On 7 Aug 2009, at 11:52 am, Eduardo Corte Real wrote:
Eduardo,
I certainly agree that we are in a transitional phase in doctoral
studies, perhaps in much of the world too.
I may be misunderstanding your description of the kinds of intended
doctorate you mention, if so forgive me in pursuing this a little
further.
I see distinct differences between advanced designing practice and
advanced researching practice. The OECD report seems clear that we are
talking about RESEARCH degrees.
> “PhD degrees are given on the basis of a body of work (either
> through publication, exhibition, composition or performance) that
> displays the originality and rigour expected of a research degree in
> any field”.
Therefore, irrespective of the means by which the work has been
conducted or disseminated, I should expect such a doctor to have at
minimum a thorough grounding in research methods, and the practice of
high level research through actually doing it. This may not be case in
what I would term [and have described as] a professional doctorate.
If I were looking to employ an excellent design teacher, then I might
want someone with a professional doctorate who has high level design
PRACTICE skills by doing.
If, on the other hand, I were looking to employ an excellent design
researcher, then I would certainly want someone with a PhD and high
level RESEARCH skills by doing.
> “Furthermore, consideration should be given to award PhD by
> Publication. Artists, designers or performer should be given the
> option to use an existing body of published creative work as part
> fulfilment of a PhD”
You will probably be aware that this form of qualification has been
available in some UK universities for a number of years. I think such
degrees are a useful addition to the portfolio of high level
qualifications, especially for those who have spent a lifetime
learning about and conducting research, or who have conducted advanced
design practice over a long period. I will put to one side whether
these degrees should be 'PhD' in all cases, but there will be clear
distinctions between individuals when I come to employ them in either
a teaching role or a research role.
Incidentally, Ken could submit his artworks for such a qualification.
However, there is a bit more than the exhibition... the works are in
'part fulfillment' and dreaded words have to be used to explain the
context of the works and the claims to originality. Ken would probably
knock this out in an evening, but most folks take a little longer...
David
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David Durling FDRS PhD http://durling.tel
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