Research degrees in DJCAD

The PhD: practice-based or ‘traditional’ fully textual

In DJCAD, the practice-based PhD study is over 3 to 3.5 years full-time, or 5 years part-time. You have 2 supervisors who act as your mentors, guiding you through the various stages, helping you to access what you need, and helping you focus your efforts successfully.

The final submission is the result of your research in whatever form that best takes plus a written contextualisation of no less than about 20K words for a largely practice-based balance of work. 50% practice and 50% theory, for example, might then be represented by a 40K word textual submission with examples of your practice. The proportion is negotiated with your supervisor. This text provides a contextualisation of what you have done and achieved and its contribution.

The ‘traditional’, entirely textual submissions for, say, art historical or entirely theoretical work, would be 80-100K words.  This is followed by a verbal examination (viva voce) in which your examiners ask you questions and you discuss your research and outcomes.

To apply, we have you send us a research proposal setting out what you want to do. We provide a guide for this proposal,

Professional Doctorate in Art and Design

The University of Dundee’s Professional Doctorate programme is a University-wide programme with a shared cohort, and is offered over a cycle of 4 years of part-time study.  Two 6-day periods of residency on campus annually typically complement the distance and blended learning over the rest of the year.

In this programme, the students are predominantly mature professionals who use their place of work as a ‘laboratory’ for observation and study, seeking to become a more capable and resilient professional. In art and design this might suit art educators, designers in businesses or agencies, or curators, dealers, publishers, etc.

The final two years move increasing from taught modules to an individually structured research project.

Masters by Research - MDes (Res) and MFA (Res)

For some well–prepared students, research Masters degrees allow for independent study under the supervision of a research supervisor for one year, September to August, with many leading straight into PhD studies.

This programme is not a taught degree, but instead is structured more like a PhD; it provides the full-time student appropriate research experience – and the refinement of research methods- in order to apply with a proposal and portfolio to a PhD.

The student’s Director of Studies negotiates access to workshops and staff expertise, and overviews progress until the end of the 12 months of study, which culminates the year with a viva voce examination and participation in the annual Masters exhibition.