Applying for doctoral studies in Photography, Literary Composition, Film, Design, Craft and Art.

Guidance notes

(last updated 18 May 2026)

APPLICATION FORM

What is a doctorate?

A doctoral degree is the entry-level qualification for a future research career. It is a certification by the University that the bearer has demonstrated the general competencies required to do research in their given field; and specifically the ability to conceive, develop, implement, document, explain and evaluate a substantial research project.

The Swedish Higher Education Ordinance, which is the law governing university degrees, says that a “Degree of Doctor is awarded after the third-cycle student has completed a study programme of at least 240 credits in a subject in which third-cycle teaching is offered”.

At HDK-Valand, we offer a choice of two different syllabuses for doctoral studies in our subjects. These are the (general) PhD degree, and the (special) Doctor of Fine Arts degree. A key difference is that the “format” of the final submission is specified as a “documented artistic research project” in the Doctor of Fine Arts and is left open in the general PhD award descriptor. There are some other small differences in the learning outcomes of the two routes. You can compare them at these links:

PhD:

https://www.uhr.se/en/start/laws-and-regulations/Laws-and-regulations/The-Higher-Education-Ordinance/Annex-2/#Doctor

Doctor of Fine Arts:

https://www.uhr.se/en/start/laws-and-regulations/Laws-and-regulations/The-Higher-Education-Ordinance/Annex-2/#Doc_FineArts

We understand that the purpose of the distinction is to make it absolutely clear that an artist can submit a documented body of practice as part of the doctoral submission. We accept this as normal for all doctoral work in the Academy.

The basic approach for writing the proposal and making the application is the same for both doctoral award types. We will discuss with the successful candidates which degree is the most appropriate for them. We do not see the choice of doctoral award type as a critical factor in evaluating the applications.

The doctoral training at HDK-Valand includes mandatory participation in a series of seminar courses and an option to teach for a maximum of 20% of your contracted time.

How to write your doctoral proposal

A key way of thinking about your research proposal, and the research task that you are proposing to address through the project work, is to consider these three questions: (i) What am I trying to find out? (ii) Why is it worth knowing? (ii) How do I go about finding it out?

Your proposal should cover a maximum of six numbered pages (plus bibliography and appendix of illustrations if required, both of which are not counted as part of the 6 pages), using Arial font, size 11, with single line spacing and 2.5cm margins. Please include your name, the project title, and the subject you are applying to in the document header. Use non-specialist language or give your definitions of terms where necessary: the proposal will be read by people outside your immediate discipline, and from the full spectrum of our subjects.

The main text should comprise the following sections:

(i) Abstract (no more than 1500 characters including spaces)

The abstract should be a clear summary of what you propose to research (your basic task, your aims), how you propose to do it (your methods) and why it is important to do this work.

(ii) Research Plan

This is where project is described in detail. Use the following sub-headings:

Purpose of the proposed research

Specify what you hope your research will achieve. What is the basic research task? What are you trying to find out that is not already known? You should be able to organise your research around a clear research task. (This could be expressed as the task: to ask/answer a question; to solve a problem; to test a hypothesis; to explore and describe an under-studied phenomenon; to experiment with respect to some specific material, process, issue, theme, relation or situation; to describe or disclose or demonstrate or in some way attend to something or operate in some way that is not already known, understood, familiar or recognized; or to test if something is practically possible or generative in some meaningful way. We do not hold to one single standard formulation of the research task, but we do seek some indication of a research task that is more than simply the production of work upon a theme.

Theoretical context and approach

Describe the theoretical approach you will take to addressing your question or problem. You should refer to the disciplines that study the question / problem you wish to study, and describe what work has been done or is being done that is relevant to your project. Where the project draws on work from various disciplines, describe how you plan to integrate these in your research.

Practical research methods

How will you select or innovate artistic research methods that are appropriate for your project? In what ways are these methods necessary to pursue this project? How are the artistic methods articulated in the context of your theoretical approach? Give brief details of your relevant experience in the methods you plan to use.

Significance of the proposed research

Why is this project of importance? Describe the gap in current knowledge, including thinking around practice. What potential impact will your project have, in terms of producing new knowledge, new theoretical and / or practical approaches, and avenues for future research?

(iii) Equipment / resources

If you know of any particular resources that you will need to do this project, please describe them. These might include equipment, people with specialist expertise or knowledge, or access to particular archives.

(iv) Schedule

Give a suggested time plan for the project. This will inevitably be more detailed in the earlier stages – describe what you hope to achieve first, in order to define the shape of the later stages of the project. Include the points at which you expect to complete different parts of your project. You can attach a supplementary time chart to map the development of the project if you wish. Bear in mind that you will be required to present a seminar on your project at the 25%, 50%, 80% and 90% stages, before your final public defence; and that as a PhD student you will have the opportunity to teach in the unit with which you are associated, up to a total of 20% of your employed time.

(v) Relevance to research at HDK-Valand

State why your project is relevant to the research activity underway in HDK-Valand. How does your research fit with recent or existing work at HDK-Valand? Are there particular supervisors whose research profile would be particularly relevant to your project? Please take time to investigate our research activity and thematic clusters.

(vi) Please also include a bibliography / list of relevant works. This can be short or long – the most important thing is that it identifies some key materials that you believe you will engage with in the course of doing the research. You may include illustrations (if required as part of explaining the research project) as an appendix also. These do not count as part of the page count.

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Some considerations. Note that a successful research project proposal is usually NOT a perfect one. A research proposal is a proposal based in not knowing something and trying to come to know it in some way. It is not about mastery, but rather about a special kind of ‘ignorance’ – in the sense of recognizing that we do not yet know or understand something, or that we have a deep curiosity about something we do not fully comprehend or of which we do not have full operational experience.

The attempt to describe a research proposal in terms of answering three basic questions (What am I trying to find out? Why is it worth knowing? How do I go about finding it out?) is a pedagogical model. It is often very hard to do this – but the attempt to do it is one way to develop a clearer sense of the research in the proposed project. This model is a device that will sometimes not work. It is however recommended as a good starting point from which to frame an enquiry. It makes it less likely that we will simply describe a ‘production’ project without naming a clear research task.

A doctoral exam process is one where you make the claim that you have demonstrated the national learning outcomes described in the Higher Education Ordinance. In applying to a doctoral programme, you are stating that you are willing to communicate and prove that claim to others, and that you are willing to do so through practical production, documentation of such practice, textual and oral statement, and dialogue.

If you do not want to talk about your artistic practice (its motivations, its means, its contexts etc.) within the supervision process and within the exam setting, we strongly recommend that you do not apply for a doctoral position nor seek to enter into a contract that specifies these as obligations that you take on willingly.