The HFBK Hamburg thereby enables and promotes practice-based doctoral studies that apply artistic research approaches. The focus is on the further development and strengthening of aesthetic knowledge production in and through the arts. At the center of the program is inter- and transdisciplinary research within and through the practice of artistic working processes. Research is fundamentally understood as open-ended in the context of comprehensive knowledge production. In this, the methods of artistic knowledge production and their reflection play a central role. They form the necessary and comprehensible basis for epistemic investigations and analyses aimed at developing a methodological toolkit and a reflective working and research practice. The emphasis is on the independent and critical development of knowledge within a specific field of the arts, encompassing both process and outcome, practice and theory. Another goal is to expand the dialogue of the respective field with the broader society.

The PhD in Art Practice program can be completed in the various artistic department offered at HFBK Hamburg: Sculpture, Design, Film, Painting/Drawing, Stage Design, Time-based Media, and Graphic Arts/Photography. The applied research topics and methods are to be related to both contemporary and historical practices and the theory of the respective specialization. The interdisciplinary program equips graduates to undertake independent artistic research work that meets international standards, as well as to assume coordinating and leadership roles in teaching and the art world.

Doctoral candidates participate in a course program (11 SWS) held in person, in which the fundamentals of artistic research and presentation are developed collectively. The curriculum is conducted in both German and English.

Based on their personal participation in the program, PhD candidates are admitted to the examination after five semesters, for which a research-based work is submitted. For the exact procedure of the examination, please consult the doctoral regulations.