Austria

In Austria, the six largest HAE institutions have independent university status since 1998, hosting philosophy and humanities research. In 2002 the art universities were implemented as completely analogous to the scientific universities within the Austrian Universities Act. Since then, the art universities have full degree awarding power, also in the third cycle. They grant doctoral degrees in many scientific disciplines (doctor of philosophy Dr.phil., doctor of natural sciences Dr. rer.nat., etc.). In the field of arts-based research three art universities have implemented doctoral degrees: the University for Art and Design Linz; the Art University Graz; the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

These degrees are – by law – scientific degrees and not artistic degrees.This means that the dissertations completed for these degrees are to be scientific dissertations, following the conventions of philosophical doctoral degrees. This speaks to one of the major discussions within the Austrian art universities at the moment, concerning the introduction of a doctoral degree which is solely artistic (as opposed to scientific). The current norm does not allow for dissertation projects that are not written academic papers. An artistic doctorate which grants the possibility to achieve a PhD by an artistic work (or a portfolio) needs as a prerequisite a change of the law. Several art universities in Austria have started to lobby for this change.

Working within the current legislation to expand options for 3rd cycle degrees, In 2009 the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (KUG) inaugurated an Artistic Doctorate Program – in addition to a Scholarly Doctorate Program, which is equivalent to a Ph.D. The conception of the Doctor of Arts program (Dr. artium) is unique in the German-speaking world and is based on the view that artistic activity generates knowledge. The doctoral work itself consists of two parts: the artistic part, consisting of demonstrated proof of artistic presentations, and the scholarly part, i.e. a written part of about 80-100 pages (dissertation) which is scholarly connected to the artistic part. The doctoral work has to be defended in a rigoriosum, both in an artistic and scholarly way. 

Funding

Fees are nil for EU students within set study time. However, the legislature concerning student fees in Austria is at turning point, and it is altogether possible that in the near future there will be a different situation. There is no national regulation for funding of arts based research doctoral degrees. The funding situation differs from university to university, several art universities offer a limited number of stipends for doctoral researchers while others have no such stipends available. The funding situation coming from outside the universities is difficult for doctoral researchers in the field of arts based research, as most stipends are only available for purely scientific researchers.

There is, however, the possibility for doctoral researchers to be part of a research project granted by the Austrian Science Funds (FWF) within the program PEEK which was designed for research projects (basic research) in the field of arts-based research (in German: Programm zur Entwicklung und Erschließung der Künste). Two million Euro each year are designated by the Austrian government for these projects. Another fund, the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) also regularly publishes calls in the area of art(s) and science, enabling research projects in the area of arts based research.

In 2009, the Austrian Science Council published the report Empfehlung zur Entwicklung der Kunstuniversitäten in Österreich, stressing that doctoral programmes are needed to keep and attract artistic talent.

Admission

Admission to doctoral studies is handled by the universities themselves. On the basis of the law, the completion of a relevant diploma or master degree program is defined as the university entrance qualification for doctoral programs in Austria. If this qualification level is given, the university has to register the applying person as a doctoral student. This means that in programs offering scientific doctoral degrees the universities cannot “chose” their doctoral researchers.

However, in case a doctoral program awards a PhD degree, the respective curriculum may define additional requirements for the admission to the PhD program. If the doctoral program is e.g. in English only, the number of students can be restricted as well and students can be selected by means of a – usually competitive - admission procedure.
This implies that – though art universities have established admission procedures for the undergraduate studies – they have to provide free access to their doctoral studies awarding e.g. a Dr.phil, Dr.tech. as long as the general entrance qualification is met. Defining a PhD curriculum is thus often considered a way out.

 

Arts-based research doctorates in Austria - Three examples

1. “PhD in practice” at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
At the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna a very specific doctoral programme has been designed for the degree of a „Phd-in-practice“, a scientific doctorate granted for art based research projects. In societies increasingly based on economies and politics of “knowledge,” it is crucial for contemporary visual artists to discuss and transform their own respective positions as producers, agents, designers, archivists, and conveyors of “knowledge.” The PhD in Practice program of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is  coordinated by two professors, of whom one is a practicing artist (currently, i.e. in 2012, Renate Lorenz) and one a cultural theorist (currently, i.e. in 2012, Anette Baldauf). It focuses on the consequences of the shifting social, political, economic and epistemic status of art and artists by allowing artists in knowledge-based societies to engage in research into these issues. A deliberate emphasis on the epistemological and methodological foundations of the visual arts, its practitioners, and its audiences is a distinguishing feature of the PhD in Practice program.

