections are further enhanced by links with other regional and international universities.

Facilities 

The research facilities include four biochemistry/cell biology laboratories containing tissue culture and flow cytometry facilities, as well as UV-Vis, fluorescence and atomic emission spectroscopy facilities. In addition, we have a cell imaging (fluorescence microscopy) suite, a microbiology laboratory, a molecular biology lab with PCR and RT-qPCR instrumentation, a stem cell research laboratory and two newly built laboratories dedicated to conservation biology/genetics and animal behaviour and stress research.

All postgraduate students can take advantage of our structured supervisory network which ensures the student’s development is enhanced throughout their time studying at Chester. This is also strengthened by regular subject-specific and employability skills workshops as well as a research seminar programme.

Research Areas

The Department has three main areas of research that broadly encompass:

• Conservation Biology (of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that focuses on, man-made impacts, ecosystem modelling and conservation genetics)
• Animal Welfare and Behaviour (with emphasis on both animal stress/pain as well as their social structures and interactions)
• Molecular biology and biochemistry including molecular genetics, detection of biomarkers of disease, ecotoxicology and molecular histopathology.

Research interests across faculties include the Stem Cells and Tissue Regeneration Research Group and the Food Nanotechnology Research Group, in collaboration with the Institutes of Medicine and Food Science & Innovation respectively.

Contact

Dr Matt Geary

m.geary@chester.ac.uk

Chester Business School is home to an intimate and burgeoning community of research active academics and doctoral students who want to tackle issues of national and international significance. Our team of experienced and upcoming researchers have published widely in areas such as thriving and resilience at work and workplace/management education; tourism and destination development and management; marketing communications and brand management; and enterprise, leadership and management. Our community holds numerous international journal editorships in these areas and our doctoral students hold significant responsibility nationally.

Doctoral research at Chester Business School aspires to tackle national and international issues relevant to real managers in real organisations. Our two Professional Doctorates are increasingly popular with senior professionals who want to be recognised for making a difference: our Chester DBA is for successful MBA graduates and our Chester DProf is for successful Master’s graduates in a range of specialised fields. Chester Business School also hosts PhD students on issues of national or international significance.

We welcome inquiries from students wishing to pursue research towards a business-related MPhil and PhD degree.

Our wide variety of research interests cover  subject areas of Accounting, Business, Data Analytics, Event Management, Finance, HR, Management, Marketing and Tourism.
 
Our PhD program is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary for a successful career in research and academia. Under the guidance of expert faculty members, students engage in advanced study and research in their chosen field, fostering independent, critical, and analytical thinking.
 
The program's centerpiece is the PhD thesis, which provides an opportunity for students to make an original contribution to their area of specialization. Students are encouraged to disseminate their research through publication in conferences and journals. Upon completion, graduates are well-prepared for careers as university faculty or researchers in the private and public sectors, as well as specialized fields requiring advanced expertise. The PhD degree also creates opportunities for entrepreneurship and leadership positions across diverse industries.

Our research specialisms

Contact

Prof Kelvin Leong

k.leong@chester.ac.uk

The Department has a very strong presence in postgraduate education offering well-established MSc degrees in the following areas of study:

• Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation
• Exercise and Nutrition Science
• Food Science
• Human Nutrition
• Nutrition and Dietetics
• Public Health Nutrition
• Weight Management

The programmes listed above reflect the Department’s research interests and opportunities to study for a research degree (MPhil and PhD) are available within these broad areas. Each of the areas of research interest has roots in the need to provide research-based evidence to manage and act upon current worldwide concerns about lifestyle influences on health and public well-being.

Research projects may be conducted in on-campus laboratories, in the wider community, or within the student’s place of work. We have a long history of successful research collaboration with commercial organisations and health services both within the UK and internationally. Clinical Sciences and Nutrition academics have expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research and a number of recent studies have capitalised upon this strength by adopting a mixed methods approach. All research students are supported by experienced teams of supervisors each led by a senior academic. In addition, students are encouraged to participate in a range of developmental activities to enhance their knowledge and research skills.

Contact

Prof Stephen Fallows

s.fallows@chester.ac.uk

The School of Education has a vibrant research culture with staff and doctoral students engaged in forms of social and educational enquiry that is of international standing. Our research culture and community is ever expanding and our doctoral students are central to this development. Our research-active staff publish widely in books and academic journals and are involved in local or international research projects. Many also act as academic consultants, editors, reviewers and examiners which together constitute a very experienced academic base within which postgraduate research students are enabled to flourish.

