*PD stands for Professional Doctorate and it is the equivalent of the PhD for the Dutch Universiteit of the Applied Sciences.
PD Arts + Creative
PO box 90116
4800 RA Breda
The Netherlands
The PD Arts + Creative programme is the result of a broad deliberation between various initiatives within the University of Applied Sciences (UAS) Art Education, the professor platforms focused on arts and creativity, and the opportunity offered to the UAS by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to develop a pilot for a professional doctorate (PD).
The Arts + Creative sector encompasses a range of disciplines, from performing arts to heritage, from film to architecture, from fashion to media and interaction design, from music to visual arts. It includes making practices, design, curatorial and pedagogical practices, and this does not exhaust the list. A characteristic of the sector is that practice-based research involves both interventions in its own arts and creative domain and a focus on other social domains and issues.1 Practice-based research can be about, for example, the significance of new materials and techniques in the visual arts (think bio or digital art, for instance) as well as about dance or music as a form of therapy or professional training, among many other things.2
The Arts + Creative PD programme does justice to the diversity in the sector. At the same time it has a clear demarcation with respect to other PD programmes and with respect to university PhD programmes in, for example, the humanities. This does not alter the fact that collaboration is possible with other PD programmes and with the universities.
This programme fills a structural gap in Dutch higher education by offering space for artistic and design research. It supports research traditions, contributes to societal transitions, and strengthens existing arts education.
The added value, utility and necessity of the PD Arts + Creative programme lie in four areas.
These texts are grounded in the broader rationale outlined in the PD Arts + Creative programme document, which details the motivations and objectives behind the professional doctorate in this domain.
In 2023, a nationwide pilot for the professional doctorate (PD) was launched in the Netherlands, bringing together universities of applied sciences across seven domains, including Arts + Creative. The PD is a new doctoral pathway in higher professional education, positioned at EQF/NLQF level 8. It is equivalent in level to a university PhD, while having its own distinct, practice-oriented character.
Within a PD trajectory, candidates engage in practice-based research and learn to intervene in complex professional practices. They work on current and complex questions arising from professional practice, connecting research and practice throughout their trajectory. In doing so, PD candidates develop as highly qualified professionals who contribute to their field, education and society.3