July 1–August 31, 2026
Becoming Social: Reflections on the Social Modalities of Postgraduate Research
This residency invites Postgraduate candidates and alumni to reflect on the multifaceted social dimensions of their own studies, considering the following key areas:
PgR accounts of Advisor-PgR dynamics; the significance of peer support and kinship networks; the exercise of relational agency—the capacity to proactively establish and maintain supportive relationships; negotiation of disciplinary norms and expectations; and defining the communities to whom individual “contributions to knowledge” are made.
We invite you to explore issues related to academic socialisation, including the impact of cultural differences, and the reconciliation of academic and professional criteria for success.
We also invite reflections on the influence of external support networks—such as extra-institutional mentoring and participation in communities of practice, alongside considerations of disciplinary and institutional expectations regarding the form of doctoral theses; and the role of examiners and negotiation of examination conventions. John Lennon Building, Liverpool John Moores University, July 20–24, 2026.
Call for PhD applications
Transart Institute is accepting expressions of interest for our PhD program, offered in a three-year accelerated format in which you undertake a substantial public-facing project by engaging your creative practice with the doctoral research process. We provide bespoke academic mentorship and guidance throughout the programme, with advisors drawn from Transart’s extensive faculty network. Unlike other programmes, we also enable you to invite external experts to join your advisory team to accompany you through your doctoral journey. Transart Institute aims to expand its peer-network of postgraduate researchers, and is specifically seeking researchers / creative practitioners that can contribute to our constellations of transdisciplinary research, which includes, (but is not limited to): Materialism & Ecological Praxis, Algorithmic & Generative Media, Somatics & Corporeality, Sonic Landscapes, Critical Urbanism & Spatial Praxis, Historiography & Speculative Futures, Radical Pedagogy & Institutional Praxis, Making Public, Crafting Media, Interfaces & Technologies, and Life Studies. A full list of the constellations and sub-specialisms is available on our website.
In response to fast-changing student visa challenges, our previously titled Low-Residency programmes are now offered entirely online, with a warm invitation for our postgraduate researchers to attend a series of in-person Nexus Events. These events are held throughout the year in cities such as Berlin, London, Toronto and Venice so we can network, present, collaborate and partner with other researchers and organisations. Transart Institute’s flexibility in its delivery methods also caters to the wide variety of external responsibilities some researchers face in their private lives, and provides pathways between our programmes to suit your evolving needs.
Admissions here.
