Introduction

The PhD study programme in Cultural Studies at University College of Southeast Norway has been developed through collaboration between the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (AF) at the Bø campus, and the Faculty of Art, Folk Culture and Teacher Education (EFL) at the Notodden and Rauland campuses.

The following four departments at the two faculties contribute to the PhD study programme: the Department of Cultural Studies and Humanities and the Department of Sports and Outdoor Studies (AF), and the Department of Fine Arts, Department of Social Work (HS) and the Department of Folk Culture (EFL).

Overarching objective

The overarching objective of the PhD in Cultural Studies is to offer students a study programme that transcends traditional divides between disciplines and academic faculties. The study programme is designed to encourage the integration of fields of study from both the humanities and the social sciences, such as cultural analysis, history, art history, anthropology, history of ideas, philosophy, cultural sociology, ethnology, literary criticism, musicology, history of religion, languages and linguistics, and creative and performance studies.

The study programme leads to the conferral of a PhD in Cultural Studies.

Target Group and Admission Requirements

All applicants must possess a Master’s degree (or equivalent qualification) relevant to the study programme. This should be in one of the following areas: the humanities, social sciences, or art and design. Relevant interdisciplinary qualifications will also be considered. All applicants must have developed a thesis proposal that falls within the scope of the PhD programme.

Admission to the programme is dependent on applicants providing documentation confirming full funding (equivalent to three years of full-time work) either in the form of grants from university colleges, universities or other institutions, or funding derived from another source, such as employment in a business, the public sector or an educational institution.

Decisions regarding admission to the study programme will be based on an overall assessment of the academic quality of the application and the proposed doctoral project, the applicant’s formal academic qualifications, a judgement as to whether the applicant is likely to complete his or her project, and the relevance of his or her project to the academic priorities of University College of Southeast Norway. The admissions committee will also consider whether the university college has the competence and capacity to supervise the individual applicant.

Target groups

Students who complete the study programme will not only receive a PhD qualifying them to pursue an academic career involving research and teaching at universities and university colleges, but can also pursue careers in professions that demand greater expertise in the field of cultural studies than can be evidenced by a Master’s degree.

In the future, the public sector (central, county and local government), universities, university colleges, businesses, and cultural enterprises will require highly qualified specialists with particular academic competence in culture within different areas of society.

Today, all levels of the public sector are considering cultural issues within new societal contexts. Frequently, however, knowledge about these contexts is underdeveloped. Society has a thirst for academic cultural knowledge generated by researchers with an understanding of culture from both internal and external perspectives.

The academic perspectives of this PhD study programme will ensure coverage of both national and regional requirements for cultural expertise. A PhD is no longer an unusual and highly exclusive qualification. In EU member states, as well as in Norway, the majority of successful PhD candidates enter careers outside academia.

Aim of the Programme

Through the adoption of an integrated approach to different fields of study, the study programme will contribute to the creation of an academic synthesis that will broaden students’ understanding of culture as a phenomenon. An interdisciplinary yet integrated study programme of this nature will offer students new qualitative insights and the ability to adopt new perspectives.

Students who successfully complete the study programme will have an extremely sophisticated knowledge of their academic area, and will also have the skills to evaluate new knowledge both within their own areas and areas of relevance and/or proximity to their own areas. The study programme’s emphasis on the importance of interdisciplinary perspectives will benefit students in their future careers, whether inside or outside academia.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

On completion of the study programme, through study of the research literature, participation in the study programme’s teaching content, and their own research experiences, successful students will have acquired knowledge of, and insight into, relevant theories, concepts, principles and processes. They will be able to explain, adopt a position on, and critically assess the possibilities and limitations of research-based knowledge, both in relation to their own research and research conducted by others. The substantive knowledge of each individual student will vary according to his or her thesis topic, empirical and theoretical basis, and academic perspective. The shared knowledge that students will acquire through this study programme will contribute to the adoption of interdisciplinary approaches and the integration of the different elements of the study programme. All knowledge acquired by students will be academically highly sophisticated, contextualized, and be from an international perspective.

Skills

The PhD study programme in cultural studies will provide students with the skills necessary to identify problems and formulate research questions that are academically productive and suitable for investigation in practice. With the assistance of sophisticated theoretical and methodological insights and an interdisciplinary perspective, research results within the study programme will contribute to the formation of knowledge that is founded on diverse and integrated perspectives.

General competence

Successful students will be able to independently apply knowledge and skills acquired during the study programme in many diverse situations where such knowledge and skills may be relevant. Students will be trained to interpret diverse cultural phenomena within larger academic and societal contexts. The PhD study programme will also equip students with general competences that will contribute to improving their team-working abilities, make them more tolerant, responsible and reflective, and increase their capacity for critical thinking both in relation to their academic studies and their non-academic professional activities.

