PHD in Art or Music – University of Siegen
University of Siegen
Siegen | Germany (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
PHD in Art or Music
- History and Theory of Art + Cultural Heritage
- Pedagogy of Art, Art Education and Art Therapy
- Musicology and Musical Heritage
- Pedagogy of Music, Music Education and Music Therapy
- Other fields
Admission as a doctoral candidate is initially limited to 6 years and can be extended in 2-year increments with supervisor consent and work plan.
Public University
- PhD funded by the university but without a stipend
- 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. Visit the university’s website for information about semester contributions.
Funding resources:
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/
Dissertation
- Must be an independent, research-advancing thesis; normally written in German or English (other languages by committee approval).
- Must not have been published as a whole before submission (prior partial publications possible by decision of the Doctoral Committee).
- Cumulative dissertations:
- Art Studies/Art History: not permitted.
- Art Education / Music Education / Musicology: allowed; at least five published/accepted journal articles, with authorship and peer-review requirements and a substantial integrative text (45,000–60,000 characters); limits on co-authorship and reviewer co-authorship apply.
- Education (Erziehungswissenschaft): allowed under Annex quantitative minima (peer-reviewed papers and/or book chapters) plus an extensive integrative chapter.
Disputation
- Oral exam conducted by a commission; total duration 1.5–2 hours.
- Art/Music fields: usually disputation; in specific admission routes a Rigorosum may replace it (two additional subjects, total ~120 minutes split 2:1:1). Submit three theses in advance.
- Education: disputation based on three theses (one directly on the dissertation, two placing results in wider field context).
- Architecture: 30-minute public lecture on the thesis topic followed by the disputation.
- University-public for professors/habilitated members; wider audience only if the candidate does not object. One repeat allowed if failed.
Publication
- Within 2 years after passing the oral exam (extensions possible).
- Routes (in addition to 3 faculty file copies):
- Publisher route: 3 additional copies if distributed via book trade (min. 25 copies).
- Electronic route: 1 printed copy + electronic PDF (library reproduction/network rights granted) + 1-page abstract approved by the first reviewer.
- Cumulative thesis:5 copies of the collected works.
- Admission to the doctorate (Zulassung zur Promotion)
- Departments Education; Art & Music: submit to the relevant Doctoral Committee:
- CV and completed application form; signed supervision agreement; certified qualifying degree; health-insurance proof; if set, a list of additional studies; for external applicants, a faculty professor’s statement on your qualifications and project; language proof at C1 in German (DSH2/TestDaF 4-4-4-4/KMK C1/Goethe C2) or English (IELTS 7.0/Cambridge Grade C/TOEFL iBT 95/ITP 627); submit both print and digital. If supervision is not yet clarified, send form + exposé; the committee forwards to potential supervisors.
- Department Architecture: submit CV, signed supervision agreement, certified degree, and an exposé; include German or English language proof per DSH/TestDaF/TOEFL standards; submit print and digital.
- Admission requires a qualified project and confirmed supervision by at least one eligible member; admission is initially limited to 6 years (extensions possible). Enrollment in Faculty II is required from the semester after admission.
- Open the doctoral examination (Eröffnung des Promotionsverfahrens)
- Apply to the Dean of Faculty II with:
- At least 3 printed copies of the dissertation;
- Affidavits (independent authorship; sources; prior/parallel submissions);
- Certificate of good conduct; tabular CV;
- Statement whether you oppose public attendance at the oral exam;
- (Optional) suggestions for reviewers/commission.
- One of the following over-average qualifications:
- Relevant degree with ≥8 semesters (non-Bachelor title), or
- Relevant Master’s (§61(2)2 HG NRW), or
- Relevant ≥6-semester degree plus pre-doctoral studies in the doctoral subject.
- Field-specific prerequisites:
- Education: Dipl.-Pädagog*in / M.A. “Education & Social Work” / First State Exam or M.Ed. (comparable degrees possible with subject-board approval, possibly with conditions).
- Architecture: Diplom / M.A. or M.Sc. in Architecture/Urban Planning (in individual cases M.Eng./M.Sc. in another relevant field).
- Art/Music (Art Education, Music Education, Art Studies/Art History, Musicology): Diplom/Master or First State Exam for teaching; other degrees require an equivalence decision.
- Foreign degrees: recognized if equivalent; ZAB may be consulted.
- Language at admission (Education; Art & Music): C1 German (DSH2/TestDaF 4-4-4-4/KMK C1/Goethe C2) or English (IELTS 7.0/Cambridge Grade C/TOEFL iBT 95/ITP 627); Architecture: German or English proof per DSH/TestDaF/TOEFL, etc.
| Dr. Josephine Krüger (Advisory Service for Doctoral Matters) | josephine.krueger@uni-siegen.de | Tel.: +49 271 740-2606 |
| https://www.uni-siegen.de/bak/promotion_habilitation/promotion/phd_students/general_information/?lang=de |
Languages used within the program and for thesis writing and discussion: German, English, French, or Spanish (other languages by approval; if not in English, a German summary of 10–15 pages is required).
PhD with only theoretical outcomes – no artistic projects/concerts/exhibitions as part of the final project
General information about research in Germany: https://www.research-in-germany.org/en.html