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Applications open on September 1, 2026
Dr. phil. in art. / PhD in Art Practice
In addition to the theoretical dissertation in written form or an artistic work accompanied by a theoretical text, leading to the degree of Dr. phil. in art, the HFBK offers the PhD in Art Practice—a degree program unique in Germany—in which a research-based artistic work is created as part of a three-year curriculum at the HFBK. The application periods for both doctoral programs begin on September 1.
Michal BarOr, Ruins 2, 2023
Dariia Kuzmych, From conversations about similarity of pain, 2024
Julia Stolba, Jelkas Traces. Making of a Graphic Novel, exhibition view, 2025; photo: Stefan Wahler
Helene Kummer, nemo 05, 2025
Vanessa Gravenor, Cover, Duck &, exhibition view Research for Tomorrow, 2023; photo: Răzvan Năstase Cercetare
Zhichao Zhu, Muddy Waters, DE/CN 2026, Filmstill
As part of the doctoral process, HFBK Hamburg awards the degree of Dr. phil. in art. (philosophiae in artibus).
In line with the university’s transdisciplinary teaching approach, dissertations are supervised that contribute to the study of the arts, their preconditions, contexts, and functions from diverse perspectives. This includes analyses of artistic works as well as examinations of historical, social, media-related, and cultural processes that have influenced—or been influenced by—artistic discourses. HFBK Hamburg also supervises dissertations that engage with art-theoretical or philosophical concepts through which the arts reflect upon themselves and articulate their self-understanding. In addition to purely academic doctorates, the university also enables and promotes doctoral projects with a strong artistic component, provided that the relationship between the artistic work and the scholarly doctoral contribution is clearly articulated.
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