The PhD in Practice program is designed for a duration of four years (equivalent of 240 ECTS credits). During this time the participants will develop and implement their projects analytically and experimentally in coordination with the academic and artistic team of co-participants and faculty. Transdisciplinary modes of working in artistic production will be fostered. Importantly, the ability to write texts, and to conceive, organize, document, and carry out independent research will be developed by supporting program participants in a networked, international and transdisciplinary environment.
The PhD in Practice course work is structured around four focus weeks during each term. This “low residency” scheme shall enable participants to take part and pursue their project without having to move permanently to Vienna (as much as this should be seen as an option). During these focus weeks the participants and the PhD in Practice team meet for tutorials, seminars, lectures, workshops, trips and other research and learning events. The seminars and lectures are open, to a limited extent, depending on the course’s character, to other students of the Academy, primarily doctoral candidates.
The PhD in Practice participants have access to the facilities and resources of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and to the institutions and people that form the broader and expanding network of the Center for Art/Knowledge and the future Doctoral School of the Academy. Participants will be given the means to pursue and develop dissertation work resulting in an artistic project displaying a strong emphasis on methodological reflexivity and documentation. Moreover, participants are expected to take an active part in organizing the program (coordinating workshops, guest lectures, conferences, exhibitions, screenings, etc.).

Entry requirements for admission to the PhD in Practice program are a degree (Magister, MA or diploma) from a recognized University, and the submission of a portfolio and a written project proposal. Applicants who are already engaged in an artistic or academic career are encouraged to apply.

The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna offers no stipends for doctoral researchers but employs three members of staff who solely work within the PhD-in-practice program, the doctoral program for arts based research. Two professors and one university assistant provide support and make up the intense supervision and teaching structure for ca. 15 PhD researchers currently at the Academy.

2. PhD at the University of Art and Design Linz
The new PhD program at the University of Art and Design Linz is an important stimulus in terms of an extension of the research practice by defining the reflective analysis of artistic practices and production processes of the PhD candidate’s work as an integral part into their own artistic project. The PhD program lasts for 6 semesters, in which doctoral students have the status of early stage researchers at the University of Art and Design Linz. The program is characterized by a quite open curriculum and there is no limitation as to the range of possible research areas, topics or artistic practices. A dissertation has to be written, which can also take the form of an artistic project or a number of related art projects which are related to the chosen PhD research question and methods.
Interested students have to hand in an exposé of their planned PhD research project in order to get a letter confirming that she/he will be supervised by a faculty member at the University of Art and Design Linz. The exposé has to refer to the state of the art for the chosen PhD topic (including a references list), argue the project’s relevance and actuality in this context, formulate clear project objectives and elaborate on the chosen methodology.

If accepted, the project is planned in detail during the first semester together with the responsible supervisor. Instead of an obligatory curriculum, the other five semesters are planned by means of an individual agreement between the supervisor and the PhD candidate, setting the required milestones to successfully finish the PhD project. As a rule a PhD candidate works mainly on her/his project and is accompanied by the supervisor. Interim reports, presentations at meetings and conferences, artistic realizations, etc., as well as their own teaching practice are furthermore part of the doctoral program. After successful completion and defense of their PhD projects graduates will be awarded the academic title of a PhD.

The University of Art and Design Linz regularly calls for PhD stipends in focused areas. If granted, the Phd candidate gets a stipend of 850 € per month for 12 months. In case of a positive evaluation the stipend is granted for another 24 months to cover the complete duration of the PhD project (i.e. three years). It is expected that these students are present and actively contributing to the further development of the PhD program.

3. Dr. artium at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
On 1 September 2009, the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (KUG) inaugurated an Artistic Doctorate Program – in addition to a Scholarly Doctorate Program, which is equivalent to a Ph.D. The conception of the Doctor of Arts program (Dr. artium) is unique in the German-speaking world and is based on the view that artistic activity generates knowledge. Expansion and development of the arts consists of the interaction between artistic interpretation and scholarly reflection. By this means, an increase in results is to be expected that exceeds the mere sum of the individual parts. The productive synergies which result when artistic and scholarly activities work together produce trenchant, enriching effects and generate new methods of gaining insight.
The artistic doctoral study is addressed to artists who have already developed their own relevant artistic sphere of activity outside of the university setting and who wish to engage in scholarly reflection based on their experiences  (“artistic research”). Thus, the actual artistic activity stands at the center of a new kind of search for knowledge: either as the object of observation or as the process of recognition.

The Doctor of Arts program is carried out as a three-year doctoral study program, i.e. in the line with European developments, and ends with the awarding of the degree “Dr. artium”. The conception of the new study program is based on the principle of internal public presentations in the form of artistic performances and progress reports, as well as evaluation by external advisers. Measures have been put into place ensuring that candidates are qualified both at the time of admission and throughout the whole course of their study period. The Doctor of Arts program at KUG takes place in the setting of a Doctoral School, which regulates the details to be carried out. The number of a total of 180 ECTS-Credits is given as an orientation figure for the amount of work to be accomplished, but there is no exact break-down of the curriculum into ECTS-Credits. The doctoral work itself consists of two parts: the artistic part, consisting of demonstrated proof of artistic presentations, and the scholarly part, i.e. a written part of about 80-100 pages (dissertation) which is scholarly connected to the artistic part. The doctoral work has to be defended in a rigoriosum, both in an artistic and scholarly way.

