Doctoral Studies

Doctorate (Dr. phil.)

The Hochschule für Musik Freiburg awards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) in the subjects musicology / music theory and music education. The doctorate serves to demonstrate the scholar's ability to carry out autonomous academic work. Applicants can only be accepted to a doctoral programme after successfully completing an academic degree programme of at least four years duration in the same field at a Musikhochschule / Conservatory or university.

The topic of the dissertation project must be accepted by a professor of this institution or an affiliate professor. Students who meet these prerequisites may apply to the Doctoral Committee to be accepted to a doctoral programme. Details on admission and procedures are given below and in the Doctoral Degree Regulations (German). (pdf) (this file is not barrier-free)

Artistic-scientific doctorate (Dr. phil.)

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) can also be acquired at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in the context of an artistic-scientific doctorate. In addition to the dissertation and the thesis defense (disputatio), this doctoral procedure requires an artistic examination which illustrates an essential aspect of the research work. The artistic examination is weighted in the same way as the other examination parts of the doctoral procedure. This doctoral programme is aimed primarily at practicing musicians of outstanding artistic level. The applicant must fulfil the general requirements for a "classical" doctorate (see above) and must also complete an admission procedure in his or her artistic discipline which corresponds to that of an artistic postgraduate programme (Soloist Diploma, Advanced Studies, Konzertexamen etc.). The exact requirements can be found in the matriculation regulations and the Doctoral Degree Regulations (German). (pdf) (this file is not barrier-free)

3 Year Doctoral Programme in Artistic Research (PhD)

Together with the Université de Strasbourg and the Haute École des Arts du Rhin, the Musikhochschule Freiburg organises the “Collège Glarean - European Doctoral College for Musical Performance and Artistic Research" (Europäische Doktorandenkolleg für musikalische Interpretation und künstlerische Forschung / Collège doctoral européen d'interprétation et de création musicales). It is part of the Franco-German University (Deutsch-französische Hochschule / Université franco-allemande) based in Saarbrücken. The PhD programme at the Collège Glarean is aimed at performers, composers, conductors etc., who are already working professionally at a high level or are still studying, have a Master's degree and want to deal in depth with an artistic-scientific research project in a further study cycle. Applicants must have a high artistic level and a proven aptitude for scientific research. For students studying in this artistic research doctoral programme, the duration of study is usually three years. In addition to the dissertation, the PhD thesis defense (disputatio) and the final examination, additional studies must be completed and/or submitted within the doctoral programme. Supervision within the study programme is provided by two teachers: a scientific supervisor (directrice/directeur scientifique) and an artistic supervisor (directrice/directeur artistique). If the scientific supervision takes place at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, the artistic supervision can also take place at the Haute École des Arts du Rhin. Further information on the doctoral programme is available on our website. The exact requirements and information on the entrance examination and admission can be found in the Doctoral Degree and Examination Regulations (German). (pdf) (this file is not barrier-free)

For the structured doctoral degree programs in cooperation with the  HKB and the HSLU please first contact the institutions in Bern or Lucerne. The respective regulations apply. As part of a multi-stage admission process, the examinations in Bern or Lucerne must first be passed before the documents corresponding to the application for acceptance for a doctorate are submitted to the doctoral committee in Freiburg. Joint doctoral seminars and other events take place regularly.

Documents and Admission Requirements

If you are interested in doctoral studies, your first step should be to contact a possible supervisor.

• Doctoral Degree Regulations (German) (pdf) (this file is not barrier-free)
• Application for admission as a doctoral candidate (docx)
• Doctoral Agreement (German) (pdf) (this file is not barrier-free)