Bern Graduate School of the Arts definitively introduced
In Bern, it is now definitely possible to do a doctorate at the joint Graduate School of the Arts of the University of Bern and Bern University of the Arts. After a pilot phase, the model launched in 2011 will be continued for good.
According to the University of Bern, 26 doctoral students from the fields of design, dance, conservation and music are currently enrolled on the Bern doctoral program. 16 of them are students or employees of the HKB, ten come from different universities - from Bern to Zurich to Harvard in the USA.
For graduates of universities of applied sciences, access to the three-year doctoral program is via a special Master's course at the university. This one-year course makes it possible to fulfill the formal requirements and make up for deficits in the scientific and methodological area.
The GSA is intended to give new impetus to both research and art and open up new perspectives and fields of research. "Initially, there were prejudices against the GSA - from both sides," explains Beate Hochholdinger-Reiterer, Professor of Theater Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and History at the University of Bern and Deputy Director of the GSA. In the meantime, the skepticism has faded.
The Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF and the Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI have also become aware of the hybrid model: The GSA has already acquired third-party funding of four million Swiss francs.