The Centre for Research into Education, Creativity and the Arts (RECAP) has an established reputation as a network centre for academics and other professionals using the arts including those in education, arts and culture, health, justice, heritage, sport and organisations and business in the public, private and third sector - locally, nationally and internationally. It is Co-Directed by Professors Jeff Adams and Allan Owens who have international reputations in their respective fields. Visiting research fellows, professors and artists serve further to enrich our research environment. Project funding from the British Academy, World Bank, Esme Fairborn, RSA, Canadian Social Science Institute and a wide range of EU streams ensures that the centre remains at the forefront of developments in the field of creative pedagogies and arts-based research with specialisms in Art, Drama and Music Education. Particularly strong collaboration is ongoing with Tate Liverpool, Storyhouse Chester, Curious Minds, NW Arts Council England Bridging Organisation, National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) and with our Partner institutions in Austria, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Palestine, Spain and Sweden.

Research Areas

Our research into education and pedagogy has developed around the key themes of:

• Creativity
• Early childhood
• Teacher Education
• Equity and social justice 
• Leadership development, sustainable leadership and trait leadership, which is supporting the development of the next generation of educational leaders
• Subject-specific areas such as the Arts, Modern Foreign Languages and Mathematics Education

We offer a vibrant, supportive and inclusive research community for students working on research projects in English Literature and/or Language, Creative Writing and Gender Studies. Our academic staff are active researchers and experts in their fields, and experienced research supervisors. Students are encouraged to attend and present at research seminars, symposia and training events within the Faculty and University, and at national and international academic conferences. English academics have also hosted a range of successful international conferences, including the biannual Talking Bodies conference. Students are also welcome to join one or more of the University’s Research Institutes focusing on Culture and Society, Health and Wellbeing, Sustainability and Environment, and Regional Economy.

Research Areas

We are particularly keen to hear from students researching in the following areas:

• Shakespeare
• Romanticism
• Nineteenth-century literature and culture
• South African literature
• Irish literature
• American literature
• Historical fiction
• Gender and sexuality
• Queer and disability representation in literature and on screen
• Fanfiction
• Fashion, costume and textiles
• Crime writing
• Children’s literature and Young Adult fiction
• Creative writing (including flash fiction, short stories, novels, poetry, and scriptwriting)
• Language typology, grammar and syntax
• Language and power
• Corpus linguistics
• Historical linguistics
• Sociolinguistics and discourse analysis

Recent Projects 

Recent completed PhD dissertations include: ‘From Fallen Woman to Businesswoman: the radical voices of Elizabeth Gaskell and Margaret Oliphant’; ‘Novelty Fades: science fiction and Posthumanism’; ‘Industrial gentlemanliness: the fin-de-siècle Adventure Hero in text and image, 1870-1914’; ‘My friend, the queen: a historical novel’; ‘The literary places of Mary Cholmondeley and Mary Webb: independent women and walking the Shropshire countryside’.

Current students are researching topics including crime fiction, nineteenth-century sex workers’ clothing, mesmerism in Victorian fiction, representations in Indian literature of a Hindu-Muslim dispute over a sacred site, virtual reality, space and place in literature, representations of femininity in contemporary British and American TV comedy and drama, heteronormativity in Hollywood films, masculinity in heavy metal music, young adult fiction, flash fiction, and authors such as Charlotte Brontë, Angela Carter, Agatha Christie, Patricia Highsmith, and Émile Zola.

Contact

Prof Melissa Fegan

m.fegan@chester.ac.uk

Geography and Environement at Chester has a strong research culture, with almost 90% of unit outputs graded as internationally recognised or internationally excellent in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework. We offer research students high quality field and laboratory facilities and committed, experienced research supervisors.

