Mads Øvlisen PhD Scholarships within Art History and Practice-Based Artistic Research (Denmark)

The purpose of this opportunity is to give ambitious students the opportunity to pursue a research career within art history research and practice-based artistic research and thereby make a significant contribution to the field of art research in Denmark.

Research Fields

Five scholarships are available for funding within the following four research fields:

• Two PhD scholarships within art history research is awarded to applicants whose research projects are within the field of art history research with special emphasis on art history and/or art theory subjects from the period before or after 1900 in an international or Danish context. Preferentially one scholarship will be awarded in art history before 1900 and one in art history after 1900.
• Two PhD scholarships within practice-based art research is awarded to applicants, whose research projects are based on the applicants’ artistic or curatorial practices. Preferentially one scholarship will be awarded in art and one in curating. The research projects must consist of a written dissertation and an artistic work/a curatorial examination.
• A fifth PhD scholarship with an extraordinary potential will be awarded to an applicant within any of the above categories regardless of field and era with a project proposal of very high quality with regard to originality in choice of research questions, hypothesis, methodology and/or empirical data. This scholarship cannot be specifically applied for.
• Information specifically related to the practice-based PhD projects
  • Practice-based research in the field of art science differs from other research projects within humanities by including artistic or curatorial effects and methods in the examination of a given thesis. A practice-based research project results in an artistic or curatorial element along with a written element.
  • The artistic or curatorial element, such as the production of art works and exhibitions, is the practice through which the research question or hypothesis are explored and developed.
  • Thus, the practice is an integrated part of the research project and contributes to the development of new knowledge.
    • The written element is the dissertation that:
    • Puts forward a hypothesis and research question
    • Sets up an analytical framework for the clarification of the project’s hypothesis
    • Motivates the choice of theory and methodology in relation to the practice
    • Discusses and provides perspective on the hypothesis in relation to the practice.
  • The written element and the artistic or curatorial element are carried out in parallel and must be presented for PhD defence as a coherent project.
  • It is important that you in the project description account for the theoretical as well as the practical dimensions of the project, including how you will realise the artistic/curatorial element. In the application, the content of the artistic/curatorial element and the plan for its realisation must be described in detail.

Funding Information

• The maximum that may be applied for is DKK 2,45 million per scholarship covering salary, operational costs, equipment, publication costs, conference participation, relocation expenses, travel costs, collaborative activities, tuition fee, bench fee and administrative support.
• Funding cannot be requested to cover:
  • Overhead, (e.g. rent, electricity, water, heating, building maintenance);
  • Organisation of large-scale conferences.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for a Mads Øvlisen PhD scholarship you must have obtained a Master’s degree or equivalent prior to submitting the application. For the scholarships in practice-based research, the applicant must demonstrate significant and well documented artistic/curatorial practice, as this is part of the assessment criteria.
• During the PhD programme you must be enrolled at a doctoral degree awarding institution, such as a university or the Royal Academy in Denmark and be anchored at an administrating host institution in Denmark. The host institution is where you will be employed and for the most part conduct your work. The enrolment institution can function as your host institution, but so can other knowledge institutions such as museums and art academies. In the application, it is important to argue for how the chosen host institution is relevant for the project, and how the project is relevant for the research environment at the host institution.
• Your main PhD supervisor will be at the university where you are enrolled. If the university is not your host institution, it is recommended to have a co-supervisor at the host institution. If you have made a preliminary agreement with a supervisor at your enrolment institution, this must be stated in your project description. It is not required to have a supervisor prior to submitting the application.
• NNF does not facilitate hosting or enrolment agreements; it is up to you, the applicant to make the necessary arrangements. Enrolment must take place within one year after the grant has been awarded, but agreements must have been made prior to submitting the application.
• Enrolment and host institution deadlines are often set earlier than the deadline for this call. It is therefore important that you at an early stage in the application process contact the institution where you wish to be enrolled and if relevant an administrating host institution to find out what the specific application procedures and requirements are.
• Your application must include an enrolment agreement and a hosting letter from your administrating host institution. The hosting letter must briefly confirm that the host institution has agreed to administer the grant and provide office/work facilities and state whether a cosupervisor will be allocated to the project. If the budget includes a bench fee, the hosting letter must include documentation that the administering institution has a general bench fee policy. The documents must be uploaded with your application.
• If a project receives a grant, the grant agreement must be signed by the main applicant and the head of the administrating host institution, unless they are the same person. It is the responsibility of the main applicant, that the head of the administrating institution has seen and agreed to the submitted application.

Language

• The application system is in English, but applications can be submitted in either Danish or English. The language chosen will not influence the assessment of the application.

For more information, visit Novo Nordisk Foundation.