Regulations of the Doctorate Programme of Studies in English
Article 1. Introduction
The Department of Fine and Applied Arts of the University of Western Macedonia (UoWM) organizes and operates a Doctoral Studies Program, in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 4957/2022 and the relevant provisions and decisions.
The Doctoral Studies (DS) aim to prepare and develop new researchers who have the ability to promote scientific knowledge and art, with autonomous production of research results in the cognitive areas of the arts as well as in the interface of the arts with other scientific areas.
The Department of Fine and Applied Arts of the School of Fine Arts, UoWM also offers doctoral degrees in artistic research. An arts research doctorate is doctoral research in the field of arts that combines research-oriented artistic practice with theoretical research.
The Doctoral Dissertation, as the final outcome of Doctoral Studies, is a coherent, original and autonomous set of evidence-based reflections guided by a method of investigating research hypotheses to produce new research results. In the case of arts research, the thesis may include, in addition to the written part, the exhibition, publication, projection, broadcasting, performance, etc. of the artistic work.
The Department offers a doctoral programme in Greek and English. The terms and conditions of the doctoral studies regulations apply equally regardless of the language chosen by the doctoral candidates.
Article 2. Doctoral Studies Programme
The Department provides an organized program of studies with learning outcomes in Greek and English. The terms and conditions of the regulations for doctoral studies apply equally, regardless of the language chosen by the doctoral candidate(s).
The Department offers research, learning and educational activities, which are evaluated by the professors and the supervisor of the doctoral candidate. These activities are compulsory and optional, have an indicative workload which corresponds to ECTS, and are offered in both languages (Greek and English). In the case of the doctoral degree in artistic research, these activities may be differentiated according to the table below.
In order to complete the one hundred and eighty (180) ECTS required for the Doctoral Degree, doctoral candidates may choose a sufficient number of elective research and learning activities offered by the Department and the University.
Article 3 – Right to submit an application
Those who meet the following requirements have the right to apply for a PhD Programme in the Greek language or for the Doctorate Programme in English (DPE):
1) They hold a Bachelor’s Degree from a higher education institution in Greece or a recognized institution of higher education abroad.
2) They hold a Degree of Postgraduate Studies of a higher education institution of the domestic or recognized as equivalent in foreign countries or an Integrated Master (Article 78 of Law 4957/2022) or a diploma of corresponding or related departments of five years of study.
3) They hold a certification of good knowledge of at least one foreign language at level B2, specifically for the foreign language programme of study in English. The language certification is also effective when holding a foreign language undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
Article 4. Selection procedure for candidates
1. An open call for doctoral candidates shall be made once every academic year, during the months of June-September or whenever the Assembly of the Department deems it appropriate. The notices for doctoral candidates shall be posted on the Department’s website.
The notice shall specify:
α) the deadline for the submission of applications.
b) The fields in which candidates may apply for a doctoral thesis and the number of applicants per field. Where the field of study is arts research, this must be clearly stated.
(c) The supporting documents to accompany the application.
The application form should indicate:
1) The proposed title of the doctoral thesis,
2) The proposed language of the doctoral thesis,
3) The proposed supervisor of the dissertation.
The application must be accompanied by the following supporting documents:
1) A detailed curriculum vitae of the candidate,
2) A detailed curriculum vitae of the applicant’s academic record,
3) Detailed proposal of the doctoral thesis to be written,
4) Candidates’ publications, if any
5) In the case of artistic research, a detailed portfolio of artistic activity.
6) At least one letter of recommendation.
In order to apply for a PhD in the DPE, applicants need to have a sufficient knowledge of the English language, as evidenced by a certificate of English language proficiency of at least B2 level. Any additional language certification will be positively assessed. A certificate of English language proficiency is not required if their degrees were obtained abroad.
2. The Assembly of the Department, after taking into account the applications submitted, categorizes them according to the relevance of the research field and appoints three-member committees per category of applications, consisting of faculty members of the Department. The committees will examine all the documents submitted with the application and invite the applicant for an interview. The committees shall then draw up a detailed memorandum setting out the reasons why each candidate does or does not meet the conditions for admission and submit it to the assembly. If the candidate does not propose a supervisor in their application, the relevant committee shall propose a suitable supervisor and submit it to the Assembly for approval.
The Departmental Assembly shall take into account the committee’s memorandum and the opinion of the proposed supervisor and shall approve or reject the candidate’s application, stating its reasons. The approval decision shall also specify the language in which the doctoral thesis is to be written. The same decision may lay down conditions such as the parallel attendance of courses, obligations related to scientific research, etc.
Change of title or language
A change in the title of the doctoral thesis or in the language of the thesis may be made at the request of the candidate and on the basis of a well-founded recommendation of the Tripartite Advisory Committee and approval by the Departmental Assembly.
3. In all the above stages of the selection procedure of the applications for PhD candidancy, the following criteria are taken into account:
– The general degree grade and master’s degree grade and in particular the performance in undergraduate and postgraduate diploma project and thesis.
– Postgraduate degrees or Postgraduate Diplomas in addition to the required minimum by law.
– The candidate’s previous research or other academic or professional activity on subjects related to the proposed PhD thesis, and any scientific publications and conference presentations.
– Letters of recommendation and documented knowledge of foreign languages.
-The artistic portfolio and artistic activity in general in the case of art research PhD.