Departmental research focuses on three themes:

• Global environmental change and hazard management
• Communities, culture and sustainability
• Technology-enhanced learning and student partnerships

Specific staff research interests include:

• Coastal/fluvial dynamics
• Geoecology
• Geographical information science
• Physical and social impacts of flooding
• Catchment and flood modelling
• Natural hazards
• Quaternary studies
• Agroecological change
• Digital geographies
• Youth cultures and consumption
• Migration, refuge and asylum
• Sustainability
• Geopolitics
• Popular culture and the media
• Military geography
• Technology-enhanced learning
• Student-staff partnership practice in higher education
• Teaching ethics and ethical thinking

Graduate students work alongside academic staff in a stimulating and vibrant research environment that facilitates the interchange of ideas and helps to ensure an excellent record of successful completion. Current and completed PhD projects include: Rural justice within rural multi-functionality: does rural proofing work?; Rapid Holocene climate change events in the Balkans; Understanding societal flood vulnerability among rural communities along the River Severn; Land use/land cover change, climate variability and risk assessment in the Benue Trough, Nigeria; Sustainable development in the food sector; The role of anaerobic digestion in achieving soil conservation and sustainable agriculture for sustainable development; The quality of education in conflict: experiences from the West Bank (Palestine).

Research degree applications are welcomed which align with these five research themes:

• Mental Health and Learning Disability
• Pedagogy
• Ageing
• Public Health
• Social Care and Social Work

As a postgraduate student, you will be supported by a high-quality supervisory team who are committed to facilitating a personalised learning experience. Here you will be challenged to explore new ideas and new ways of thinking as you develop and implement your research project, which should enhance your professional career development as well as contribute to new knowledge in your chosen field.

This is backed up by a Postgraduate Team who will provide you with an opportunity to engage in a robust and diverse research culture within the Faculty and the wider University, including; a variety of research seminars, conference attendance, and presentation and in-house training.

Contact

hscdoctorates@chester.ac.uk

We are committed to high-quality research in the fields of history, archaeology and heritage. Our researchers explore diverse themes and evidence ranging across the prehistoric and historical archaeology of Britain and Europe and the history of the medieval, early modern and modern periods in Britain, Europe and America. Please note that heritage topics may be supervised via either History or Archaeology at research level, as well as the connected fields of public history and public archaeology.

By joining us for an MPhil or PhD degree you will be joining a vibrant and successful research community that is one of the strongest in the University. Research is fostered through regular seminars and meetings where staff and postgraduates meet to hear about each other’s work as well as reflect on the work of invited speakers. Yearly postgraduate conferences offer opportunities for our students to collaborate and present their research. Our postgraduate journal, Context, provides an opportunity for publication and dissemination of research.

We also have an impressive and growing record of funding awards, publications of international significance and outreach work that has gained recognition at national and international levels.

We offer expertise and supervision in a range of areas:

History:

• The ecclesiastical and political history of early medieval England
• The social history of the Low Countries in the late medieval period
• Landscape history
• Early modern and modern British and European military and political history
• The English Civil War
• Popular culture, protest and politics in the 18th and 19th centuries
• 19th - 20th century social and cultural British history
• Gender and immigration and minority studies
• Youth and leisure culture in the 19th-20th centuries
• The history of medicine and therapeutic gardens
• 20th century German history

Archaeology:

• Human osteology
• Mortuary archaeology
• Mesolithic archaeology of Britain and Europe
• Iron Age and Roman Britain
• Early medieval British and Scandinavian archaeology
• Early medieval Insular art
• Environmental and landscape archaeology
• Public archaeology
• Heritage management and practice
• Computer applications in archaeology
• Experimental archaeology
• Archaeology and memory

Contact

Prof Meggen Gondek

m.gondek@chester.ac.uk

Research activity in the School principally surrounds socio-legal research in the fields of:

• Equality and diversity 
• Human rights
• EU law
• Legal history
• The development of legal education

Previous postgraduate work includes a study of the implementation of restorative justice within criminal justice systems, assessment experiences of undergraduate law students with specific learning difficulties, the impact of the introduction of positive action in relation to BME football coaches in the UK.

Current postgraduate work includes assessment experiences of gendered experiences of lawyers in relation to the Shared Parental Leave legislation; third party liability for harassment; exploration of safeguarding under the FGM legislation.In addition, the Law School currently hosts a legal research forum: the Forum for Research into Equality and Diversity (‘FRED’).

Contact

Prof Chantal Davies

chantal.davies@chester.ac.uk

Mathematics research at the University of Chester is undertaken by an enthusiastic and successful group of academic staff and their students. We would be glad to hear from potential students who would like to study for a PhD or MPhil in the area of Mathematics.

