Demand articulation in the PD Arts + Creative stems both from the practice of artists and designers themselves, as well as from other social practices.

This diversity and multidisciplinarity is also reflected in the training and research of the sixteen institutions that are jointly shaping the pilot for the PD programme in the Arts + Creative sector. This involves both monosectoral-art schools and the arts and creative studies in multisectoral schools. The PD Arts + Creative is governed by a Graduate Board of school managers and a Graduate Committee of arts and design professors.

Participating Institutions in PD Arts + Creative

Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU), Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (AHK), Hogeschool van Amsterdam, University of the Arts The Hague, Hogeschool Rotterdam, Codarts Rotterdam, Hanze UAS, Avans Hogeschool, Buas Breda Universit of Applied Science, Fontys Academy of the Arts, Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE), Zuyd Maastricht Institute of Arts, Artez University of the Arts, Hogeschool InHolland, and HZ University of Applied Sciences.

PD Candidates in PD Arts + Creative

• Sofia Bardoutsou (Codarts Rotterdam): The Resonance of Vocalising: Sonorous Imaginings of Future Ecological States.
• Carlo De Gaetano (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences): RISING TIDES, SHIFTING IMAGINARIES: Envisioning Climate Futures.
• Chinouk Filique de Miranda (ArtEZ University of the Arts): Digitised Practices in the Margins; Reimagining Fashion’s Virtual Interface.
• Risk Hazekamp (Avans University of Applied Sciences): Unlearning Photography: Listening to Cyanobacteria.
• reinaart vanhoe (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences): Learning from ruangrupa & documenta fifteen.
• Philippine Hoegen (HKU University of the Arts Utrecht): PERFORMING WORKING.
• Thijs van den Houdt (Fontys University of Applied Sciences): Putting the Public in Publicizing | Improving Journalism Education through the Artistic Practice.
• Emily Huurdeman (Fontys University of Applied Sciences): Essaying as Collective Performative Practice.
• Tara Karpinski (Avans University of Applied Sciences): Design for Collective Decision Making 
• Agustín Martínez Caram (Hanze University of Applied Sciences): Lifestyle and Digital Sovereignty. A New Media Arts Approach to Collective Technological Empowerment for Holistic Care.
• Céline Mathieu (Zuyd University of Applied Sciences): Conditions for Raw Materials
• Mariana Fernández Mora (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences): Entangled Machines: Decolonial Modes of Encounter with Artificial Intelligence 
• Setareh Nafisi (Hanze University of Applied Sciences): Innovating musical composition through interdisciplinary and socially-engaged artistic practice within contexts of collective trauma and healing.
• Panagiotis Panagiotakopoulos (Amsterdam University of the Arts): DRAG MOTHERING AS PEDAGOGY: Redressing Actions for the Oppressed.
• Jonas Pastoors (Breda University of Applied Sciences): Increasing parasocial interaction with individuals in ensemble casts of NPCs
• Sina Seifee (Zuyd University of Applied Sciences): How to inherit stories? - Artistic Research as Constructive and Critical Memory Work
• s†ëf/\n sch/\efer (Amsterdam University of the Arts): Breaking Apart Together: Performing Speculative Design with Dying Mountains and Glaciers.
• Kim Spierenburg (Inholland University of Applied Sciences): As Waters Rise: Countering Eco-Anxiety Through Music and Film.
• Raymond Vermeulen (Breda University of Applied Sciences): The Game Is Over, The Feelings Continue: Designing for Bleed in Digital Narrative Games. 
• Nan Wang (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences): Envisioning Alternative Futures: Reinventing and Reimagining Technologies for Art and Creative Practices
• Nadja van der Weide (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences): The art of the mediated dialogue – Exploring the Role of Ownership, Technology, and Participation in Facilitating Dialogue within Local Communities.

Partners in PD Arts + Creative

Angeliki Diakrousi, ARIAS Amsterdam, Artemis Grylliaki, Bricks From The Kiln, Buitenplaats Brienenoord (Rotterdam), Care Ethics & the Arts (University of Humanistic Studies Utrecht), Centre for Art and the Political Imaginary (HDK), Collective Brownout, Community Land Trust, Decolonial Approaches Gender and Black Studies (Utrecht University), De Versterking, EpicWE network, Filmwerkplaats@WORM, Gauli Zitter, H-buurt, Kimberley ter Heerdt, Kunsthalle Trondheim, Kunstverein Harburgerbahnhof, Kunstverein Schwerin, Lejla Vala Verheus, Ludeon Studios, Marres (Maastricht), Miklós (Miki) Ambrózy, Moore Games Ltd, Materials Experience Lab (TU Delft), Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, Network Applied Design Research (NADR), POST Arnhem, RadicalXchange, Slow Photography Collective, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, The Sustainable Darkroom, UMCU Utrecht, Valand Academy of Art and Design (University of Gothenburg), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Information for Applicants

