Dr. phil. in art. (Doctorate) at Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg

The Dr. phil. in art. (philosophiae in artibus) is the doctoral degree awarded by HFBK Hamburg. It supervises dissertations that contribute to the study of the arts, their preconditions, contexts and functions, including analyses of artistic works, historical, social, media and cultural processes affecting art discourse, and art-theoretical or philosophical concepts.

Department: Studienschwerpunkt Theorie und Geschichte (first supervision)  |  Duration: 10 semesters (5 years) standard period of enrolment; extension of up to 4 further semesters on application  |  Intake: Summer semester only; application period 1-30 September of the previous year (for summer semester 2027: 1-30 September 2026, 16:00, strict deadline)  |  Study mode: doctorate by dissertation; language of instruction not specified  |  Location: Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

What you will study

Doctoral candidates write either a theoretical-scholarly dissertation or an artistic work combined with a theoretical-scholarly text, where the scholarly part must predominate. The first supervisor is normally a doctorate-holding professor from the Theory and History study focus; for artistic-scholarly doctorates the second supervisor is a professor from an artistic discipline.

Official programme page