Admission and how to apply
Admission requirements
In order to be admitted to the doctoral programme Studies about Bildung and Pedagogical Practices, the applicant must be able to document the following:
- Completion of a relevant master’s degree, or equivalent, with good grades, i.e. normally a grade of B or higher for the master’s dissertation and an average of a B grade in the academic training component.
- Finances equivalent to three man-years and assets to enable you to carry out the research component of the programme
- A project proposal that amply describes the topic, research issue, choice of theory and methodology etc.
- At least one proposed supervisor and written confirmation that he/she is willing to supervise the project.
Admission to HVL
The premise of the programme is that bildung differs significantly in different educational contexts. Therefore, the programme is not based on a predetermined definition of the concept of bildung, but focuses on a practical, critical and process-oriented philosophy of bildung. Thus, the programme calls for new ways of studying bildung as practical processes, e.g. the tension between bildung, institutional mechanisms and self-learning, reproduction and change.
The program is interdisciplinary and utilises research traditions, concepts and thoughts pertaining to didactic practices from various academic fields. Bildung is studied as something that emerges and is understood through various types of pedagogical practices, and which challenges the often-cited incompatibility of theory with practice. Common to the academic field is the concept of bildung that provides room both for what is taught and for what is ascertained. Based on this, the programme will explore, test and develop academic methods and research models and thereby bolster research-based professional praxis.
HVL educates teachers for kindergartens, schools and the cultural sector, and the PhD programme consolidates educational and teaching praxis within these institutions with the study of key texts on education and research challenges in the field. The programme utilises understanding of and reflections over various academic traditions - epistemology, aesthetics and ethics in child and adolescent play, learning and exploration.
Student exchange
You have the opportunity to do research abroad on a student exchange during either the academic training component or research component. The research component consists of 150 ECTS and your study abroad during this period must be arranged with your supervisor. If you wish to study abroad during the academic training component (30 ECTS), you must contact the administrative coordinator for the PhD programme to have the topic of study approved. The following criteria apply to studying abroad during the academic training component:
- A minimum of 15 ECTS must be earned at HVL.
- The course PHD901 Bildung and pedagogical practices, worth 10 ECTS, must be completed at HVL.
- The course PHD902 Academic theory, ethics and academic textual analysis worth 10 ECTS is compulsory, but if you find an equivalent course at a foreign institution, you may apply to have this approved instead.
- The course PHD903 Research methodology and design worth 5 ECTS is compulsory, but if you find an equivalent course at a foreign institution, you may apply to have this approved instead.
- 5 ECTS are elective and may be taken at a foreign institution. The course must be at a PhD level and relevant to the academic field.
Where can I travel?
Denmark | Aarhus University
Germany | Chemnitz University of Technology
Germany | Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg
Sweden | Stockholm University