Phd in Arts

PHD in the arts: study guide

1 Introduction

1.1 Artistic research according to the Brussels model

According to the Brussels model, research in the arts is combined with practice as research.

In terms of content, artistic research comprises the following aspects pursuant to the definition of the Brussels Royal Conservatory (KCB):

• The acquisition of knowledge and expertise

• The skill to use intuitive, emotional and spiritual capacities

• The integration of these elements in variable proportions resulting in the production of a work of art embedded in the cultural landscape.

The foregoing definition shows that a work of art is the result of artistic research and that an artist conducts research. Artistic research is consequently situated before and during the production of a work of art. The results of the research are in the work of art, itself contained in a language specific to the discipline. The research skills do not stem primarily from a discursive and reflective component but from the intrinsic qualities of the work of art itself, unlike art historical research, which sees the work of art as an object for study and is situated after the production thereof.

Artistic research may well delve into existing academic disciplines such as musicology, sociology, philosophy, mathematics, etc. to accumulate knowledge and acquire insights.

1.2 UAB Arts Platform

The doctorate programme is offered at the Doctoral School for Humanities and the Arts of the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels (L&W VUB) through delegation to the Arts Platform.

1.3 Doctoral School

It is organised in cooperation with the Doctoral School for Humanities and Arts (L&W VUB).

2 Contact addresses

The central contact for doctorates in the arts is Peter Swinnen, Head of the Brussels Royal Conservatory at Erasmus College.

3 Guidelines for students

3.1 Conditions for admission

3.1.1 Degree requirement

A student must hold a master’s degree. The master’s degree must be earned in a discipline that is compatible with the selected area of research. If necessary, the doctoral committee (3.1.4) may require the candidate to take additional courses. When the scope and quality of the student’s independent research or professional experience can guarantee a successful performance in the doctoral programme, the formal requirement of a master’s degree may be waived (equivalence according to the Accreditation of Prior Experiential/Certificated Learning (known as the EVC/EVK procedure)).

3.1.2 Admission examination

The admission examination consists of:

a. A written component with a research question, abstract, method, brief presentation of the project, work plan and expected research results, plus the candidate’s curriculum vitae (CV). This written part must be submitted to the admissions committee 14 days in advance.

b. A short, 15’ recital

c. A 15’ lecture recital with a succinct presentation of the main lines of the research project (for composers: a presentation/recording of a composition)

d. An interview by the admissions committee.

The admissions committee is composed of academics and artists. The applicant may at no time be assessed solely on a written component.

Three possibilities:

a. The applicant is admitted directly and supervisors are sought (cf. 4). The doctoral programme commences only upon acceptance by the VUB.

b. The applicant’s project is well founded, but the committee decides that a preparatory programme is needed. The KCB offers an appropriate post-graduate programme to support the admission examination.

c. The applicant’s artistic level is deemed insufficient and the applicant is refused.

3.1.3 Doctoral committee

Once a student has been admitted to the doctoral programme and the details of his or her project have been discussed, a special doctoral committee is created for each student. This committee makes arrangements and draws up a programme that can consist of doctoral instruction.

This programme is re-evaluated and adjusted by the doctoral committee on an annual basis. The progress of the doctoral project is likewise evaluated annually.

3.1.4 Doctoral instruction (optional)

The aim is to enable the student to hone the following skills:

a. Artistic skills through:

• KCB artistic (co-)supervisor(s)

• International authority(ies)

• Artistic courses related to the subject

b. Research skills: research methodology (identifying a topic, planning, setting goals, sources (where to find material, critical stance, processing), through

• General: VUB/other universities

• Artistic: Support by the Arts Platform. In concrete terms, this consists of:

• A series of work meetings with the supervisors and co-supervisors, inside and outside the institution

• A series of lectures with the instrument/voice/composition instructor (minimum 8 – maximum 12 lessons of 2 hours each during the first 2 years)

• Master classes and seminars at home and abroad

• A doctoral day twice a year during which all students present the progress of their projects

• Public concerts

• Cooperation with or embedding in existing professional structures and ensembles

• Any other possible activity that contributes to hone the level of instruction

• VUB: Academic courses related to the subject

c. Presentation skills

• Specific to the discipline: concert presentations/recordings/lecture recitals

• General: writing according to the theoretical part of the doctorate: for a broad public

The doctoral instruction is a flexible instruction package that consists of four components.

A minimum and a maximum number of credits can be given to these components in the doctoral programme.

Instructional components

Minimum credits Maximum credits

1. Regular instructional components from the bachelor’s, master’s or post-master’s programmes of the VUB or the University of Ghent or other institutions, or specialised instructional components organised by a doctoral school (which may include another Belgian or foreign doctoral programme) or by an institute for continuing education

9 40

2. Doctoral Seminars

Master classes and practical training schemes 9 25

3. Research-related activities:

lecture recitals, concerts and workshops, course assignments and congresses 9 40

4. Successful defence of the doctorate 3 3

3.1.5 Optional preparatory programme through a post-graduate scheme

The KCB offers a preparatory programme through a post-graduate scheme for the admission examination.

The doctoral programme is not designed to impart the basics of research methods. Candidates are presumed to have already done artistic research and to be familiar with the existing theoretical research methods as well as with specific practical research methods that pertain to their research topic.

The student or supervisor may suggest further study of a relevant subject as a component of such initial instruction. This can be a course that is part of the master’s programmes at the KCB, a course at the VUB or seminars at home and abroad.

To be admitted to the preparatory programme, the examination committee must determine whether the candidate is capable of studying at the Brussels conservatory. The candidate must moreover present a research field for which the conservatory can provide appropriate support and expertise as well as the possibilities for the execution and completion of the artistic project.

3.2 Course of the studies

The doctoral programme normally takes 4 years, but a student may request an extension. The student is supposed to work on his or her doctorate 36 hours per week. Part-time students are advised to devote 12 to 15 hours per week to their studies.

During the entire course of the doctoral programme, research and musical practice are closely related to enable students to:

- Develop their artistic personality and activity, whereby research and artistic output influence each other;

- Write a written part explaining the research methodology and results (cf. doctorate regulations).

3.2.1 Orientation phase

This phase, which lasts one year on average, is intended to enable the doctoral candidate to explore the research field, and is supplemented with customised doctoral instruction as and when necessary (cf. 3.1.5). It is important to develop the student’s artistic personality further through concerts, lecture recitals, workshops, seminars, and practical training schemes in accordance with the selected research topic. These are entered in the artistic portfolio (cf. 3.3.2).

3.2.2 International phase

This phase lasts one year on average and comprises concerts, lecture recitals, workshops, seminars and practical training schemes to establish contacts abroad in accordance with the current standards in the chosen research field. The concerts, lecture recitals, workshops, practical training schemes and seminars can be accredited for the doctoral programme (cf. 3.1.5) and are included in the artistic portfolio (cf. 3.3.2).

3.2.3 Final phase

This phase lasts two years on average and entails preparation for the artistic doctoral examination (cf. 3.3.3).

3.3 Doctoral defence

3.3.1 Format

As each research project is unique, each artistic doctoral defence is also unique. Two components come into play here: the artistic portfolio (cf. 3.3.2) and the artistic doctoral examination (cf. 3.3.3). Their mutual relations differ from candidate to candidate, but they are both required.

3.3.2 Artistic portfolio

This consists of recordings, publications and other attestations of all artistic activities that the doctoral candidate has engaged in. They are used to give the committee as full a picture as possible of the candidate’s artistic personality.

3.3.3 Artistic doctoral examination

The artistic doctoral examination is an extensive artistic project, whereby the results of the research are embedded in the artistic end result, and must therefore be explained through an appropriate method.

The examination for the academic degree of doctor comprises the submission and open defence of a dissertation that meets the requirements set out in the VUB doctoral regulations, available at

http://www.vub.ac.be/phd/documenten/reglementen/DoctoraatsreglementLW200...

The L.W. regulations require an explanatory memorandum to be attached with particular provisions for a doctorate in the arts:

For a doctorate in the arts, the explanatory memorandum comprises two integral components, each of which must be taken fully into account:

- A written part that provides the scholarly foundations and arguments specific to the discipline in terms of contents and formal methodology, and an adequate reflection on one’s artistic approach and skills;

- A portfolio, i.e. the complete, documented corpus of artistic creation and any sources for the dissertation.

These two components must provide an original dissertation as afore-described in this article. This provision consequently applies to the entries in the portfolio section of the dissertation. For a doctorate in the arts, the dissertation, consisting of the written part and portfolio sections, must be submitted in such a way that the whole and its components can be verified and reproduced. At least one paper version of the written part must be submitted.

These copies must be submitted on paper and be completely identical. The only exception allowed is if the material submitted cannot be entirely on paper. In such a case the candidate must submit: (a) eight completely identical copies on a non-paper medium; and b() at least one extensive paper version that meets the usual requirements for doctoral research.

4 Guidelines for (the choice of) supervisors

For the artistic doctorate, a supervisor is a member of the autonomous academic staff (ZAP); however, extra supervisors may be called upon depending on the candidate’s needs.

4.1 Supervisor

The supervisor is the immediate contact of the candidate. He is responsible for the proper administrative course of the doctoral process and the supervision of the contents.

Every KCB faculty member with an artistic doctorate is eligible to supervise an artistic doctorate. An autonomous academic staff supervisor must nonetheless assume the ultimate responsibility in all cases.

4.2 Extra supervisors

A co-supervisor oversees certain aspects of the doctorate.

Every KCB faculty member is eligible to act as co-supervisor for an artistic doctorate. The number of co-supervisors may be extended in order to cover several areas of expertise.

4.3 Autonomous academic staff supervisor

Every autonomous academic staff supervisor in the VUB faculty of humanities and the arts may act as an administrative supervisor, responsible for the administrative aspects of the doctoral process.