Doctorate in the arts
The Associated Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven organises the PhD in the Arts and awards the degree of Doctor of Arts. This programme is organised in close collaboration with LUCA School of Arts.
This enables LUCA to attract competent and enthusiastic artists who contribute to the development and strengthening of high-quality research and education in the core subjects of the art academy: music and drama, audiovisual art, visual arts and design.
Becoming a researcher
Every two years, the GFK launches a call for individual research projects for doctoral students in the arts. This offers researchers the opportunity to develop their projects over a four-year period under the supervision of LUCA School of Arts. This call is independent of financial resources.
The doctorate in the arts combines a written thesis with artistic or design-oriented creations. These two pillars together form a powerful whole, in which thinking and creating reinforce each other. They demonstrate that the doctoral candidate is capable of generating new knowledge through an artistic research process. Both the written and artistic components provide the examination board with the necessary tools to assess the quality and originality of the research.
See the overview of successful doctoral defences below for inspiration.
Funding
LUCA School of Arts does not currently offer internal funding for research projects. However, researchers can apply to various external funding channels. One important player is the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), which supports scientific research at universities in the Flemish Community. Practical research projects (PWO) are also eligible for valorisation. These projects are rooted in professional practice and contribute to its renewal and strengthening.
In addition, there are numerous subsidy opportunities at European level, such as Creative Europe, the European Research Council (ERC), Erasmus+ and other programmes that stimulate collaboration and innovation in research and artistic practice
Deadlines
The next deadline for submitting new doctoral applications is 30 March 2026, with interviews on 20 May 2026.
Supervisors
Would you like to apply for a doctorate? The first step is to find a supervisor who is willing to support your research project. Discover our supervisors and their areas of expertise here.
Defences
Coming up
Past defences
Contact
Monia Kennes
email: phd.schoolofarts@kuleuven.be
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