Digital Game Theory (PhD.)
- Field of study: media and communication studies
- Form of study: FULL-TIME or PART-TIME
- Level of study: 3rd, PhD.
- Length of study: for full-time form 3 years/ for part-time form 4 years
- Language of instruction: Slovak
The PhD programme in Digital Game Theory at the 3rd level of study in the field of Mass Media Studies is a programmatic and continuous continuation of the Master's programme in Digital Game Theory. Its basic aim is to deepen and broaden the knowledge base, to refine knowledge and develop skills, and to enable a wider range of graduate employment opportunities. On the one hand, studying at third level significantly strengthens the knowledge base and research area, on the other hand, it improves the skills and abilities acquired at master's level. It purposefully prepares students to master the most challenging tasks in the media practice of digital games and broadens their opportunities for employment at higher levels of managerial practice and specialized positions within project and research teams. Similarly to the Bachelor and Master degree programmes, the PhD programme is built on a foundation based on the courses included within the Mass Media Studies major. It provides education reflecting and meeting the current market requirements in the field of creation and reception of digital communications in a distinct and rapidly developing segment of the creative industry - digital games.
Graduates of the Digital Game Theory programme at Level 3 work with knowledge in the context of the history of civilisations and cultures. He/she is able to better understand game principles and situations in terms of the influence of significant factors - philosophical, religious, socio-cultural, artistic-cultural, media-art, aesthetic, psychological and broader social contexts. Such a wide-ranging knowledge base is essential for the realisation of his creative intentions within the production of digital games, as well as for their professional and critical evaluation in all aspects, i.e. in terms of the quality of visual, narrative, musical-sound, etc. rendering, as well as in terms of the needs of the target groups of digital game users. A base of extended knowledge from several areas of scientific disciplines, including media and marketing communication, media sociology and psychology, game theory and typology, and game principles... (list supporting subjects) enables the graduate to gain a deeper insight and understanding of those spheres of media practice in which digital games are currently applied. The graduate is able to formulate a scientific problem arising from the analysis of the digital games environment, to use different methods and tools to investigate this environment and to solve research problems with an emphasis on the benefits for the broad socio-cultural domestic and international environment, taking into account the ethical and legal aspects of the subject matter. He/she is proficient in and applies the principles of professional ethics to his/her work. He has a high level of knowledge of the theory and typology of digital games, their semiotics, the possibilities of using audiovisual means to achieve or increase their effectiveness, the typology and specific characteristics of their users with regard to motivational factors, as well as the possibilities of using games in different areas of life. He/she is oriented in all areas of research, such as investigating the conditions of creation, production, narratives, animations or user game rituals, or the effects of digital games on different typological variants of gamer groups, etc. Gain a detailed overview of the latest scholarship, hypotheses, concepts, research problems or unanswered questions in the exploration of digital game theory.
Practical skills and competences
A graduate of the Mass Media Studies in Digital Game Theory 3rd degree programme can work effectively at different levels of digital game work - as a member of a research team, as an independent and lead researcher, analyst, producer, creator, implementer, coordinator or project manager, promoter, consultant, methodologist or educator. He/she can competently write a project taking into account the needs of the environment in national and international context and scope. He/she is able to lead a national and international research team, plan and carry out research tasks, take into account the intercultural specificities of the research team, and is competent to teach specialised subjects at university level. He/she is able to think critically, to select, name and thematise current and relevant research problems and to find creative and constructive solutions. On the basis of this body of knowledge, he/she is able to critically analyse and re-evaluate existing theories in the research field of digital games, as well as to develop new theoretical concepts or formulate assumptions and hypotheses for empirically oriented research. The graduate has sufficient knowledge of research methods and procedures of basic and applied research, is able to assess, select, apply and implement theoretical and empirical research methods. He/she has the competence to investigate the subject interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, at national and international level. He/she can design and implement new research procedures as well as new and original ways of creation in the field of digital games and closely intertwined practices within media-art production.
Additional knowledge, skills and competences
Graduates of the Digital Game Theory programme at Level 3 are able to work effectively as a member of a team, to make use of the findings of empirical quantitative sociological research as well as qualitative research oriented psychologically, narratively, discursively or semiotically, etc. Uses a foreign language in his/her field, is able to keep in touch with modern developments in his/her discipline and continue his/her own professional development. During his/her studies, he/she will deepen the principles of scientific work, methods of scientific problem formulation, ethical principles and principles of scientific activity, abilities to create scientifically, to bring new ideas, to apply the results of research to practice, and at the same time to present the results of his/her own and collective research activities both at home and abroad.
- scientific researcher in educational institutions, universities, research institutes and research centres in Slovakia and abroad,
- expert in the development of projects focused on the innovative use of digital games in areas outside the entertainment industry,
- expert in the field of media monitoring and critical assessment of digital games and analysis of different types of digital games and the state of the digital industry,
- expert and assessor in support and grant schemes related to the creative and scientific-reflective component of digital games,
- expert in government and parliamentary committees on the development of the creative industries, ● professional in the field of formal and non-formal education with a focus on the educational elements of digital games.
Admission requirements for full-time and part-time study.
Do you have questions about the study programme? Ask the main supervisor
prof. PhD. Hana Pravdová, PhD.
hana.pravdova@ucm.sk