As the First semester drawers to a close, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Post Graduate Studies continue to soar to greater heights with the recent report that FASS have received SAQA registration for the following programmes:
| FASS | Master of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Arts Studies | MPhil (Interdisciplinary Arts Studies) |
| FASS | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Arts Studies | PhD ( Interdisciplinary Arts Studies) |
Applications are now Open for 2025, let’s get more information from Prof Stephanus Muller, the programmes coordinator
- What is the programme about?
The proposed programme responds to the need for an interdisciplinary arts degree to accommodate postgraduate projects evolving from Africa Open Institute’s (https://aoinstitute.ac.za/) increasingly interdisciplinary research agendas based on the mixed-media holdings of its archival projects. Additionally, the programme will function as a shared resource within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences for students wishing to pursue interdisciplinary arts-related projects. The programme is intentionally designed to enable and open as many configurations for interdisciplinary collaboration as possible.
- What makes the programmes unique?
The PhD and MPhil degrees respond to the growing need for advanced training in interdisciplinary research in the arts that sits at the interstices of academic disciplines and incorporates artistic and practice-based approaches.
Reflecting the dissolving boundaries between discrete artistic forms and discourses in cultural practices, the digital space, the creative and artistic industries, and policymaking, the projects undertaken by current and prospective students at the Africa Open Institute (a centre within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University) are increasingly interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional boundaries of academic disciplines and artistic media. These projects can no longer be accommodated in existing programmes in SU’s Programme Qualification Mix because they engage diverse artistic media on an equal footing and in an integrative manner, thereby raising questions about artistic practices that are too broad or too complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline. This programme responds to the need for an advanced degree programme that accommodates and encourages innovative projects that transcend discipline-specific scholarly reflection in the arts, offers advanced training in artistic-led and interdisciplinary scholarly research in the arts, and offers enhanced vocational opportunities to interdisciplinary arts scholars.
- What are the entry requirements/who qualifies to study this programme?
Appropriate MA qualifications for the PhD, and appropriate Bacherlor’s degrees for the MPhil. ‘Appropriate’ in this regard refers to the direction the Master’s or PhD research wishes to develop. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) applications are encouraged.
- What is the process of teaching and learning or mode of delivery for the programme?
The purpose of the programme is to consolidate and deepen students’ expertise in interdisciplinary approaches to arts research and to develop research capacity in the execution of interdisciplinary, artistic and practice-based research through independent, project-based learning under the supervision of a dedicated supervisor or team of supervisors.
- What career prospects does the programme offer?
The programme is aimed both at practicing artists and students following a more conventional academic trajectory in the interdisciplinary study of visual arts, music, theatre and performance studies, or in historical, philosophical, sociological or anthropological reflections on arts practices. Graduates of the programme will benefit from this expanded definition of arts research with applicability in diverse industries and arts-related fields.
- What is the process of applying to be considered for the programme?
Contact Prof Stephanus Muller at smuller@sun.ac.za. For further information
www. https://aoinstitute.ac.za/