MPhil & PhD in Art

Structure The Department of Art at Goldsmiths is committed to supporting and developing art research of the highest quality in the areas of Fine Art, Curating, Art Writing and across disciplines. Programme pathways Within the overarching programme of MPhil/PhD in Art there are three different pathways for undertaking doctoral research, including: Pathway 1: Thesis by Practice. The thesis comprises a substantial body of studio practice, curatorial practice and/or art writing practice, presented as an integrated whole. This is accompanied by a considered form of documentation, as appropriate to the project, and a written component of approximately 20,000-40,000 words for PhD (10,000-20,000 words for MPhil) offering a critical account of the research. Pathway 2: Thesis by Practice and Written Dissertation. The thesis comprises a body of studio practice, curatorial practice and/or art writing practice AND a written dissertation of 40,000-80,000 words for PhD (20,000-40,000 for MPhil), presented together as an integrated whole. The thesis will be accompanied by a considered form of documentation, as appropriate to the project. Pathway 3: Thesis by written dissertation. The thesis comprises a written dissertation of 80,000-100,000 words for PhD (40,000-50,000 words for MPhil), presented as an integrated whole. Researchers will start on one of these three pathways when they apply and may change to a different option only up until the time of Upgrade. Full details of submission and examination requirements for each of these different options is forthcoming in January 2018. Supervision Every Researcher has a supervisory team consisting of a Primary Supervisor and a Second Supervisor. As we encourage and support interdisciplinary research, many of our Researchers have Second Supervisors in another Department. The exact structure of your supervision will be determined by the nature of your project and through discussion with your supervisory team; however, it is expected that you will maintain regular contact with your supervisors throughout the research project. Programme Activities (Intensives) All skills training, research activities, monitoring exercises and public-facing events fall into three intensive clusters, one in each term, including: Term 1 - Flashpoint 1. Term 2 - Flashpoint 2. Term 3 - Annual Review Panels / Public Presentations / Public Event. The intensive model has been designed specifically to accommodate those with professional and other commitments. Flashpoints Scheduled in Term 1 and Term 2, respectively, the Flashpoints are moments where Researchers comes together to gain necessary skills, share and disseminate research, open public debate and foster community through: Skills Workshops run by invited guests. Art Research Seminars collaboratively organised and run by small groups of PhD. Researchers in consultation with an academic staff Advisor. Smaller-scale Public Events organised by Researchers in consultation with members of staff. Flashback/Flashforward where we look back at and forward to documentation of the events in each Flashpoint. Annual Review Panels / Public Presentations / Public Event Scheduled in Term 3, the Annual Review Panels are an opportunity to monitor progress and support researchers at formative stages throughout the project. The Public Presentations provide an opportunity for researchers due to Upgrade or to submit for their Final Examination the following year to make a presentation of their work at the end of the year. And one large-scale, student-organised event is the major outward-facing event of the Programme for the year. Programme Activities (Scheduled throughout Year) MARs Sessions The aim of the MARs (Mountain of Art Research) sessions is to bring together researchers within Art, across disciplines, between institutions and beyond higher education for intentional, concentrated discussion and sharing of research. The objective is to highlight the research interests of staff members in the Department of Art, deepen and develop this research, and extend related research networks. Linked to and supported by the Research Programme in the Department of Art, a benefit of the MARs sessions will be to make connections between PhD research and academic staff research. Each of these small-scale, curated events spans a single afternoon and engages around 10-12 people in conversation, all of whom share a research interest in common. The sessions are initiated, organised and run by members of academic staff in the Department of Art, keying into specific research interests. Depending on the curatorial agenda, each MARs session may have up to three ‘prep’ sessions involving readings, screenings, gallery visits, etc. Keying into the research theme/topic of the main MARs session, these ‘prep’ sessions are organised by PhD Researchers in Art in consultation with the main MARs organizer. Intended for PhD Researchers in Art and other disciplines, the ‘prep’ sessions run on consecutive weeks leading up to the main MARs session. Other PhD Programme initiatives may also link to these sessions, drawing from and supporting the research and connections being made. Installation Series If you are a research student on one of the practice options, you are invited to install your practice by means of a public facing exhibition, presentation or production at least once during your time on the programme. This Installation allows you to test out how to best stage and articulate your practice and its research trajectory; how to negotiate exhibition and presentation formats most suitable to your research/practice; and how to best open these up for debate. As you calibrate your overall thesis and assemble its component parts, the installation is an important opportunity to negotiate the practice component of the research in relation to the overarching claims and written components of your thesis, to test their boundaries, or indeed to investigate how to productively disregard such categorisations. It is also a committed chance to solicit debate, feedback, discussion, and explore collaborative expansions to the scope of your individual research practice. We have allocated programme resources for these installations so that you can invite external guests and/ or collaborators into the production and/ or discussion of these. Installations normally occur at key stages of your research, which may be leading up to the transfer of registration from MPhil to PhD or the final exam, but may also include other moments where the research would benefit from public exposure, expansion and discussion. Philosophy Seminars Seminar running through the Autumn and Spring terms involving readings of texts from philosophy and literature relevant to current questions in art. MFA Crit Groups PhD Researchers in Year 1 are welcome to attend MFA Year 2 Group Crits. There are four MFA Crit Groups in total and these meet on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The MFA sessions start the week beginning 2 October for five minute 'slide' introductions; the MFA seminars then begin properly the week after Reading Week - the week beginning 13 November - and run every week except Reading Week and holidays through to the end of May. There is space for up to two PhD Researchers in each MFA Crit Group. Should you take up this opportunity to attend the MFA Group Crits, you would be expected to fully participate in your Crit Group and would do one critical studies presentation based on your practice and one studio practice presentation. Postgraduate Shared Lecture Series.. The Postgraduate Shared Lecture Series is geared toward the Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research cohort. The series is informed by and informs ongoing discussions within the PGT and PGR environment. CAT Talks The Contemporary Artist Talks series runs throughout the year, showcasing prominent national and international artists who speak in detail about their work and practice.