The Department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway enjoys an international reputation for the excellence of its research. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, the biggest periodic research assessment exercise in the world, our research outputs were ranked in 2nd position amongst all UK universities for “world-leading” research (rated 4*). 93% of our research was judged "world-leading" or "internationally excellent" in quality. Media Arts was ranked 7th in UK media departments for the overall quality of our research.  

We are committed to developing inclusive, transnational and diverse approaches to key issues in film, media and cultural studies. Our cutting-edge research combines the critical and historical analysis of film, television, visual art and digital media with creative media practice in these areas. It is informed by innovative approaches to   

• Issues of cultural identity  

• National and transnational cinemas 

• Film and television history  

• Histories of television production 

• Cinema’s political cultures  

Over the past years, we have expanded our core base in film and TV studies to digital art and digital media theory. We have assumed a leading role in innovating digital and immersive storytelling and VR. Our flagship research and knowledge transfer project StoryFutures has been supported by £11 million UKRI funding. Its focus is the development of VR and immersive experiences in collaboration with the creative industries. Additional areas of research strength in digital cultures include the 

• Cultural investigation of software and data 

• Game studies