The research work of the Mathematics team of the University has been widely recognised. In the UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), work of international excellence formed a significant part of the activity under review. Grant awards to members of the Department’s staff included three grants from the Leverhulme Trust as well as grants from the British Council, the Royal Society and other leading funding agencies. 

Research Areas

Applications are welcomed from able mathematicians who are willing to work hard within their chosen research project. 

We are able to supervise projects that have either a theoretical or a practical focus and we would be happy to help you to develop a plan for your project.  The main requirements are an enthusiasm to engage with the project, a willingness to learn and apply new techniques, and a careful approach to documenting progress and reporting on results.

Research areas of academic staff include:

• Broad research interests throughout group theory, algebra and combinatorics, both theoretic and computational. In particular: group theory, particularly finite group theory, often using the action of a group on interesting combinatorial, geometric, or algebraic objects to study the structure of the group, or the object it acts on; and non-associative algebras, particularly axial algebras, which are a class of algebra with a strong natural link to group theory and mathematical physics.
• Nonlinear and Stochastic Partial Differential Equations from phase transitions, and wave propagation, Stefan problems.
• Numerical solution of Partial Differential Equations and Stochastic Differential Equations. 
• Numerical methods for fractional differential equation and subdiffusion and superdiffsion problems. Numerical methods for stochastic time fractional Allen-Cahn equations driven by fractional noise with Hurst parameter H \in (0, 1) which are very useful models from finance, stock market, etc. 
• Numerical methods for stochastic integral-differential equation.  

Research in Chester Medical School is led by a dedicated large group of experienced biomedical and clinical researchers, providing exciting opportunities for study - ranging from basic cellular/molecular science to clinical translational and clinical studies.

Chester Medical School welcomes applicants to undertake research towards MRes, MPhil and PhD research degrees. The School’s research is underpinned by a diverse range of staff research interests and many national and international links. A number of Chester Medical School staff are international experts in their field.

We actively promote a positive research culture; this involves peer learning, teaching from experts, journal clubs, research meetings, an annual postgraduate research conference and our Lunch and Learn research seminar series. The research seminars are attended by both staff and students across the University, and everyone is encouraged to present their research. We aim to enhance and support collaborative working and to peer review current research.

Research Areas

Our current research can be classified as two broad areas:

Molecules, Cells and Tissues Research

• Leukaemia Research Group. Focusing on basic and translational research on Chronic myeloid leukaemia and acute myeloid leukaemia (Dr Claire Lucas, Dr Michelle Cordingley, Dr Svetlana Mysina, Dr Gareth Jones.
• Stem Cells and Tissue Regeneration Research Group - focusing on spinal injury, and stem cell and tissue regeneration (Professor Eustace Johnson, Dr Emma Wilson).
• Cancer Biology and Genetics Research Group (Dr Laurence Seabra, Dr Melisa Baptista, Dr Svetlana Mysina).
• Musculoskeletal Disorders, Ageing and Extracellular Matrix Biology. Focusing on musculoskeletal biology concerning a variety of age-related pathologies, mainly osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and skeletal muscle deterioration (Dr Ioannis Kanakis, Dr Emma Wilson).
• Kidney Extracellular Matrix Group. Focusing on diseases that impact extracellular matrix and adhesion signalling within the kidney (Professor John Alcolado, Dr Michael Randles).
• Biochemical Research Group. Focusing on aberrations in Ca2+ signalling pathways (caused by diseases or toxic insults) and induction of cell death (Professor Frank Michelangeli, Dr Ioannis Kanakis).
• Fetal and maternal health. Focusing on conditions affecting the maternal and fetal environment during pregnancy and how that can influence life post pregnancy (Dr Gareth Nye).
• Molecular immunology and histopathology research group (Dr Jon Power, Dr Navaneethan Palanisamy, Gemma Jenkins).
• Cardiovascular disease research group (Dr Hanady Hamdallah, Allam Harfoush)

Clinical Medicine

The focus of this group is interdisciplinary clinical practice and research for patient benefit. The group, led by Professor Steven Jones, recently developed with the recruitment of several academic appointments and experienced clinicians from the disciplines of psychology, nursing, physicians associate, treatment radiography, and medicine.

