Dear Andreas,
When you write, "Engineering", are you referring to computing or even digital technologies at large? There are numerous disciplines and sub-disciplines (even sub-sub-sub disciplines) dealing with digital technologies, creativity and innovation. To name a few, one can study for a doctorate in Computer Graphics, Computer-Human Interaction, Entertainment Technologies, Multi-Media, Music Technology, Digital Media, Digital Humanities, Digital Cultures, Aesthetic Computing, Ubiquitous Computing. etc. These doctoral awards are most often granted by Computer Science or Informatics programs here in the UK.
Interestingly, you've mentioned Engineering. Many Engineering programs in the UK and Australia are shifting away from awarding PhDs to professional doctorates, i.e., Doctors of Engineering (EngD/DEng). The main difference being the idea that a PhD is a research degree, aimed at preparing a student to work in academia whereas a professional doctorate is more focused on the needs of industry, or, to use the official terminology, "... the professional doctorate has been purposefully adapted to suit doctoral level study in a professional field rather than academia per se. Therefore, these awards attract students who are working in a professional environment to further develop their skills, knowledge and professional practice. Additionally they play an important role in increasing collaborations between universities, business and industry..." (Professional Doctorate Awards in the UK, UK Council for Graduate Education).
The "Practice-based PhD", by virtue of being a PhD is a research degree and is therefore tied to notions of development and exploration of research questions. As others in this thread have eloquently stated, it's the context which determines the form of discourse around these questions and the methods used to interrogate them -- whether in fields of Arts, Humanities, Informatics, or, even, Engineering. A professional doctorate is often a continuation of the professional Masters and seen as more of a licence to practice in a field. They normally have larger taught components and are frequently combined with some form of industry certification or licence.
Whether-or-not we should see more professional doctorates in the Arts and fewer practice-based PhDs, is a very interesting question. I see many students enrolling in practice-based PhD programs, when they really want a professional program. (er, sorry, programme... I forget what country I'm in). Professional doctorates are emerging in Architecture and Built Environment (DArch, DBEnv), but I'm not aware of any in digital technologies.
However, I see a number of students applying for practice-based PhD's because they want to "make stuff". These students do not want to read, write or reflect. I'm not certain they're ready for any form of Doctoral study whether professional or research.
all the best,
-k
On 20 Aug 2012, at 18:12, Andreas Broeckmann <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> dear simon,
>
> thanks for the hints. the model that you describe is familiar from a number of practice-based art PhD programs (Malmo Art Academy at Lund University run something similar). this is useful, though i had hoped to aim my question in a slightly different direction:
>
> are there PhD programs that are open for artists and more clearly placed in the field or on the border of *engineering*? to be honest, i have no idea what engineering PhDs look like these days, but i fantasise about a PhD project that is akin to a technical invention, the thesis looking more like a patent application than a philological monograph (the latter format can be impossible for artists who have the technical and conceptual but not the writing skills).
>
> just a dream?
>
> -a
>
>
> Am 20.08.12 18:56, schrieb Simon Biggs:
>> Our PhDs can do something like this, although they still need to deliver
>> 50% of their output in the form of a thesis. However, our focus is
>> research through practice (rather than research into practice) so the
>> practice is where we hope to see the main research being undertaken. In
>> this case the thesis is used to articulate the context of the research
>> (both practice and theory), the analytical framework, the criteria for
>> evaluation, an outline of the research methods and a detailed
>> description of the work undertaken, with a concise outline of the final
>> outcomes. We have students undertaking PhDs co-supervised between
>> art/design/architecture and computing/informatics/engineering, as well
>> as crossing over into the humanities and social sciences. We also have
>> some working in bio-engineering as creative practice, which is a growth
>> area (sorry about the pun).
>>
>> The key thing with a PhD, as with all research, is that it has to
>> deliver novel insights of value to others, not just the person doing it,
>> and to do this the outcomes have to be articulated in a public context
>> where others can readily access and understand the work. That is a
>> challenge for any researcher, not just a PhD.
>>
>> Aside from here at Edinburgh I'm aware that Newcastle, Queen Mary,
>> Lancaster and Goldsmiths support such PhDs, as do MIT, UC Irvine and
>> Carnegie Mellon in the USA. There are others as well, including in
>> Australia and Canada.
>>
>> best
>>
>> Simon
>>
>>
>> On 20 Aug 2012, at 17:17, Andreas Broeckmann wrote:
>>
>>> dear friends,
>>>
>>> over the last weeks i've had two requests for advice from artists who
>>> are working with digital technologies and who feel that career-wise it
>>> might be good to do a PhD, even though they are both not the "i want
>>> to sit down, study a theoretical topic related to my practice, and
>>> work on a philological book for 3 years" types.
>>>
>>> rather, they are artist-engineers who build things and invent new
>>> usages of old and new technologies, their's is an artistic practice
>>> that is closely related to the construction and moulding of ideas in
>>> technical hardware.
>>>
>>> what i am wondering is whether for artists like this, rather than
>>> going into heady art&research PhD programs, it would not be better to
>>> try and find a *technical* department that understands the cultural
>>> significance of their work. if they have to submit a phd-thesis about
>>> their work as techno-cultural-artistic devices, incl. technical and
>>> artistic explanations and contextualisation, that might be more
>>> realistic - and possibly more appropriate - to achieve?
>>>
>>> do people have experiences with such "engineering PhDs for artists"?
>>> and can you name schools that are open to such research, possibly in
>>> cooperation with a partner art school?
>>>
>>> best regards from a steaming hot berlin,
>>>
>>> -a
>>>
>>> --
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Leuphana Universität Lüneburg - Leuphana Arts Program (LAP)
>>> Dr. Andreas Broeckmann
>>> Scharnhorststraße 1, C5.225, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany
>>> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>>> http://www.leuphana.de/lap
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>
>>
>> Simon Biggs
>> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>> http://www.littlepig.org.uk/ @SimonBiggsUK skype: simonbiggsuk
>>
>> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> Edinburgh College of Art,
>> University of Edinburgh
>> http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ http://www.elmcip.net/
>> http://www.movingtargets.co.uk/
>> MSc by Research in Interdisciplinary Creative Practices
>> http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/degrees?id=656&cw_xml=details.php
>>
------------------------------------------------------
Kirk Woolford
Sr Lecturer in Media Practice
School of Media, Film and Music,
Silverstone 334 (fomerly EDB)
University of Sussex
Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RG
+44 (0)1273 87 6589
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