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I am currently finishing a practice/project-based PhD in Design and understand the dilemma to stem from how people view what a PhD means: 1. Does a PhD mean one is the best in his/her field... Or 2. Does a PhD mean one has obtained a level of academic achievement in his/her discipline? Honourary PhD's for instance award a doctorate degree to someone who is the best in their field, but not necessarily in an academic sense. This is a token gesture really, but I think it can sometimes show the misrepresentation of the PhD--that a PhD means you are clever rather than someone who understands how to conduct and report research. To have a project be the sole source of conducting AND reporting the research is hard to justify. A written portion should accompany the creative work, enough to contribute new knowledge to the field, and be tangible enough to allow others to build on it. And for now, we do this through the written word. A creative non-written work would certainly be a platform to conduct the research--just as a physicist has a laboratory for testing and observing ideas--but to conduct an experiment and say it speaks for itself is not an academic outcome. It's like the kite and the key experiment of Benjamin Franklin. It's great that lightning struck, but unless he can explain to others how it happened and what they can do with it what benefit is it to anyone but Benjamin? Equally true is the fact that one can't ignore the importance of the experiment that led to the discovery, and practice/project based/led PhD's are a step towards recognising the non-written portion of research, which dominates fields like design, art, etc. This practice research route is needed, and it's not any less valuable than its traditional counterpart. It's about recognising they are dependent on the other, not about valuing one over the other. For an achievement that's not academic, there are other ways of getting recognition: industry awards, knighthood, etc. We have to be careful not to confuse that with academia. In the end it's about contributing to research in your field, not just contributing to your field. Or I could be wrong. If so, I'll gladly stop my dissertation and hand in my projects! :) This email has been scanned for all viruses by the MessageLabs Email Security System.