Practice-based Doctorates and Questions of Academic Legitimacy

Over the last six years there has been a massive increase in the number of students studying for practice‐based doctorates in Art and Design. It is now possible to do a practice‐based PhD in over forty departments, although what is expected from doctoral students varies considerably across institutions. In 1997 the United Kingdom Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) addressed the variance between practice‐based doctorates in the report Practice‐Based Doctoratesin the Creative and Performing Arts and Design. This paper examines the recommendations made by the report and asks to what extent does it acknowledge art as a legitimate research practice within the university. The UKCGE report recommends that all practice‐based PhDs have a substantial theoretical and