This directory celebrates deaf scholars in the UK and Ireland and makes their work more visible. It also encourages researchers, students and practitioners to discover, cite and build upon the work of deaf academics across all disciplines.
This list does not claim to be an exhaustive record of deaf people who have obtained doctorates in the UK and Ireland. We gratefully acknowledge Tilak Ratnanather, whose list (covering the period up to 2012) has been incorporated here. Any corrections or details of omissions that should be added, please Contact us.
Last updated: Shane Gilchrist, 3 July 2026.
Arjun Shrestha
2026
- University
- University of Birmingham
- Discipline
- Linguistics
- Supervisors
- Adam Schembri, Hannah Lutzenberger
- Title Of Thesis
- Two Sign Languages in Nepal: Documentation and Description
Kirstie Stage
2026
- University
- University of Cambridge
- Discipline
- History
- Supervisors
- Lucy Delap, Jonathan Pledge
- Title Of Thesis
- The Labour and Livelihoods of Deaf and Disabled People in Britain, 1970-2010
Gary Quinn
2025
- University
- Heriot-Watt University
- Discipline
- Social Sciences
- Supervisors
- Jemina Napier, Annelies Kusters
- Title Of Thesis
- Using non-manual features (NMF) to check alignment in BSL pragmatics
Matt Jenkins
2025
- University
- University of Exeter
- Discipline
- Education
- Supervisors
- Hannah Anglin-Jaffe, Dongbo Zhang
- Title Of Thesis
- To What Extent Does Learning a Sign Language Orthography (SLO) Support Deaf Children’s Bi-literacy Development?
Rosemary Oram
2025
- University
- University of Manchester
- Discipline
- Social Work
- Supervisors
- Alys Young, Patricia Cartney
Amandine le Maire
2024
- University
- Heriot-Watt University
- Discipline
- Social Sciences
- Supervisors
- Annelies Kusters, Gina Netto
- Title Of Thesis
- Navigating deaf spaces: how mobility and immobility frame the experiences of deaf people in Kakuma Refugee Camp
Mungo Aitken
2024
- University
- University of Cambridge
- Discipline
- Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics
- Supervisors
- David Abrahams, Nigel Peake
- Title Of Thesis
- On the Factorisation of Matrix Wiener–Hopf Kernels Arising From Acoustic Scattering Problems
Sanna Soomro
2024
- University
- Brunel University London
- Discipline
- Mathematics
Libby Steele
2023
- University
- Bangor University
- Discipline
- Sport Science
- Supervisors
- Vicky Gottwald, Gavin Lawrence
- Title Of Thesis
- Enhancing equity in sport: informing the development of an evidence-based standardised starting system in D/deaf and hearing athletics
Celia Hulme
2022
- University
- University of Manchester
- Discipline
- Nursing
- Supervisors
- Alys Young, Kevin Munro, Katie Rogers
- Title Of Thesis
- Improving Patient Experience, Service Access and Outcomes in NHS Hearing Aid Services for Deaf Adults who use British Sign Language
Ilan Dwek
2022
- University
- University of Reading
- Discipline
- Education
- Supervisors
- Tim Williams, Jill Porter
- Title Of Thesis
- How do educational experiences and deaf identity relate to employment success?
