This course encourages individual, practice led research projects that explore aspects of the art of children’s book illustration from the perspective of high-level practice. We look for research proposals that are informed by personal practice and demonstrate an ambition to examine an area or aspect of children’s book illustration through a combination of creative and theoretical enquiry. Using your personal creative practice as a research tool, you’ll produce distinctive contributions to the growing knowledge pool in this area. All your subject-specific studies will be enhanced and supported by our University-wide training sessions, where you’ll gain important research expertise in areas like ethics, presentations, intellectual property and digital scholarship.

You’ll also have access to many exhibition and conference opportunities. We’ll provide you with many opportunities for career development and training, and encourage you to get involved with external activities like exhibiting, curating, conference organization and presenting papers. There may be opportunities to take part in collaborative projects with our Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, and our annual trips to the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Many research students in this discipline are seeking to combine high-level professional creative practice with academic careers. You can also request specific support for writing-up, conference papers, general research methods and other research skills if you need it.