PD in Arts + Creative : Info

Information for Applicants

Would you like to do doctoral research in which your artistic or creative practice is an integral part? From 2022 onwards, you can apply for an Arts + Creative PD- (pilot) trajectory in the Netherlands at one of the schools participating in the pilot.

Requirements

The basic requirement is that you must have a relevant master’s degree or a validated equivalent, and preferably an active practice in the arts and design domain.
Furthermore, the PD programme is open to three types of candidates:

  • arrowPracticing artists and designers; and/or
  • arrowTeachers and researchers at the arts and creative schools, or in primary and secondary education; and/or
  • arrowTalented transfer students from the master programmes of these institutes

Selection

The selection of PD candidates is done in collaboration between the art school that you have ties with and the Graduate Network. These fifteen institutions are jointly shaping the pilot for the PD programme in the Arts and Creative sector: HKU, Rietveld, AHK, HvA, University of the Arts The Hague, Hogeschool Rotterdam, Codarts, Hanze UAS, Avans Hogeschool, Buas, Fontys, DAE, Zuyd, Artez and InHolland.

Study load and duration

The PD programme can be taken full-time (four years) or part-time; the latter with a maximum duration of eight years. During this period, PD candidates devote 75 % of their time to research, 12 ½ % to receiving instruction, and 12 ½ % to teaching.

After completion

After completion of the PD programme you should be able to perform four intertwined roles:

  • arrowas an innovator in the art and/or design practice itself and/or revises its relationship to other sectors.
  • arrowas a researcher you will be able to design and conduct methodical and transparent research that connects with and enriches the practices of the arts and design sector.
  • arrowas a change agent you will achieve change within other domains other than your own field of practice.
  • arrowas a professional you demonstrate professional reflexive and ethical capacity.

Following and completing a PD trajectory does not result in a formal degree in the pilot phase. Not yet. We expect the PD to be legally secured during the pilot phase. In addition, following and completing a PD trajectory in the pilot phase (and afterwards) can lead to a broader career perspective and career opportunities.

Information:

Information for Professors

The PD Kunst + Creatief is a research-intensive training program that trains highly qualified, investigative professionals in the arts and creative sector who ‘learn to intervene in complex practices’ at level 8 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).

Graduate Network & 15 institutions in the Arts and Creative sector

The programme is best characterised as a collective customisation, provided by the Graduate Network in conjunction with the participating Dutch art and design schools. These fifteen schools are jointly shaping the pilot for the PD programme in the Arts and Creative sector: HKU, Rietveld, AHK, HvA, University of the Arts The Hague, Hogeschool Rotterdam, Codarts, Hanze UAS, Avans Hogeschool, Buas, Fontys, DAE, Zuyd, Artez and InHolland.

Providing resources

All participating schools offer a local research context in which the possibility for inter- and transdisciplinary cross-fertilization exists, and an infrastructure in which (inter)national exchange is realized. In this environment, the PD candidate has access to adequate financial and infrastructural resources, as well as staff and technical support to carry out the research. The institution also gives the candidate the opportunity to teach about the candidate’s research.

Recruitment

The participating art schools are responsible for the initial recruitment and selection of PD candidates. This is done based on a research proposal (download page). The decision on the candidates formal nomination to the Graduate Network is made according to the applicable rules of the institutions involved. During the pilot period, the arts and creative professors nominate one or more PD candidates per year to the graduate committee. The number of candidates that a professor can nominate is limited by the possibilities of the institution concerned, as determined by the Executive Board of the institution.

January 2023: 10 candidates for pre-PD programme

The pilot enables the schools to appoint 34 PD candidates in total. Each school decides for itself if and when they want to recruit, select and nominate candidates for the PD-program. More information about the exact procedures will follow.

Supervision

Supervision takes place by a supervisory committee in which two professors take on the day-to-day supervision, and in which two external professionals with relevant (international) arts, design or social practices are involved. Supervision takes place on the basis of a personal Training and Supervision Plan (download page) that defines the roles and responsibilities of the candidate, the supervisors and the institution.

Information:

Information for Policy Makers

The PD Kunst + Creatief is a research-intensive training program that trains highly qualified, investigative professionals in the arts who ‘learn to intervene in complex practices’ at level 8 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).

Mono- and multisectoral art schools

A characteristic of the Arts and creative sector is that practice-based research involves both interventions in its own arts and creative domain and/or a focus on other societal domains and issues. It includes creative production, design, curatorial and pedagogical practices, and this does not exhaust the list. This diversity and multidisciplinarity is also reflected in the training and research of the fifteen institutions that are jointly shaping the pilot for the PD programme in the Arts and Creative sector. It involves both monosectoral-art schools and the arts and creative studies in multisectoral schools.

The Arts + Creative PD programme does justice to the diversity in the sector. At the same time it has a clear demarcation with respect to other PD programmes and with respect to university PhD programmes in, for example, the humanities. This does not alter the fact that collaboration is possible with other PD programmes and with the universities.

Information:

Information for the International Community

In 2022, the Dutch Arts and Design schools will start an 8 year long pilot programme for a Professional Doctorate (PD).

Added value of the PD

The added value and necessity for this pilot lie in four areas:

  • arrowThe Netherlands does not currently have an independent third cycle that builds on the BAs and MAs of arts and design education at the universities of applied sciences.
  • arrowThe PD programme offers researching artists and designers the opportunity to further explore their (combination of) disciplines and innovate their practice and work field for several years. In various advisory reports in the sector, from the musical theatre to the performing arts and design, the Dutch Arts Council emphasizes that there is a shortage of research and experimentation space in the Netherlands, which puts the artistic development and quality of the arts and creative sector at risk in the long run.
  • arrowSeveral advisory bodies and institutions have pointed out the importance of research in the Arts and Creative sector for the creative and innovation climate in the Netherlands.
  • arrowThe Arts + Creative PD programme will also provide a deepening, development and innovation of the arts vocational education, especially of the first and second cycles of the BA and MA programmes. In the proposition for the PD programme of the UAS Arts and Creative cluster, the third cycle is therefore discussed as an opportunity to develop continuous curricula.

In 2022, universities of applied sciences will start with a first cohort of candidates in five domains, including the creative domain. More cohorts will be added until 2025.

Information:

  • arrowFor requirements and further information about the programme: read the report