Our Research
Our research brings together expertise in music, drama, performing arts, film and screen (including computer games), and heritage/museum studies within the PRACT Research Centre. This centre hosts 24 academic staff and 24 PhD students, working on innovative interdisciplinary and discipline-specific projects across all of our campuses in Northern Ireland.
We collaborate widely through Ulster's Creative Industries Institute (established in 2017), delivering major strategic projects including the £72-million Studio Ulster Belfast Region City Deal project and Northern Ireland's hub in the URKI (AHRC) CoSTAR Network Lab. Other landmark initiatives include the £13 million AHRC Creative Cluster Future Screens NI and the UKRI Covid Rapid Response project Museums, Crisis and Covid-19.
Our research is recognised as amongst the best in the UK. Over the last two REF cycles, our research impact has been regularly judged to be at the very top of the UK field, with the unit being placed joint first in REF2021 and joint 2nd in REF2014. Our research environment was assessed in the most recent UK REF as 100% 3*/4* ('internationally excellent' and 'world-leading), and our overall quality profile is 41% 4* 'world-leading', leading us to be ranked alongside many prominent research-intensive departments at other universities and in the specialist conservatoire sector.
Themes and Subject Areas
Our research is centred within the following areas:
Subject areas:
- Music
- Drama
- Film and Screen Studies
- Computer Games
- Heritage and Museum Studies
Interdisciplinary themes and research groups:
- Arts practices, practice-as-research (incl. applied arts and creative industries and technologies)
- Arts, heritage, and conflict
Learn more about our Research, Groups and Centres
Call for submissions: THE WORLD RITUAL ARTS SYMPOSIUM: Performance, Practice, and Presence
The inaugural edition of the World Ritual Arts Symposium will take place from 22 to 24 May 2026 at Ulster...
Call: World Ritual Arts Symposium
Our People
Meet the staff behind our Music, Drama, Film and Screen, Computer Games, and Heritage/Museums research.
About our Research
A unique multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary environment for research within and between the fields of drama, film, music, heritage and museum...
PRACT Research Centre
PRACT is a unique multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research centre bringing together practice-led arts, culture and heritage, and creative technologies...
CoSTAR Screen Lab
CoSTAR is the UK Research and Development network for creative technology.
Visiting Professors
Visiting Professors within Music, Drama, Film and Heritage.
Music Research
Music at Ulster University has a vibrant community of practitioner-researchers.
Drama Research
Drama researchers at Ulster work as a research-intensive subject team within the field of drama and in interdisciplinary projects with...
Film and Screen Research
Film and Screen/Cinematic Arts at Ulster University is a new and vibrant area of research that combines theory and practice...
Heritage and Museum Studies Research
The heritage and museum studies subject at Ulster University has been established since 2001 and is one of the leading...
PhD Research: application processes and topics
PhD research can be pursued in the following individual subject areas: Cinematic Arts (film/moving image practice and film and screen...
Find out more about Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies Research
Conferences and Symposia
Previous conferences, symposia and festivals of Music, Drama, Film and Screen and Heritage research
Current and Recent PhDs
Our PhDs are a key, and growing, part of our research community.
Facilities and Infrastructure
Our infrastructure includes specialist studios and performance spaces at our Derry ~ Londonderry and Belfast campuses, and we also have...
Visiting and Postdoctoral Researchers
Postdoctoral researchers in Music, Drama, Film/Screen and Heritage/Museum Studies
Future Screens NI
Future Screens NI is a £13 million project within the AHRC/UKRI Creative Clusters programme, delivering expert technical skills, opportunity and...
Museums, Crisis and Covid19
This UKRI Rapid Response project focuses on how museums can contribute to community resilience and wellbeing in a time of...
Inclusive Creativity
Inclusive Creativity aims to level the playing field in performance and composition for disabled musicians by developing new technologies and...
Counting What Counts
Helping senior cultural decision-makers to understand the importance and potential of big data.