Would you like to do doctoral research in which your artistic or creative practice is an integral part? The basic requirement is that you must have a relevant master’s degree or a validated equivalent, and preferably an active practice in the arts and design domain. Furthermore, the PD programme is open to three types of candidates:

• Practicing artists and designers; and/or
• Teachers and researchers at the arts and creative schools, or in primary and secondary education; and/or
• Talented transfer students from the master programmes of these institutes

For requirements and further information: read the programme report

If you are interested in joining the PD Arts + Creative programme, please note that participation is coordinated through the involved institutions. The selection of PD candidates is done in collaboration between the art school that the candidate has ties with and the Graduate Network.  Follow these steps to apply:

1. Identify your preferred institution: Determine which institution you wish to apply to. Ideally, you already have ties with this institution. Each institution may have different specializations and facilities that align with your research goals and artistic/design practice. 
2. Contact the professor: Directly reach out to the professor or research group associated with the PD Arts + Creative programme at your chosen institution. They will provide you with detailed guidance on the application process and what specific requirements you need to fulfill.
3. Prepare your application: Fill out the PD research proposal-form, which can be found in our Document Archive. For the preparatory process regarding the development of a PD proposal, please contact your contact at the participating art institution.
4. Submit your application: Send your complete application package to the professor or the designated contact point at the chosen institution.
5. Await feedback: After submitting your application, wait for feedback from the institution. They may invite you for an interview or request additional information before making a final decision. The decision on the candidates formal nomination to the Graduate Network is made according to the applicable rules of the institutions involved.

Currently (2025) the PD has no legal status yet. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has started with the legislative procedure for the 3rd cycle in UAS (HBO). The legislative process will continue until the actual statutory regulation, which must be adopted by parliament. Until then, the PD-program is acknowledged as a relevant and desirable qualification by the 15 participating art and design schools. A further recognition by international art and design schools is in development and expected to be in place before the legal process is finalized

Information for Professors

The PD Arts + Creative programme is a research-intensive training program that trains highly qualified, investigative professionals in the arts and creative sector who ‘learn to intervene in complex practices’ at level 8 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).

The programme is best characterised as a collective customisation, provided by the Graduate Network in conjunction with the participating Dutch art and design schools. All participating schools offer a local research context in which the possibility for inter- and transdisciplinary cross-fertilization exists, and an infrastructure in which (inter)national exchange is realized. In this environment, the PD candidate has access to adequate financial and infrastructural resources, as well as staff and technical support to carry out the research. The institution also gives the candidate the opportunity to teach about the candidate’s research.

The participating art schools are responsible for the initial recruitment and selection of PD candidates. This is done based on a Research Proposal. The decision on the candidates formal nomination to the Graduate Network is made according to the applicable rules of the institutions involved. During the pilot period, the arts and creative professors nominate one or more PD candidates per year to the graduate committee. The number of candidates that a professor can nominate is limited by the possibilities of the institution concerned, as determined by the Executive Board of the institution.

Supervision takes place by a supervisory committee in which two professors take on the day-to-day supervision, and in which two external professionals with relevant (international) arts, design or social practices are involved. Supervision takes place on the basis of a personal Training and Supervision Plan that defines the roles and responsibilities of the candidate, the supervisors and the institution.

• For requirements, finances and further information about the programme: read the report
• Find all the relevant forms in the document archive

Graduate Board & Graduate Committee of PD Arts + Creative

Members of the Graduate Board are: Heleen Jumelet, Debbie Straver, Liesbet van Zoonen, Rene Bosma, Annemarie Hannink, and Ronald Philipsen.

Members of the Graduate Committee are: Ruth Benschop, Mieke Bernink, Nirav Christophe, Paul Craenen, Florian Cramer, Delfina Fantini van Ditmar, Karolien Dons, Mata Haggis-Burridge, Joke Hermes, Falk Hübner, Godelieve Spaas, Sabine Niederer, Peter Sonderen, Patricia de Vries, Ties van de Werff, and Rachel Beckles Willson.

The daily procedures and execution are executed by a dedicated taskforce with administrative support from Centre of Applied Research for Art, Design, and Technology (CARADT) at Avans University of Applied Sciences. Members of the PD Arts + Creative taskforce are: Anke Coumans, Michel van Dartel, Liza Swaving, and Liesbet van Zoonen.