– The clarity, originality and excellence of the proposed topic and the methodology of its undertaking, as formulated in the PhD thesis proposal.
Article 5. Supervision of Doctoral Thesis
1. The right to supervise doctoral theses shall be granted to:
a) members of the Teaching and Research Staff (DEP) of every level of the Department of the HEI,
b) Faculty members of any of the Departments of the same or another higher education institution,
c) Emeritus Professors and retired members of the faculty,
(d) members of teaching and research staff in Higher Military Educational Institutions and Higher Ecclesiastical Academies,
e) researchers of any rank serving in research and technological institutions of the Article 13A of Law 4310/2014 (A’ 258), including the Academy of Athens and the Medical and Biological Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, as well as the scientific staff of the Hellenic Geological and Mineral Research Authority (E.A.G.M.E.) of article 25 of Law 4602/2019 (A’ 45), provided that they have a doctoral degree and research activity related to the subject of the doctoral thesis,
f) professors of foreign institutions and researchers of foreign research organisations.
Specifically:
The supervising professor needs to have a relevant field of knowledge and scientific relevance to the field of the supervised thesis. They must also have at least two (2) publications in peer-reviewed journals or one publication in a peer-reviewed journal and one edited volume chapter or one publication in conference proceedings with a scientific committee, all in a related scientific field to the doctoral thesis.
For arts research doctorates, the supervising faculty members need to have a related field of knowledge and artistic research relevance to the doctoral thesis to be undertaken. They must also have at least two (2) publications in peer-reviewed journals or one publication in a peer-reviewed journal and one edited volume chapter or one publication in conference proceedings with a scientific committee, all in a related scientific field to the doctoral thesis.
Each faculty member may supervise a total of five (5) doctoral dissertations, either with supervision or co-supervision. In the case of co-supervision, a Special Cooperation Protocol shall be drawn up. Professors who are doctoral candidates in the same or another Department may not be supervisors or members of the three-member supervisory committee.
2. Three-member Advisory Committee
The Departmental Assembly assigns the proposed supervisor to supervise the doctoral thesis and appoints a three-member Advisory Committee, which has the responsibility to frame and support the preparation and writing of the thesis. The members of the three-member advisory committee need to have either the same or related field, or the same or related scientific ouvre or artistic research in the case of a doctorate in artistic research with the doctoral thesis to be carried out.
Members of the three-member Advisory Committee
By decision of the Assembly of the Department of Higher Educational Institution (HEI), the three-member advisory committee is appointed, including the supervisor. The advisory committee may include as members:
a) members of the Teaching and Research Staff (DEP) of every level of the Department of the HEI,
b) Faculty members of any of the Departments of the same or another higher education institution,
c) Emeritus Professors and retired members of the faculty,
(d) members of teaching and research staff in Higher Military Educational Institutions and Higher Ecclesiastical Academies,
e) researchers of any rank serving in research and technological institutions of the Article 13A of Law 4310/2014 (A’ 258), including the Academy of Athens and the Medical and Biological Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, as well as the scientific staff of the Hellenic Geological and Mineral Research Authority (E.A.G.M.E.) of article 25 of Law 4602/2019 (A’ 45), provided that they have a doctoral degree and research activity related to the subject of the doctoral thesis,
f) professors of foreign institutions and researchers of foreign research organisations.
In particular:
Supervising faculty members of doctoral students need to have a relevant subject and scientific relevance to the field of the supervised thesis. They must also have at least two publications in peer-reviewed journals or one publication in a peer-reviewed journal and one edited volume chapter or one publication in conference proceedings with a scientific committee, all in a scientific field related to the doctoral thesis to be undertaken.
For art research PhDs, the supervising faculty members need to have a relevant discipline and artistic research relevance to the PhD thesis to be undertaken. They also need to have at least two publications in peer-reviewed journals or one publication in a peer-reviewed journal and one edited volume chapter or one publication in conference proceedings with a scientific committee, all in a related scientific field to the doctoral dissertation to be undertaken.
The scientific and artistic relevance is accepted by the Assembly of the Department on the recommendation of the faculty member, at the same time as the faculty member submits proposals for dissertation subjects to be included in the call.
Each faculty member may supervise a total of five (5) doctoral dissertations, either supervised or co-supervised. In the case of co-supervision, a Special Cooperation Protocol shall be drawn up. Professors who are doctoral candidates in the same or another Department may not be supervisors or members of the three-member supervisory committee.
3. Supervisor replacement
If one of the members of the three-member advisory committee, including the supervisor, is absent or unable to fulfil their duties, at the request of the supervisor or the doctoral candidate, a replacement may be appointed by decision of the Departmental Assembly until the completion of the doctoral thesis. The replacement may be one of the other two (2) members of the three-member advisory committee, even in excess of the maximum number of doctoral candidates that may be supervised by each supervisor, as defined in these Regulations.
If the original supervisor moves to another HEI or Department of HEI or retires, they shall continue to act as supervisor of the doctoral theses they have undertaken and the title shall be awarded by the HEI to which the Department where the thesis was initiated belongs.
4. Disclosure of admissions
After the appointment of the Advisory Committee by the Departmental Assembly, the names of the doctoral candidates and the members of the Advisory Committee and the title of the doctoral thesis to be prepared are posted on the Department’s website.