The group aims to cultivate clinical academic staff towards clinical research careers. This group strengthens our research emphasis on national and international health development. Group members work with local NHS Trusts to develop collaborative research grants, and visiting NHS Clinical Professors have strengthened the clinical care group at Chester Medical School.

To support interdisciplinary collaborations with other faculties, and local and national stakeholders, each group member will have special interests and the group ethos is to nurture these interests. Finally, group members of the two medical school research peer groups meet with the aim of sharing ideas and experiences for staff and postgraduate student research development (Professor Steven Jones, Professor Sujeet Jajdeokar,  Professor Taj Nathan, Wendi Heathcock, Megan Twamley).

Collaboration network

Staff at Chester Medical school have established an impressive network of collaborators to facilitate research and teaching excellence. Here are just some of our active collaborations.

• Turku Bioscience Centre, University of Turku, Finland
• Emory University, Atlanta GA
• Centre for Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai
• Haematology/oncology. Azadi Teaching Hospital, Iraq
• School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow
• School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Roehampton
• Division of Cancer and Genetics, University of Cardiff
• Department of haematology, University of Cambridge
• Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology (ISMIB), University of Liverpool
• Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool
• School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham
• Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham
• School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Keele University
• Veterinary Tissue Bank, Wrexham
• The Kroto Institute, University of Sheffield
• Department of biology, University of Oxford
• Department of Medical Sciences (Infection medicine), Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden
• Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, NUI Galway, Ireland
• MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, University of Cambridge
• School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia
• Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University
• School of Health & Life Sciences, Teesside University
• School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow
• Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London
• National Hellenic Research Foundation, Greece
• Medical School, University of Patras, Greece
• School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Lancashire
• Manchester Academic Health Science Centre
• Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, Division of Cell-Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, University of Manchester
• Department of Renal Medicine, University College London
• Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, United States
• Centre for Cellular and Molecular Physiology, University of Oxford
• Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow
• Countess of Chester Hospital
• Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge
• Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital
• Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
• Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
• East Lancashire Hospitals
• Royal Manchester Children's Hospital

Facilities 

Chester Medical School has well-equipped, modern research laboratories, allowing us to analyse tissues and cells at the molecular level. The research facilities include: cell biology/biochemistry laboratories, containing tissue culture (including stem cell research), cell imaging (brightfield and fluorescence microscopy), and flow cytometry facilities and microtomes for histological analyses. We also have microbiology facilities, molecular biology laboratories equipped with PCR and RT-qPCR instrumentation and protein analysis laboratories containing SDS-PAGE and Western blotting equipment, including the automated WES system, as well as an autoanalyzer for analyte measurements in biological fluids. Specialist facilities at Chester Medical School are supported by our academic and technical staff.

Contact

PGRtutor.CMS@chester.ac.uk

We arecommitted to high-level research in a wide range of language-based cultural studies. We explore the global regions where the languages we teach are spoken, be it Chinese, French, German or Spanish. We consider the interrelationship of cultures in the formation, reconfiguration and representation of identities. 87.5% of our publications submitted to the 2021 Research Excellence exercise (REF 2021) for Area Studies were recognised as 3* and 4*, internationally excellent and world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour.

Research Areas

While our research is defined in terms of language culture and location, the research topics we are engaged in are very wide-ranging, with an emphasis on historical, cultural and political developments in the societies living in these regions. Our research team is forward-looking and interdisciplinary, encouraging connections with the arts, humanities, social sciences and beyond. The Department actively supports the development of international research networks. At present we are involved in collaborative projects with partners in Europe, the French and Hispanic Caribbean, Francophone Africa, Asia and North America.

French and Francophone Studies

The Department has research specialisms across Francophone Area Studies, and has developed particular strengths in French and francophone literatures, popular cultures, postcolonial movements and identity politics. Beyond Europe we specialise in French speaking regions of Africa, North America and the Caribbean. The Department offers an enriching environment for the development of new and innovative research projects and we are involved in international collaborative projects in Senegal, Quebec and Belgium. We are happy to provide research supervision at all levels of postgraduate study in French and Francophone historical, postcolonial, migrant, popular and literary cultures from the 19th century to the present day.