John Walker
2022
- University
- University of Sussex
- Discipline
- Geography
- Supervisors
- Simon Rycroft, Carl Griffin
- Title Of Thesis
- The Deaf community of Brighton and Hove and the performance of cultural capital: self, body and landscape
Christopher Tester
2021
- University
- Heriot-Watt University
- Discipline
- Social Sciences
- Supervisors
- Jemina Napier, Owen Harrington-Fernandez
- Title Of Thesis
- Intralingual Interpreting in the Courtroom: An ethnographic study of Deaf interpreters’ perceptions of their role and positioning
Mette Sommer Lindsay
2021
- University
- Heriot-Watt University
- Discipline
- Social Sciences
- Supervisors
- Jemina Napier, Kate Sang
- Title Of Thesis
- Deaf business owners’ experiences of and strategies in navigating an audist normative structured labour market in Denmark
Rob Wilks
2020
- University
- University of Leicester
- Discipline
- Law
- Supervisors
- Pascale Lorber, Lisa Rodgers
- Title Of Thesis
- Making Equality Law Work for Deaf People
Elizabeth van Wessem
2020
- University
- University of Leicester
- Discipline
- HIstory
- Supervisors
- Andrew Hopper, David Appleby, Christopher King
- Title Of Thesis
- "Because thereon, in a great measure, depend the success and belief of their Office": Clergy-lay relationships in Herefordshire, 1640-1700
Grainne Meehan
2019
- University
- National University of Ireland Maynooth
- Discipline
- Social Sciences
- Supervisors
- Kathryn McGarry
- Title Of Thesis
- Flourishing at the margins: an exploration of deaf and hard-of-hearing women’s stories of their intimate lives in Ireland
Kate Rowley
2018
- University
- University College London
- Discipline
- Experimental Psychology
- Supervisors
- Gabriella Vigliocco, Mairead MacSweeney
- Title Of Thesis
- Visual Word Recognition in Deaf Readers: The interplay between orthographic, semantic and phonological information
Nicola Nunn
2017
- University
- University of Central Lancashire
- Supervisors
- Peter Lucas
- Title Of Thesis
- UNITED OR DIVIDED? A sociocultural study of conflict among British Sign Language users in the workplace
Robert Adam
2017
- University
- University College London
- Supervisors
- Bencie Woll
- Title Of Thesis
- Unimodal bilingualism in the deaf community: language contact between two sign languages in Australia and the United Kingdom
Emma Ferguson-Coleman
2016
- University
- University of Manchester
- Title Of Thesis
- Deaf with dementia: a narrative
Xirong He
2016
- University
- University of Northumbria
- Discipline
- Education
- Title Of Thesis
- How Chinese Hearing Parents Support Their Deaf Children to be Ready for and Educated at Mainstream Schools in Beijing, China
Nick Palfreyman
2015
- University
- University of Central Lancashire
- Supervisors
- Ulrike Zeshan
- Title Of Thesis
- Sign language varieties of Indonesia: A linguistic and sociolinguistic investigation
Sam Lutalo-Kiingi
2014
- University
- University of Central Lancashire
- Supervisors
- Ulrike Zeshan, Frank Harrington
- Title Of Thesis
- A Descriptive Grammar of Morphosyntactic Constructions in Ugandan Sign Language (UgSL)
Katie Rogers
2013
- University
- University of Manchester
- Discipline
- Nursing
- Supervisors
- Alys Young, Karina Lovell
- Title Of Thesis
- Deaf people and mental well-being: Exploring and measuring mental well-being in British Sign Language
Noel O’Connell
2013
- University
- University of Limerick
- Supervisors
- James Deegan, Anne O’Byrne
- Title Of Thesis
- A critical (auto) ethnographic study of deaf people’s experience of education and culture in Ireland
Dai O’Brien
2012
- University
- University of Bristol
- Title Of Thesis
- D/Deaf young people’s experiences of transition planning in England: using auto-driven photoelicitation interviews and Critical Discourse Analysis to explore experiences of policy and practice
Geoffrey Nelson
2012
- University
- University of Oxford
- Discipline
- Physical Chemistry
- Supervisors
- John Foord
- Title Of Thesis
- Surface Characterisation and Functional Properties of Carbon-based Materials
Graham Williams
2012
- University
- Huddersfield
- Discipline
- Forensic Genetics
Kenneth O’Neill
2012
- University
- University of Strathclyde
- Discipline
- Mathematics
- Title Of Thesis
- Island Nucleation and Growth during Submonolayer Deposition
Annelies Kusters
2011
- University
- University of Bristol
- Title Of Thesis
- “Since time immemorial until the end of days”: an ethnographic study of the production of deaf space in Adamorobe, Ghana
Sam Seaver
2011
- University
- Northwestern University
- Discipline
- Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Title Of Thesis
- Modeling of gene regulation and metabolism in microbial organisms
John Bosco Conama
2010
- University
- University College Dublin
- Discipline
- Equality Studies
- Supervisors
- Kathleen Lynch
- Title Of Thesis
- Finnish and Irish sign languages: an egalitarian analysis of language policies and their effects
Jordan J Fenlon
2010
- University
- University College London
- Discipline
- Cognitive, Perceptual and Brain Sciences
- Supervisors
- Bencie Woll, Ruth Campbell
- Title Of Thesis
- Seeing sentence boundaries: the production and perception of visual markers signalling boundaries in signed languages
Joanna Downes
2009
- University
- University of Leicester
- Discipline
- Health Sciences
- Supervisors
- Panos Vostanis
- Title Of Thesis
- Validation of an attachment tool for use with deaf children
Hilary L Sutherland (Tooley-Moore)
2008
- University
- University of Manchester
- Discipline
- School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work
- Title Of Thesis
- Sign Bilingualism through the eyes of a child
Lisa Townsend
2008
- University
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Discipline
- History
- Title Of Thesis
- Intellectual and Cultural Interests of Women in Ireland, c. 1750-1840
Natasha Hirst
2008
- University
- Cardiff University
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Supervisors
- Peter Griffiths
- Title Of Thesis
- Solvency effects on surfactant-polymer interactions
Bronagh Byrne
2007
- University
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Supervisors
- Eithne McLaughlin
- Title Of Thesis
- From ability to (dis)ability: a bourdieudian analysis and case study of the experiences of young deaf and visually impaired people in utilising post-16 educational provision in Northern Ireland
Kathryn L. Kelly (Heywood)
2007
- University
- University of Durham
- Discipline
- Physics
- Title Of Thesis
- Phase contrast imaging with a laboratory-based microfocus X-ray source
Steve Emery
2006
- University
- University of Central Lancashire
- Discipline
- Social Sciences
- Title Of Thesis
- Citizenship and the Deaf Community
Joanna Atkinson
2005
- University
- University of Bristol
- Discipline
- Psychology
- Title Of Thesis
- The perceptual characteristics of voice-hallucinations in deaf people with schizophrenia
Tyron Woolfe
2002
- University
- University of Sheffield
- Discipline
- Psychology
- Supervisors
- Stephen Want, Michael Siegal
- Title Of Thesis
- Theory of mind and sibling relationships in deaf children
Constanza Moreno
2000
- University
- Institute of Education, University of London
- Discipline
- Education
- Supervisors
- Terezinha Nunes
- Title Of Thesis
- Predictors of mathematics attainment in hearing impaired children
Patricia Dugdale (Abrahams)
2000
- University
- Victoria University of Wellington
- Discipline
- Sociology
- Title Of Thesis
- Being Deaf in New Zealand: a Case Study of the Wellington Deaf Community
Sara Rhys Jones
2000
- University
- Cardiff University
- Discipline
- Psychology
- Supervisors
- Hadyn D. Ellis
- Title Of Thesis
- Impression formation in British Sign Language and Deaf-linguistic identity theory
Paddy Ladd
1998
- University
- University of Bristol
- Discipline
- Social Sciences (Deaf Studies)
- Supervisors
- Jim Kyle
- Title Of Thesis
- In search of deafhood: towards an understanding of British deaf culture
Marilyn Sharon Ridgeway
1997
- University
- University of Manchester
- Discipline
- Psychology
- Title Of Thesis
- Psychological health and well being in the deaf community
Sharon Ridgeway
1997
- University
- University of Manchester
- Discipline
- Psychology
- Title Of Thesis
- Psychological health and well being in the deaf community
Audrey Cameron
1996
- University
- University of Strathclyde
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Supervisors
- Neil Graham
- Title Of Thesis
- Novel membranes for the separation of enantiomers
A. Cecilia Lindberg
1995
- University
- University of Bristol
- Discipline
- Animal Behaviour
- Title Of Thesis
- The improvement of alternative systems for laying hens: a behavioural approach to the problems of group size and feather pecking
Allison Green
1995
- University
- St Andrews
- Discipline
- Immunology
Philip Henry Gafga
1995
- University
- University of Durham
- Discipline
- Economics
- Title Of Thesis
- The information on the yield curve
Hamish Percy George Drewry
1994
- University
- University of Cambridge (Magdalene)
- Discipline
- Chemical Engineering
- Title Of Thesis
- Continuum random walk simulations of diffusion and reaction in catalyst particles
Rachel Elizabeth Peacock
1994
- University
- London (University College)
- Discipline
- Biochemistry
- Title Of Thesis
- Effects of common genetic variation on fasting and postprandial lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis
Grant H. Jacobs
1992
- University
- University of Cambridge (Darwin)
- Discipline
- Molecular Biology
- Title Of Thesis
- Computer analysis of motifs in DNA binding proteins
Jonathan Parsons
1992
- University
- London (Queen Mary College and Westfield)
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Title Of Thesis
- Alkoxides and fluorinated alkoxides of group I and II metals.
Mark Alexander Fox
1991
- University
- University of Durham
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Supervisors
- Ken Wade
- Title Of Thesis
- Icosahedral carborane derivatives
Peter S Steyger
1991
- University
- Keele
- Discipline
- Communication Disorders
- Title Of Thesis
- Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies of cytoskeletal features in the guinea pig organ of Corti
John Tilak Ratnanather
1989
- University
- University of Oxford (Jesus)
- Discipline
- Mathematics
- Title Of Thesis
- Numerical analysis of turbulent flows
Christopher W Lehfeldt
1987
- Discipline
- Dentistry
Helen M Berenyi
1987
- University
- London (King's College)
- Discipline
- Physics
- Title Of Thesis
- Two-dimensional image reconstruction from fourier transform magnitude data
Colin Nigel Dunlop
1986
- University
- University of Durham
- Discipline
- Physics
- Title Of Thesis
- The imaging properties of large reflecting astronomical telescopes
Neil John Alderman
1986
- University
- University of Bath
- Discipline
- Chemical Engineering
- Title Of Thesis
- Electrochemical studies of mass and heat transfer in a simulated fouling deposit
Joe Grigeley
1984
- University
- University of Oxford (Jesus)
- Discipline
- English
- Title Of Thesis
- Keats and fame
Robert J Smyth
1980
- University
- Edinburgh
- Discipline
- Astronomy
- Title Of Thesis
- The cluster of galaxies Abell
Iain JF Poplett
1979
- University
- London (Queen Elizabeth College)
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Title Of Thesis
- Nuclear quadrupole resonance studies
Kenneth Hamilton
1979
- University
- Heriot-Watt
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Title Of Thesis
- Molecular orbital and photochemical studies of selected reactions of anthraquinone derivatives
John Lloyd Stuart
1978
- University
- University of Manchester
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Title Of Thesis
- Hydrolysis of solutions of sodium monofluorophosphate
Stephen J. Perkins
1977
- University
- University of Oxford
- Discipline
- Biochemistry
- Title Of Thesis
- X-ray diffraction and magnetic resonance studies of biological systems: hen egg white lysozyme
Robert E W Casselton
1972
- University
- London (Imperial)
- Discipline
- Metallurgy
- Title Of Thesis
- Conduction mechanisms in stabilised zirconia
Ruth Dolbear (nee Stephen)
1962
- University
- Cambridge
- Discipline
- Dentistry
Pierre Patrick Gorman
1960
- University
- University of Cambridge (Corpus Christi)
- Discipline
- Moral Science
- Supervisors
- Robert Thouless
- Title Of Thesis
- Certain social and psychological difficulties facing the deaf person in the English community
Wyn Owston
1949
- University
- Kings College London
- Discipline
- Medicine
David Philip Elias
1948
- University
- University of Leeds
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Title Of Thesis
- An X-ray crystallographic study of trinitroethane
Dame Kathleen M. Timpson Ollerenshaw
1945
- University
- University of Oxford (Somerville)
- Discipline
- Mathematics
- Title Of Thesis
- Some problems in analysis. Lattice points in non-convex regions
Sir John Warcup Cornforth
1941
- University
- University of Oxford
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Title Of Thesis
- Synthesis of analogues of steroid hormones
Bernard L Pitcher
1939
- University
- London (Imperial College)
- Discipline
- Geology
- Title Of Thesis
- The upper valentian gastropod fauna of Shropshire
Sir John Ambrose Fleming
1877
- Discipline
- Physics
Bethan Hindson
- University
- University of Maryland
- Discipline
- Vetinerary Medicine
Helen Grothe
- University
- Royal College of Vetinerary Medicine
- Discipline
- Medicine
Kirsty Houston
- University
- Newcastle
- Discipline
- Medicine
Mark Clemons
- University
- Newcastle
- Discipline
- Medicine
Rod Skinner
- University
- Oxford
- Discipline
- Medicine
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