About the studies
Artist-researchers produce practice-based knowledge, expertise, and understanding that can be used and applied both in the arts and in other fields of society. Tutke’s doctoral students conduct multidisciplinary artistic research. Artistic and pedagogical practice is seen as a way of thinking and understanding, not as something that needs to be explained. Doctoral students learn to articulate, conceptualize, and theorize their practice-based artistic knowledge and questions that arise from it.
Degree structure
The scope of the doctoral program is 240 credits: the doctoral research is worth 180 credits and supporting studies (that are mainly carried out during the first two years of studying) is worth 60 credits. Doctoral students must be present during the seven weeks of instruction that are held approximately every four weeks. Instruction is provided mainly in English. Most courses are organized in cooperation with the doctoral education provided by Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts.
Completing the doctoral degree requires four years of full-time studying. Tutke has limited possibilities to offer financial support to its doctoral students for artistic productions and conference travel. Tutke annually employs doctoral students in salaried employment relationships, the application periods of which are announced on the Uniarts website. Doctoral students are encouraged to apply independently for extra funding from different sources.
Doctoral research
The doctoral dissertation is worth 180 credits. It includes 1–3 artistic components (that will be pre-examined) and written commentary. Each doctoral student is usually assigned two supervisors with the highest expertise in their field.
The artistic components can be pedagogical or performance projects, workshops, demonstrations, or exercises. Doctoral students must demonstrate that they are able to address research questions through the means of art and produce new information.
The aim of the commentary is to make doctoral students contemplate observations, experiences, and problems that arise from the artistic components. The commentary can take many forms depending on the dissertation’s nature. In their commentary, doctoral students must state the subject and method of the research, describe new insights they have gained, and identify the research tradition of their study.
Each dissertation is assessed in terms of the doctoral student’s expertise and ability to conduct independent research, produce new information, communicate clearly, and participate in analytical discussions.
Teachers
Our teachers are some of the best experts in their respective fields. In addition to the permanent teaching staff, the program welcomes international top experts as guests on a regular basis.