Hispanic and Iberian Studies

In addition to providing research supervision across a range of historical, political and cultural aspects of the Spanish-speaking world, staff in the Spanish and Hispano-American team offer our research students particular expertise in Cuban studies based on their own fieldwork and academic research conducted in the Hispanic Caribbean. Particular areas of interest include contemporary Cuban politics, representations of women and international relations. We are also able to offer supervision in a range of cultural and literary fields of Latin American studies, Iberian cultural and political studies, Spanish literary culture in 19th century, and more broadly politics and literature in peninsular Spain.

German Studies and Chinese Studies

Research in German encompasses memory studies, post reunification cultural politics, oral history and criminality in East Germany. Subjects range from resistance to dictatorships and media censorship to contemporary film and literature. Supervision is offered on topics across the 20th and 21st centuries.

As well as exploring contemporary Chinese society and sociolinguistics, research in the Department focuses on Chinese socioeconomics with particular reference to sports sociology, policies and power dynamics.

Contact

Dr Brenda Garvey

b.garvey@chester.ac.uk

The University of Chester welcomes applications from students who are interested in studying towards MPhil or PhD research degrees in Music, Media and Performance. We are particularly keen to hear from students who would like to research any of the following areas:

• Popular Music
• Dance Music
• Applied Practice
• Educational Drama
• Contemporary Dance
• Contemporary Performance
• Stage Adaptation
• Wrestling
• Acting for Camera
• Theatre and Science
• Composition
• Gender & Film
• Fandom and Audience Cultures
• Journalism (print)
• Journalism (online media)
• Global Journalism

Contact

Dr Shelley Piasecka

s.piasecka@chester.ac.uk

We offer supervision in a range of areas, including possibilities for inter-disciplinary approaches. Our staff have expertise in areas of health, sport and exercise, psychology, animal behaviour, evolutionary psychology, abuse and safeguarding, children and families, cognition, language and emotion.

Research students in psychology are well-supported by an active seminar programme and research group meetings within the School, and by the University’s programme of research student events.

Research Areas

Applied Cognition and Evolution

Our cognitive and evolutionary specialists examine how current theories from cognitive and evolutionary psychology can be applied to better understand human and animal behaviour.  Research within this team covers a wide variety of topics from hemispheric differences in facial emotion to brain lateralisation of emotion sounds and voices through to communication in non-human primates.

Family, Infant and Child Psychology

Our family and child psychology research team focuses upon different aspects of development and wellbeing across the lifespan, including implications for education and practice. We have strong local and national links with voluntary and public sector organisations and collaborate on research projects and audits.

Forensic

Our forensic psychologists aim to produce theoretically informed and evidence-based research that has an applied focus, with clear potential impact in the areas of investigative and forensic psychology. Strong collaborative links with practitioner colleagues promote practice-based research, allowing us to address issues that are directly relevant to real world criminal justice settings.

Psychological Interventions

Our applied practice psychologists explore the impact of psychological interventions, and they cover therapy, coaching, as well as education-based interventions which are rooted in psychological theory and research. We have a strong track record of conducting research that contributes to the development and improvement of interventions, of testing out new interventions, and working with stakeholders.

Health and Wellbeing

Our health and wellbeing psychologists conduct cutting-edge psychological research and consultancy to help improve professional practice in the fields of health and wellbeing from a socio-cognitive perspective. Research includes examining behaviour change, stress and coping, the impact of long-term conditions, healthcare communication and decision making, and the role of social support networks.

Contact

Prof Lisa Oakley

l.oakley@chester.ac.uk

Prof Moira Lafferty

m.lafferty@chester.ac.uk

We welcome students who are interested in pursuing PhD, MRes or MPhil research degrees in the following subject areas:

• Biological Sciences
• Physics and Chemistry
• Chemical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Electronic and Electrical Engineering
• Mathematics
• Computer Science 

We support a wide range of topics, with an emphasis on research that focuses on green and sustainability themes.

We have a highly collegiate approach to research, with the research interests of staff falling across traditional departmental boundaries and across the academic-industry divide. This gives rise to exciting cross-disciplinary project areas that can make use of all the facilities of the departments that make up the Faculty. Projects are designed around the fundamentals underpinning science and technology necessary for progress in one or more specific industry sectors, and can involve experimental, theoretical, computational or modelling aspects.

