Research Overview

Overview of research in the arts in Europe

Institutions and Programmes


This overview presents institutions and programmes engaged in research in the arts, as well as the national situation with regard to funding, regulations, degrees, and integration in the academic infrastructure, per country in Europe. Based upon a survey initiated by artesnetEurope, and maintained by the SHARE academic network, it is the most comprehensive - though by no means complete - overview of the European Research Area in the arts.

Research in the arts in this overview is used to mean research programmes for artists hosted by institutes of higher arts education, sometimes in cooperation or association with other academic institutions. The more conventional, but more problematic term for this is artistic research, and when it does not give rise to ambiguity this term will be used.

The overview will mainly focus on third-cycle programmes.
This is a pragmatic choice: in the debate that has been going on for the last decade, artistic research has mainly been identified with PhDs in the arts, even though research could also be pursued by senior researchers or independent artists, and MA programmes are required to be research-based.

From the large number of PhD programmes in the United Kingdom, only a sample has been selected. What has been patently excluded is conventional academic research, mainly in philosophy and the humanities, that is hosted by art academies. Also excluded are non-degree postgraduate programmes without a specific research profile, that were largely already there before the emergence of PhDs in higher arts education, and the advent of the ‘artistic research’ debate.

This overview is complemented by an overview of publications and conferences about research in the arts.

Institute degrees 3rd level students type
FAK (formerly IvOK)
Brussels et al,* Belgium
doctoraat (PhD) 27 association
associatie.kuleuven.be/fak/
Orpheus / DocARTES
Ghent, Belgium et al.**
PhD 37 network
www.orpheusinstituut.be
www.docartes.be
School of Arts – University College Ghent
Ghent, Belgium
PhD   PhD programme
www.schoolofarts.be
GradCAM
Dublin, Ireland
PhD 37 national institute
www.gradcam.ie/
Gothenburg University
Gothenburg, Sweden
PhD, AD 45 graduate school /
national research school
www.konst.gu.se/english/doctoral_studies/
Malmö Art Academy
Malmö, Sweden
PhD 6 graduate school
www.khm.lu.se
Norwegian Fellowship Programme
Bergen et al,*** Norway
diploma 44 national programme
www.kunststipendiat.no
Aalto School of Art and Design (formerly TAiK) Helsinki, Finland DA 202 graduate school
www.taik.fi/research/
Sibelius Academy
Helsinki, Finland
Lic, PhD, Dmus 70 graduate school & network
www.siba.fi
Finnish Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki, Finland
DFA 23 graduate programme
www.kuva.fi
HfG Offenbach
Offenbach, Germany
PhD 10 PhD programme
www.hfg-offenbach.de
Berlin University of the Arts
Berlin, Germany
diploma 15 graduate school
www.udk-berlin.de/graduiertenschule
ENSBA / La Seine
Paris, France
diploma 12 postgraduate programme
www.ensba.fr/laseine/
IRCAM
Paris, France
PhD 26 research institute
www.ircam.fr
ESADSE
St. Étienne, France
diploma 8 postgraduate programme
www.esadse.fr/postdiplome/
PhDArts
The Hague, Netherlands
PhD 9 association
www.phdarts.eu
MAHKU
Utrecht, Netherlands
MA, PhD 2 graduate school
www.mahku.nl
Academy of Fine Arts
Vienna, Austria
PhD 7 graduate school
www.cak.akbild.ac.at
HKB Bern /
Y - Institute for Transdisciplinarity
Berne, Switzerland
MA   association
www.hkb.bfh.ch/y
Zurich University of the Arts
Zurich, Switzerland
MAS, PhD 44 graduate programmes
www.z-node.net
sceno.zhdk.ch
www.interface.ufg.ac.at
National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts
Sofia, Bulgaria
PhD 13 PhD programme
www.natfa.bg
Academy of Fine Arts and Design
Bratislava, Slovak Rep.
PhD 27 PhD programme
www.vsvu.sk
University of Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal
PhD 100 PhD programme
http://www.fba.ul.pt
La Salle - Ramon Llull University
Barcelona, Spain
MA, PhD 20 graduate school
http://web.salle.url.edu/doctorat/ARQ/index.html
University of the Arts London
London, UK
Mphil, PhD 170 graduate school & programmes
www.arts.ac.uk/research
RSAMD
Glasgow, UK
Mphil, PhD 20 association
www.rsamd.ac.uk/postgraduate/research
University of Brighton
Brighton, UK
Mphil, PhD 70 graduate school
artsresearch.brighton.ac.uk
CultureLab
Newcastle, UK
MA, PhD 20 graduate programme
www.ncl.ac.uk/culturelab/
Slade School of Art
London, UK
Mphil, PhD 12 graduate programme
www.ucl.ac.uk/slade
Royal College of Art
London, UK
Mphil, PhD 134 postgraduate institute
www.rca.ac.uk/research
  
* The Faculty of Art and Architecture is part of the K.U.Leuven Association; associated HAE institutes are in Ghent, Brussels, Louvain, and Genk.
** The DocARTES programme has 8 partners in Flanders, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; it is co-ordinated by the Orpheus Institute, Ghent.
*** The Norwegian Fellowship Programme involves all Norwegian art academies and several university departments; it is co-ordinated by Bergen National Academy of the Arts.