Awards

PhD

Established

2001

Research Policy & Strategy

Mission Statement

ACPA brings art practices and academic research together in a programme that enhances both cutting-edge practice and blue-sky research. ACPA will advance to the central node in Europe for artistic research in visual arts, design, music, sound art and related art fields, attracting advanced scholars and practitioners and the most promising PhD candidates. ACPA facilitates disciplinary and interdisciplinary artistic research at the PhD and postdoc level; research that originates from artistic practice, is guided by that practice, and brings about new artistic work and insights, which might have a bearing on who we are and how we relate to the world and other people. ACPA will thereby touch upon current practices and discourses in the art world, nationally and internationally, and connect to front line developments in social science, humanities and science and technology, within and outside Leiden University. ACPA aims at students, artists and scholars curious about or active in the exciting domain of research in the arts, where art and academia meet. It offers a programme of seminars for BA, MA and PhD candidates at Leiden University and the University of the Arts The Hague. ACPA will thereby make a difference to the cultures of research and education at the Royal Conservatoire and Royal Academy in The Hague and to those at Leiden University. It will have an impact on society through transdisciplinary research, outreach activities and connections with local and national cultural institutes and initiatives.

Key research themes

Auditive Culture, Contemporary Music, Design, Early Music, Fine Art, Improvisation, Music, Sound Art, Theory of Artistic Research

Awards Offered

• PhD 5 – 6 years Part-time

Assessment

Public defence

An independent doctoral committee decides whether the submission is eligible for public defence. The public defence is with a ‘opposition committee’, comprising the doctoral committee and a few additional external committee members.

There are normally 4- 6 external examiners. There are no internal examiners.

Forms of Output

Dissertation (max: 100.000 words) and Practice – exposition/exhibition (including performance)

Programme Structure

The programme structure includes methods training and an introduction to ethics in the 1^st year of study. The programme is also supported by group research seminars, symposia and public engagement activity. Progress reviews are annual.

Undergraduate & Masters Research

• Research training is embedded at Masters level study.
• There is no research training at BA level study.

Qualification Framework

• National Framework
• Florence Principles

Quality Assurance & Enhancement

• National research assessment exercise. Standard Evaluation Protocol.

Supervision

Main supervisors are appointed from the Institute (ACPA), co-supervisors (internal or external) are chosen dependent on the subject of the research. External supervisors are payed on contract basis.

Students generally work with 3 to 4 supervisors.

The optimum number of supervisors is 2 to 3 supervisors.

The number of hours allocated annually to supervisors per student is not specified. It is very much dependent on the needs of the student.

Staffing

About 20 members of staff (circa 5% of the total staff profile) hold 3^rd cycle awards. 1% of current arts academic staff are undertaking 3^rd cycle awards.

Staff are allocated 20% research time within their contract. At ACPA 13 (90%) of academic staff are research active.

The institution provides training for supervisors through annual meetings with staff.

Overall responsibility for managing your 3rd cycle programme resides with:

• Academic Director Prof. Dr. Henk Borgdorff
• Director PhD Arts programme: Prof. Dr. Janneke Wesseling

Student Admissions

The doctoral programme is advertised internationally.

Applications consist of:

• Institutional application form
• Research proposal
• Portfolio
• CV
• Interview

Approximately 5 students join the programme annually.

Currently there are 63 registered students in the PhD programme in artistic research.

To date 63 students have graduated from the programme.

Student Funding

All students are self-funding. No substantial fees are required.

Student Support

• Specialist archive and library facilities
• Professional development (e.g. writing grant applications)
• Gallery/Exhibition space
• Workshops
• Support for realisation of projects/artworks/publications
• Travel in support of research, conference attendance/presentation