Application deadline: April 1, 2020
PhDArts offers an international, high-level doctorate in artistic research for visual artists and designers. PhDArts is a collaboration between the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) at Leiden University and the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague, The Netherlands.
The PhDArts research trajectory consists of two elements: supervision of individual research and participation in the doctoral study programme. The doctoral programme includes seminars, trainings, lectures, and workshops by PhDArts staff and invited guests, as well as presentations by fellow doctoral students of their individual research projects. Students are expected to attend this programme as it constitutes an essential part of the research environment in which students undertake their research.
Artistic research
In artistic research, artistic practice plays a central role. Research questions derive from the artistic practice of the researcher, and the results of the research—comprising both an artistic and a (discursively) written component—contribute to artistic practice and to the growing body of artistic academic discourse.
Admission
Applicants must have a Master’s degree or proof of study at a comparable level. As PhDArts is a practice-as-research doctorate, applicants must first and foremost demonstrate that they are highly accomplished practitioners in some aspect of the visual arts and/or design. On a theoretical level, applicants have to demonstrate that their ideas are already quite well-formed and that they are able to position their contribution within the context of a particular field of research. The applicant will need to be able to justify the urgency of the research proposal.
The application process consists of two phases. The first phase comprises the assessment of a research dossier that is uploaded via the online application form on our website. In the event of a positive assessment by the Advisory Group, the applicant enters the second phase of the application process and is invited for an entrance examination in July 2020. The entrance examinations take place at the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts in Leiden. The final decision on admission rests with Leiden University, which will also award the PhD. Please visit our website for more information on admission requirements, the admission procedure, and the online application form.