Vitamins PhD and DA: Seminar on Entering Doctoral Studies in Fine Art, Design and Architecture in Vilnius Academy of Arts

Have you ever considered that a PhD or DA (Doctor of Arts) could be the vitamin which might boost your practice and provide energy to redefine your field or contribute to the production of new knowledge? Before taking any medicines you must read the instructions carefully to avoid misuse or overdose. For this reason, the Vilnius Academy of Arts (VDA) is organising a hybrid seminar for artists, designers and architects to diagnose themselves with the desire to pursue a trajectory of doctoral studies in Vilnius or somewhere else. 

Seminar Doctorate in the Arts?! Vitamins PhD and DA for Artists, Designers and Architects*

When? June 21st Wednesday, 4-6pm Vilnius time (EEST, UTC +3)

Where and how? The seminar will be held in a hybrid form: onsite at VDA Doctoral Department in Vilnius (Malūnų st. 3) and online via Google-Meet. No registration is needed.

Programme

4.00pm – 4.15pm Short intro to the Doctoral Studies in Arts at VDA by the programme director prof. dr. Vytautas Michelkevičius
4.15pm – 4.50pm “Why artists, designers and architects should (not) do a PhD or DA?”
Q & A discussion between prof. dr. Marquard Smith and prof. dr. Vytautas Michelkevičius
5.00pm – 5.40pm afterschool____collective panel discussion on doctoral programme as “extended residency” vs “collection of questioning artists” vs “vibrant epistemic community”

 afterschool____collective is a non-hierarchical gathering of VDA doctoral candidates in an informal setting to mutually support doctoral projects and life.

The Doctoral School of the Vilnius Academy of Arts comprises a vibrant community of 32 practice-based researchers in the arts (fine art, design, and architecture) and 32 researchers in art history & theory. Established in 2010, the doctoral program in the arts aims to facilitate artistic research for artists, designers, architects, curators, art writers, and other practitioners. All of the doctoral candidates have a strong artistic focus in their respective fields and actively [re]shape their individual investigations through participating and organising exhibitions, symposia, conferences, workshops and other events. Forthcoming events organised by the candidates of the Doctoral School include “Walking is still honest*: about being and moving together” and Research Symposium “Not Quite King, Not Quite Fish” two symposia of artistic research. 

Key facts about the studies in Doctoral programme in the arts

Selected candidates develop their own art project which includes both creative and academic work. Epistemic curiosity, experimental writing, and the search for individual methodologies is encouraged.

The written requirement is 30.000-40.000 words. This can be written in English or Lithuanian and other languages are accepted upon agreement with the committee of the Doctoral Programme. The presentation format of the creative component is determined by the candidate in relation to the form and content of the research. 

Studies and classes are held in Lithuanian and English. Curricula is not yet mirrored in each language, however, learning objectives can be met in both languages and credit requirements fulfilled. 

The program is based in Vilnius, however, a few students are based in other cities. Residency in Vilnius is not mandatory but recommended. Onsite obligatory seminars and courses are confirmed annually and scheduled 4-5 weeks a year (minimum 70% of attendance is requested).

The tuition is for free for selected candidates regardless of nationality. Candidates receive a grant for the duration of the 4 years of the programme. 

Documents for admission are accepted by e-mail between September 5-7th, and selected candidates are invited for interviews between September 20-22nd. Studies begin 1st of October 2023. 

After the admission, the student selects two supervisors to support them in their creative and research work. One supervisor is responsible for creative work and another for the research and one supervisor must be from VDA. More about present candidates and their supervisors, as well as defended theses (art projects) and admission dates can be found here: https://www.vda.lt/en/doctoral-studies/ 

MFA at Vilnius Academy of Arts

Applications for Masters of Art Studies in Art at Design are open until the 1st of July. The academic calendar begins on 1st September 2023 in Vilnius and the program is completed over two years. Programmes vary from the material-based practices in Ceramics and Textile to the more research-oriented approaches of the Photography and Media Art Department. 

There is no tuition fee for state-funded international students (EU residents). More information and a full list of programmes are here https://www.vda.lt/en/admission/portal 

Vilnius Academy of Arts (VDA) is the largest and oldest art university in the Baltic states. Located across four campuses located in the Lithuanian cities of Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Telšiai, the academy has a community of over 1700 students. VDA offers studies in six fields: architecture, design, fine art, media art, restoration of art objects, and art history and theory.

*The title of the event was inspired both by the seminar at Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) “Vitamin PhD” and Boston university podcast “Vitamin PhD”.