Curriculum and structure

Code Course title Credits O/V *) Credits pr. semester   S1(A) S2(V) 9205 Theory of Science and Ethics 7.50 O 7,5   Total: 7,5 0 *) O - Mandatory course, V - Optional course

Content

The study programme in cultural studies is based on a broad interpretation of culture; that is, culture may be studied in relation to values, attitudes, knowledge, behaviour, social relationships, expression of meaning, artefacts, art and aesthetic practices. Culture may also concern processes and results or products in terms of material artefacts, services or activities in society. On a general level, the study programme covers four main areas:

• Cultural understanding
• Cultural policies
• Cultural production and aesthetic practices
• Cultural education

Cultural understanding concerns analysing and defining culture, and explores how various cultural expressions, symbols, patterns of behaviour, processes, structures and products emerge and function in society.

Cultural policy research focuses on the political, ideological, economic, institutional and administrative contexts of culture. From this perspective, how power relations are linked to culture as a phenomenon is also an important theme.

Cultural production concerns the production and shaping of culture, both in tangible and intangible forms including ideas, values, meanings, ways of life and social patterns, as well as education, advertising and arts and crafts. Aesthetic practices concern the specific form of cultural practices that emerge within arts, including traditional arts, crafts, design, music, etc.

Cultural education takes as its starting point a future- and change-oriented perspective of culture and learning. Viewed from a social-ethical perspective, education from kindergarten to university is central. Sustainability, practices, dignity, quality, expertise, embodied knowledge and democracy are central themes. The approach is often interdisciplinary.

On the basis of the choice of his/her research question, and empirical material and/or theoretical perspective, the individual student will focus on one of the four areas but will also have insight into the other areas. The interdisciplinary aspect involves integrating knowledge from different areas and traditions.

The structure of the study programme

Independent research is an important part of the study programme and must be documented in the form of a thesis. The thesis should be of a high international academic standard within the field. In addition, PhD students will be given advanced training in cultural theory, philosophy of science, research methodology and a thematic specialization that will facilitate academic breadth and depth. The student will receive training in communicating research work to academic colleagues and research fellows enrolled on the study programme, and at national researcher training courses and international conferences, etc.

The study programme comprises 180 ECTS (3 full years of study); of these, 30 ECTS comprise the training component. Most of the study period will be spent writing the thesis. Students who are employed as research fellows at higher education institutions will normally be expected to also carry out one year of teaching duties.

The training component of the PhD study programme consists of two compulsory common courses/PhD courses - cultural theory and scientific theory - where each course comprises 7,5 ECTS. In addition, the study programme includes a course in methodology (5 ECTS). Optional courses constitute a total of 10 ECTS; these courses are more specific and directly related to the research areas of the study programme. The optional PhD courses may also be taken at other institutions in Norway or at foreign institutions, or PhD courses in which University College of Southeast Norway collaborates with other institutions in Norway and abroad.

Internationalization

The internationalisation aspect of the study programme may be realised in various ways: through the study programme, students will link to Nordic and international research networks and participate in Nordic and international researcher conferences. Most of the literature in the field is written in English. Students are encouraged to study for a period abroad at a foreign institution, and foreign PhD students will be given the opportunity to participate in the PhD study programme at USN. Some of the study programme courses may be international. The core area of the PhD study programme in cultural studies is anchored in various international research networks, such as International Cultural Policy Research, Cultural Studies, Cultural History, Design Research, Making Disciplines, Material Culture and Visual Culture, Art Education, etc.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Independent research is an important part of the study programme and must be documented in the form of a thesis (monograph or compilation of articles). The thesis should be of a high international academic standard within the field. In addition, students will be given advanced training in cultural theory, philosophy of science, research methodology and a thematic specialization that will facilitate academic breadth and depth. A successfully completed PhD course will normally be documented through a scientific essay.

During the study programme, the student will receive training in communicating the research work to academic colleagues and research fellows enrolled on the study programme, and at national researcher training courses and international conferences, etc.

The training component of the study programme will be implemented by a combination of lectures and seminars. In the seminars, the student will be able to present their own work for critical evaluation and discussion, and they will also be able to discuss the scientific work written by other researchers and PhD students. They should participate in international conferences; consequently, students should write and present papers in English.

Supervision

The individual student will be assigned a principle supervisor and one or more co-supervisors. The principal supervisor is typically a University College of Southeast Norwaystaff member with the relevant expertise. The co-supervisors may be internal or external. The co-supervisors must hold a PhD degree and researcher experience; i.e. they must either be professors or associate professors.

Trial lecture and disputation

The completed PhD thesis (a monograph or a compilation of articles) will be submitted to the PhD Committee in Cultural Studies, who make an application to University College of Southeast Norway College Board for an adjudication committee of at least three members.

The adjudication committee will decide whether they believe the PhD thesis is worthy of public defence, and the PhD Committee will make a decision regarding the recommendation they receive from the adjudication committee. The day before the defence of the PhD thesis, the student will hold a trial lecture that must be approved before the defence is given.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean