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Syntax of facial communication

Project Overview 

Facial communication is studied in dramatically different ways from verbal and gestural communication: speech is easily segmented into words, which are combined into sentences. Speech-accompanying gestures also have clear preparation and stroke phases, so we can assign distinct units. For both of these, we can study the syntactical rules with which units are combined (for example, into sentences) as sequences of subsequent units. The face differs from other channels because different parts of the face can convey different messages and change rapidly. Facial communication in natural interactions is either studied as a small, fixed set of emotional expressions or as individual muscle movements, but we have no statistical methods to a) segment complex muscle movement patterns into clear units, b) study sequences of naturally occurring facial signals and c) study how combining facial signals in time influences natural interactions. Given the importance of understanding facial communication to facilitate human-machine communication and increased interest in automatically categorising facial signals, this lack of methods for studying the time course of facial communication is concerning. This project will combine psychological methods to generate data of social interactions in fixed laboratory settings, linguistic concepts, machine-vision methods to code facial muscle movements, and statistical approaches to test whether facial signals can be segmented into discrete units and whether syntactical rules exist in this modality.

Research Environment

The Mielke Lab studies how humans and non-human primates communicate and cooperate. We use observations of natural interactions to understand social decision processes. This often involves developing new methods that allow us to understand complex and sequential data. You can find out more here.

The successful applicant will learn a diverse set of skills including observational data collection, video coding, computational and statistical modelling, coding (R, Python), and academic writing and presentation. The lab sets a strong focus on open science practices. There are ongoing PhD projects on dog and chimpanzee welfare. PhD students become part of the Queen Mary Doctoral College, which provides further training and development opportunities.

Find out more about the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences on our website.

Keywords: Facial communication, syntax, Facial Action Coding System, Machine Vision

Funding & Eligibility

Queen Mary University of London has partnered with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to offer a joint scholarship programme to enable Chinese students to study for a PhD programme at Queen Mary.  Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses and one return flight ticket to successful applicants.

Applicants must:

  • Be applying for CSC funding.
  • Be a citizen and permanent resident of the People’s Republic of China and hold a Chinese passport.
  • Satisfy all eligibility criteria set out by the CSC and must refer to the CSC website for full details.
  • Apply to QMUL by 28th January 2026. Late applications will not be considered.
  • Submit ALL required documentation, including evidence of their English Language ability ahead of the CSC application deadline.

CSC application rules differ slightly for domestic applicants (students applying from China) and overseas applicants (students applying from overseas). Therefore, ALL applicants are advised to see the CSC website for full details on eligibility and conditions on the scholarship. 

Entry Requirements

We are looking for candidates to have or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a Master’s degree in an area relevant to the project such as Psychology, Linguistics, Data Science, Statistics, or Computer Science.

Knowledge of psycholinguistics, coding in R and/or Python, machine vision models, or behavioural coding would be highly advantageous but are not required.

You must meet the IELTS requirements for your course and upload evidence before CSC’s application deadline, ideally by 1st March 2026. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible, where your IELTS test must still be valid when you enrol for the programme.

Please find further details on our English Language requirements page.

How to Apply

Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by 28th January 2026 for consideration. Please identify yourself as a ‘CSC Scholar’ in the funding section of the application.

Applicants are required to submit the following documents:

  • Your CV
  • Personal Statement
  • Evidence of English Language e.g.) IELTS Certificate
  • Copies of academic transcripts and degree certificates
  • References 

Find out more about our application process on our SBBS website.

Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Dr Alex Mielke at a.mielke@qmul.ac.uk

Admissions-related queries can be sent to sbbs-pgadmissions@qmul.ac.uk 

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your QMUL application, then you will be issued an QMUL Offer Letter, conditional on securing a CSC scholarship along with academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements.

Once applicants have obtained their QMUL Offer Letter, they should then apply to CSC for the scholarship with the support of the supervisor.

For further information, please go to the QMUL China Scholarship Council webpage.

Apply online


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