Current Projects 

Currently, the Faculty is engaged in research that covers a wide range of topics. Examples include: investigations of improved materials properties by surface laser treatments; development and evaluation of next generation technologies for fuel cell and redox battery systems; modelling and optimisation of biofuel source material pre-treatments; investigations of the adhesion and control of biofilms in industrial and medical processes; human-computer interaction; virtual and mixed reality; cybersecurity; information visualisation; visual analytics; wearable computing; domestic, farm and wildlife animal behaviour and welfare issues; animal conservation including population studies and population modelling; conservation genetics and marine and coastal resource management issues.

We draw on interdisciplinary perspectives to inform both our teaching and research, welcoming research applications from students wishing to pursue PhD, MRes or MPhil research degrees in the following subject areas:

• Counselling and Psychotherapy
• Criminology
• Economics
• International Relations
• Politics
• Psychological Trauma
• Social Justice and Community Action
• Sociology

Sport and Exercise Sciences divides its research into two distinct groups – the Sociology of Sport and Exercise, and Applied Sport and Exercise Science. With 85% of eligible staff submitted, Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 results identified 51% of our overall research profile as ‘world-leading/internationally excellent’ and 100% of our impact case studies were deemed to be very considerable in terms of their reach and significance.

We provide a resource room and a regular Research Seminar Programme to support postgraduate research students as standard. We have well qualified, research-active staff who are committed to nurturing the strong and energetic research culture they have developed over the last two decades. In addition, Sport and Exercise Sciences has strong links with many UK and European universities, whereby staff and postgraduate students are able to participate in intensive collaborative exchanges, should they wish. We also have strong research links with several external partners, including: Active Cheshire, Birkebeiner (Norway), the English Institute of Sport, St Helens Rugby League Club, Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club, the England Touch Association, GB cycling, GB squash, GB water polo, GB swimming and GB taekwondo, Premiership Rugby Union clubs, Premiership and Championship Football clubs.

Facilities 

The sports science laboratories based at the Chester learning site are available throughout the academic year for students’ use. State-of-the-art research resources include well-equipped laboratories in the following areas: Physiology (two), Biomechanics, Performance Analysis, Strength and Conditioning and Sports. Other facilities include: floodlit 3G synthetic grass pitch, floodlit AstroTurf pitch, 60m running track, 25m heated swimming pool, fitness suite, dance studio/gymnasium, a six-badminton court sports hall, two squash courts, and rugby, hockey and soccer pitches.

Research Areas

We are particularly keen to hear from students who would like to research any of the following areas:

• The applied science of rugby (league and union)
• The physiology of intermittent exercise
• Monitoring of training load in athletes
• Pacing in team sports
• Exercise-induced muscle damage and its effect on human performance
• Physical activity and health
• Physical education
• Young people, sport and leisure
• Sport policy and development

Contact

Prof Jamie Highton

j.highton@chester.ac.uk

Theology and Religious Studies (TRS) at Chester is a lively and exciting place to pursue your research. We are known for the excellence of our research. The results of the most recent Research Excellence Framework in 2021 (REF, the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in Higher Education Institutions) recognised TRS Chester as one of the leading Theology and Religious Studies departments in the UK.

By embarking on an MPhil, PhD, or Professional Doctorate in Theology and Religious Studies you will be joining a vibrant and thriving research culture, where academic staff and postgraduate students work together in a supportive, stimulating and thriving environment. As part of our seminar series, staff give papers, and we invite scholars at the forefront of their field of study to present their work. Students present work in progress at our annual Summer School and also have opportunities to share their work with colleagues in other disciplines at Faculty and University-wide Symposia.

Our Staff and Research Activity

Our staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research expertise and are able to offer supervision across a range of disciplines, including:

• Biblical Studies
• Second Temple Judaism
• Early Christian History
• Contemporary Spiritualities
• Contextual and Practical Theologies
• Philosophy of Religion
• Religious Studies
• Religion and Society
• Religion and Gender
• Systematic Theology

As an academic team, we draw on a wide range of approaches to examine Theology and Religious Studies: cultural studies, ethnography, hermeneutics, history, philosophy, quantitative and qualitative methods, media and material studies, practice-based research, sociology, and textual analysis. This is illustrated in our well regarded and influential publications, our membership of professional and academic research bodies, and our participation and hosting of major conferences which attract internationally renowned scholars.

Contact

Dr Ben Fulford

b.fulford@chester.ac.uk