The doctoral research as defined in the Curriculum 2015 - 2021 of the doctoral programme of artistic research in performing arts:
The target degree in the doctoral programme is Doctor of Arts (Dance) or Doctor of Arts (Theatre and Drama) with the scope of 240 credits. The doctoral research, a total of 180 credits, is comprised of 1–3 artistic parts (30–100 credits) a commentary of the doctoral research (80–150 credits).
The doctoral research comprises 1–3 artistic parts, e.g. performances, demonstrations or workshops; and a commentary. The commentary of the doctoral research is a parallel part to the artistic parts, and it presents arguments for the methodology and the goals of the research with respect to the practices and research of the field. The doctoral research may, based on consideration, comprise the commentary only (thus 180 credits). The commentary of the doctoral research can be realized as e.g. a multimedial publication; a printed monograph; or an article-based work. The articles may also include joint publications, provided that the doctoral student can state an individual contribution in them. The recommended length of a text-oriented commentary is 150–200 pages.
The doctoral research as defined in the Curriculum 2021 - 2026 of the doctoral programme of artistic research in performing arts:
The target degree in the doctoral programme is Doctor of Arts (Dance), Doctor of Arts (Theatre and Drama) or Doctor of Arts (Art and Design) with the scope of 240 credits. The doctoral research, a total of 180 credits, is comprised of 1–4 research elements (30–180 credits). These research elements are the artistic parts and the commentary of the doctoral research, or combinations of these.
The artistic parts (30–100 credits) are performative or other arrangements addressing the research questions of the doctoral research. The commentary (minimum of 80 credits) is parallel to the artistic parts, and it justifies the aims and methods of the doctoral research with respect to the practices and other research of the field explored. The commentary can be realised as an independent research element or as combinations of an artistic part and a commentary. In the combinations the commentary component must be demonstrated to meet with the minimum of 80 credits.
The commentary can be published in Finnish, Swedish or English, or based on consideration, in some other language. The language of the manuscript submitted for external pre-examination must be the same as the final publication. The external pre-examination statements can be written in Finnish, Swedish or English.
In artistic research, artistic activities can be the starting point, but also the target, method and result of the research. The assessment criteria of the doctoral research are based on its research design and method, where the relationship between the artistic parts and the commentary can find several forms, e.g.; 1) exploratory performance, complemented and explicated in the commentary; 2) a series of tests or demonstrations, with a theoretical discussion; 3) research process creating a novel artistic method, with artistic parts produced alongside the commentary. It is essential that the structure, methods and content of the doctoral research make its assessment on a general level possible.
(See also the same information in Instructions for the Doctoral Candidate)
The Head of the Performing Arts Research Centre (Tutke) makes the decision on the permission for the artistic part to be examined, based on the recommendations of the doctoral candidate’s Contact Teacher and the supervisors. The doctoral candidate must deliver their research plan and a so-called linking paper to The Performing Arts Research Centre (Tutke) to be submitted to the external examiners of the artistic part.
The research plan must include a preliminary description of all artistic parts that will be realized during the doctoral research. The plan must specify which artistic parts are research results and therefore require external examination. The linking paper is a written document describing how the artistic part subject to external examination relates to the doctoral research and its research questions. The planning officer delivers the updated research plan and the linking paper to the external examiners two weeks before the examination takes place.
The external examination is open to public. Its nature varies depending on the artistic work in question.
The external examiner make their assessment based on the research plan, the linking paper, and their observations during the examination event. The following questions can help in the assessment:
The external examiners may, if they wish, present questions for the doctoral candidate after the artistic part has been presented.
The external examiners address their external examination statements to the Research Council at the Theatre Academy and deliver them within a month after the external examination to the planning officer in writing per mail or e-mail. The recommended length of the statement is 2-4 pages.
