École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA)

Research program “La Seine”

Location
Paris, France

Since
2001

Disciplines
Visual arts

Degrees offered
Diplôme de Récherche (research degree) La Seine

Duration
2 years

Number of third cycle students
4-8 per year

Structure
The La Seine Program is open to postgraduate students with at least one year of artistic experience after their MA. Students work in a collective studio and participate in a research seminar with a yearly guest tutor. There is a yearly one-month trip abroad in which a collaborative project is established with foreign institutions.
In 2009, the program was given a stronger focus on research and theory, and students were required to produce a publication together with their degree exhibition.

Entry requirements
To apply, the candidates must have completed a diploma equivalent to a Master II (European standard). Candidates must have been actively involved in developing their own artistic project, outside of an academic institution for a minimum of one year.
Good working knowledge of French or enrolment in the school’s French language learning program is required.

Program requirements
At the end of the first year students present the art works they have produced during the year, their exhibition and publication projects, and the results of the theoretical research they are conducting to a jury made up of the Program La Seine director, a Program teacher and an external art world personality.
To obtain the diplôme they have to realize an exhibition accompanied by a publication in a professional site, and defend their work to a jury made up of the ENSBA director, the director of the Program, an ENSBA teacher and two external art world personalities.

Publications and conferences
The requirement of a final publication was added in 2009. Therefore, publications are expected to start in 2011. Depending on the quality, some of them will be published by ENSBA editions.

Supervision
Students in the program are supervised by the Program director, one appointed professor, a yearly guest participant in charge of the research program, and other guest participants like artists, professors, art critics and curators.

Embedding within the institution
La Seine students share a studio located in the centre of the École, the Atelier Devot, on three different levels: the first floor is the studio workspace, the second level is a mezzanine equipped for the production of new media digital work, and the top floor area is allocated to meetings and discussion sessions.

Funding and stipendia
Students receive a grant for research and production of up to € 3000 annually, depending on their  level of participation in the program. Each year, two apartments at the The Cité Internationale des arts are offered to students of the Program. The students are chosen by the admission jury.

www.ensba.fr/laseine