PHD in Art – National Academy of Fine Arts

Institution providing the doctoral degree

National Academy of Fine Arts

Location

Stuttgart | Germany (Baden-Württemberg)

Name of PHD

PHD in Art

Research Clusters

History and Theory of Art + Cultural Heritage
Pedagogy of Art, Art Education and Art Therapy
Other fields

Duration

Expected duration: approx.. 3 years.

Max duration: 6 years. Further extensions require approval from the doctoral committee

Public / Private institution

Public University

Financial terms of the PHD position

Self-funded PhD – you must provide both tuition and your own maintenance
PhD Fully or partially externally funded, with a stipend, through private or public foundations, scholarships, grants, one or more companies, or public institutions that you have to find on your own

Fees: no tuition fees. Semester contribution apply.

Funding resources: PhD students must secure their own funding through external scholarships, grants, or sponsorships.

Depending on the topic of the project one may try receiving funds from the following scholarship foundations:
https://www.boell.de/
https://www.rosalux.de/
https://www.boeckler.de/
https://www.fes.de/
https://www.evstudienwerk.de/
https://www.studienstiftung.de/

The following database may as well help:
https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-scholarship-database/

Final output

Dissertation: Monographic, original scholarly work demonstrating the ability for in-depth research; includes a one-page abstract in German and English. Normally written in German; English is possible with supervisor and committee approval.
Disputation: Oral examination consisting of a 20–30 minute presentation (on a topic distinct from the dissertation) followed by a colloquium; total duration not to exceed ~90 minutes. May be public with the candidate’s consent.
Publication: Mandatory within 18 months after the final grade is set, via one of the accepted routes: (a) 30 copies if privately reproduced; (b) 6 copies if published by a commercial press with a minimum run of 150; (c) 6 copies if published in a journal or digitally (PDF under a persistent link with long-term archiving).

How to apply

Secure supervision: Obtain a written supervision commitment from a qualified ABK professor (contact a suitable supervisor in your topic area first).
Acceptance as a doctoral candidate: Apply in writing to the Examinations Office with: supervision details (first/second supervisor), a statement that you are not in another doctoral procedure, dissertation exposé (per committee guidelines), signed doctoral agreement (Promotionsvereinbarung), CV, certified degree certificates (and certified translations if applicable), school-leaving certificate, and other transcripts. The doctoral committee meets twice per year; typical submission cutoffs are January 10 and June 10.
Enrollment: After acceptance, enrollment as a doctoral student is required for the duration of the doctorate (employees of the academy may request exemption in writing); student contributions apply and grant access to student services (e.g., local semester ticket).
Open the examination procedure (when the thesis is finished): Submit to the Examinations Office: dissertation title; three proposed topics for the oral exam (not on the dissertation topic); CV in German and English (with education, nationality, and addresses); three printed, paginated, bound or stapled copies of the dissertation plus a PDF; acceptance notice; statutory affidavit of independent work; declarations regarding any prior doctoral attempts and any criminal proceedings; and short German/English summaries for the website. The review period is up to 3 months; the thesis is then displayed for 14 days during lecture period before admission to the oral exam.

Entry requirements

A Master’s degree or a long-cycle university/teacher-training/art-academy program (minimum four years) or a postgraduate program, completed with an above-average result (generally “good” or better) in a relevant field. Foreign degrees require recognition.
Exceptionally, graduates of universities of applied sciences, bachelor’s, or state-exam programs with excellent results (“very good”) may be admitted after a suitability assessment, consisting of:
- a written assignment (topic set by the committee) to be completed within 6 months (extendable once by 3 months), meeting the level of a Master’s thesis in the art-historical disciplines; and
- a ~30-minute oral exam in at least two art-science topics (not identical to the written assignment).