The main task of the external examiner is to evaluate whether the performance, demonstration or project can be accepted as an artistic part of the doctoral research. The statement shall state clearly whether the external examiner proposes that the artistic part is to be accepted or not. In both cases the statement shall put forward comments and critique that justifies the acceptance or rejection of the artistic part. The decision made by the Research Council on the acceptance of the artistic part as part of the doctoral research is based on the external evaluation statements.
In case the external examiner proposes that the artistic part be rejected as part of the doctoral research, the doctoral candidate has a right to present a response to the external examiner’s statement at the meeting of the Research Council of the Theatre Academy. The Research Council may, based on the external examiners’ statements, decide to terminate the external examination process, in which case the artistic part subject to external examination must be redone. The external examination process may be restarted when recommended by the Contact Teacher and the supervisors. The Research Council appoints the same or new external examiners for the doctoral research.
(See also the same information in Instructions for the Doctoral Candidate)
The commentary of the doctoral research must demonstrate the author’s in depth understanding of the artistic tradition and practice in the field, as well as the relevant artistic and scientific research. The commentary must also demonstrate the author’s ability to work independently, identify problems, produce new knowledge, as well as clear and coherent articulation. The commentary forms a coherent whole that is motivated in relation to the artistic parts, structuring different texts and audio-visual material in an understandable way. The commentary will be assessed considering how justifiably it produces such knowledge and conclusions that it claims to produce. It should be kept in mind in assessing the manuscript of the commentary that all doctoral research is published before the public examination takes place.
The Head of the Performing Arts Research Centre (Tutke) makes the decision on the permission for the commentary to be pre-examined, based on the recommendations of the doctoral candidate’s Contact Teacher and the supervisors. The external examiners of the artistic parts usually function as external pre-examiners of the commentary as well. The planning officer at the Performing Arts Research Centre (Tutke) submits the manuscript of the commentary as well as the documentation of the artistic parts to the external pre-examiners. The manuscript includes an abstract in Finnish or Swedish and in English. The external pre-examiners address their statements to the Research Council at the Theatre Academy and submit their statements to the research coordinator in writing per mail or e-mail within two months from receiving the task.
The recommended length of the statement is 3-6 pages. The planning officer submits copies of the statements to the doctoral candidate, the supervisors, the Contact Teacher, and the members of the Research Council, and (should the right to be publicly examined be granted) to the opponent(s) and the custos.
The primary task of the pre-examiner is to assess whether the manuscript can be accepted as the commentary of the doctoral research. For the decision-making process of the Research Council of the Theatre Academy, the external pre-examiner shall in their external pre-examination statement unambiguously state whether they proposes that the right to be publicly examined should or should not be granted. In both cases the statement shall put forward comments and critique that justifies the acceptance or rejection of the commentary. In case the external pre-examiner does not propose granting the permission to be publicly examined, they shall also outline the significant changes required for the doctoral research. Based on the external pre-examination statements, the Research Council decides on granting the permission for the doctoral research to be publicly examined.
Should the external pre-examiner not propose granting the doctoral research a permission to be publicly examined, the doctoral candidate has a right to present their response to the Research Council at the Theatre Academy. In case one of the two external pre-examiners proposes granting a permission to be publicly examined, the Research Council considers, based on the statements and the response, whether the permission to be publicly examined is granted. In case neither of the external pre-examiners proposes granting the permission to be publicly examined, the external pre-examination process can be suspended based either on the request of the doctoral candidate or the decision by the Research Council. The statements and the eventual response are attached to the minutes of the meeting of the Research Council making the decision concerning the public examination.
If the process is suspended, the Contact Teacher and the supervisors are to supervise that the changes and corrections required by the external pre-examiners are made. The doctoral candidate may request a new external pre-examination once the required changes have been completed, and the Contact Teacher and the supervisors recommend that the external pre-examination process is launched. The Research Council of the Theatre Academy nominates the same or new external pre-examiners for the doctoral research, and a new external pre-examination process of the commentary is launched.