With respect to funding, plans are underway to ensure that exceptional candidates are assisted financially by means of the KUG scholarship system as well as by cooperating with artistic research projects that have external means of support.

Current Debates and Issues

• No legal basis for artistic doctorate
One of the major discussions within the Austrian art universities at the moment (2012) concerns the introduction of a doctoral degree which is solely „artistic“ (as opposed to scientific). Up until now, the Austrian Universities Act UG 2002 defines doctoral programs in §51 (2) 12,13 as “degree programmes which develop students’ ability to undertake independent academic work, and promote the training and career advancement of junior academic staff, building on the foundations provided by diploma and master’s degree programmes. ‘Doctoral theses’ mean academic papers which […] serve to demonstrate students’ ability to master academic topics independently.”  This norm does not allow for dissertation projects that are not written academic papers. An artistic doctorate which grants the possibility to achieve a PhD by an artistic work (or a portfolio) needs as a prerequisite a change of the law. Several art universities in Austria have started to lobby for this change.

• Doctoral supervision – how to train and support both, the candidate and the supervisor?
This is a hot issue for the currently established doctoral / PhD programs at Austrian art universities, which are all dissertation based (‘scientific’/’scholarly’) and it will be a challenge also for the artistic doctorates we are aiming to introduce.
Questions we are concerned with are: What makes the required written piece of work a dissertation? How does it relate to the artistic part? What skills should a doctoral/Phd candidate (holding a diploma in art) have before she/he starts a doctorate/PhD? What additional skills shall be acquired during the program? What role does the individual relationship between the candidate and the supervisor play? How to ensure that candidates do not get lost somewhere in the middle?

Whereas training programs for doctoral supervisors at scientific universities have become more and more of a standard, at art universities this is still very much at the beginning. Supervision at art universities follows much more individually based structures. The professor-student relationship at art universities is very different from the relationship at scientific universities, being based in a very different tradition of master-apprentice, still intact at many art universities, a model which is not considered to be a “ghost of the past” in all academic contexts.

• Lack of funding opportunities for doctoral / PhD candidates
Doctoral candidates are considered and enrolled as students, thus they are eligible to federal students aid (i.e. transfer payments administered by the Austrian Study Grant Authority), and health insurance for students. However, these are depending on age limits, income (own income, parents’ income) as well as progress and overall length of study.
At the same time, doctoral / PhD candidates have to be considered early-stage researchers, to which fair working conditions and payment shall be provided. But, Austria does not have a developed stipend system for doctoral / PhD candidates at all. If stipends are offered in relation to a doctoral program, this is rather the exception than the rule. Universities simply do not have the budget to employ larger numbers of doctoral / PhD candidates out of their general university budget. To be (at least part time) employed in the context of a larger project funded e.g. by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is often the only way to get some money for their doctoral work. Doctoral / PhD candidates enrolled at Austrian art universities thus additionally suffer from the lack of funding opportunities for arts-based research compared to scientific research funding.

Longer term institutional funding for structured doctoral /PhD programs and schools is provided on a highly competitive basis by the Austrian Science Fund (the so called ‘Doktoratskollegs’), but not yet open for arts-based research.

Outlook

From the perspective of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, an art university which offers 4 doctoral programs (Dr.phil., Dr.tech., Dr.rer.nat., PhD in practice), the profile of a doctoral degree in the area of arts based research must be sharpened in relation to scientific, philosophical degrees like the Dr.phil. on the one hand and solely practice-based artistic degrees (not yet possible in Austria) on the other hand. The PhD in practice program at the Academy with its high concentration in contact hours (“focus weeks”), its intense supervision resources (3 members of staff exclusively for the PhD in practice researchers) and its firm interrelation of theory/epistemology and artistic practice is a best practice model: the supervision ratio in a structured PhD program like the one we have in Vienna is quite unique by international standards. But although the university provides much reseources for the program in terms of personnel costs, there is no funding for the PhD researchers. This situation, quite common in the German speaking academic world, needs to be changed. But considering the debates about university funding in Austria, the prospect of change in this scenario is dim.

Relevant Links

Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF)
http://www.wwtf.at/

PEEK Program for Arts-based Research:
http://www.fwf.ac.at/en/projects/peek.html

Austrian Science Council
www.wissenschaftsrat.ac.at
report Empfehlung zur Entwicklung der Kunstuniversitäten in Österreich

Authors: Andrea B. Braidt, Michaela Glanz
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna